My Morning Meal

The first time He came it was barely noticeable. Born of virgin . . . in the small town of Bethlehem . . . away in a manger . . . on a silent night . . . what Child is this? But a child . . . a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes . . . lowly . . . in complete dependence on the mother who nursed Him . . . the father who would care for Him. Announced by angels to some shepherds in the fields . . . but, by and large, not recognized as anything special by most who were in the area. That’s how He entered earth’s scene the first time . . . that’s the “backstage” entrance He made on “opening night”. This humble first arrival on earth’s stage opened the way to life . . . life to the full . . . for all who would believe. And His first appearing would result in a yearning . . . a longing among His people through the ages . . . that He would come again . . . that they would know His glory in the midst. And the echo through the generations from the people of God has been, “Encore!”

And when He comes again, the babe in the manger . . . the Lamb on the cross . . . will come as the Warrior of Heaven.

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The One sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems, and He has a name written that no one knows but Himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which He is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following Him on white horses. On His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.   (Revelation 19:11-14, 16 ESV)

Talk about your contrast. The eyes of the Infant are now flaming fire . . . the swaddling clothes worn by the Babe are now replaced with a robe dipped in blood . . . the hairless head of the Child is now crowned with diadems of glory and power . . . the singing angels over the fields have given way to the armies of heaven amassed over the earth. He who was named Jesus is now called the Word of God . . . He who was identified as Emmanuel, God with us, is now recognized as King of kings and Lord of lords, the Sovereign over us.

Oh that I might look beyond the baby King and behold the risen King. That I might see in the Christ Child a foreshadow of the glory revealed in Him who is called Faithful and True. That I might look beyond the meekness and humility of a manger and be reminded of the power and glory of the Majesty.

That I would, during this Christmas celebration, join and rejoice with an unseen multitude before the throne of God declaring, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God . . . Hallelujah! For the Lord God the Almighty reigns” (Rev. 19:1, 6).

Oh that I might, as I consider the grace shown in His first coming, shout, “Encore!” . . . desiring the glory of His second appearing.

To Him be glory alone! Amen?

Come, Thou long-expected Jesus,
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’’ Strength and Consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

(Come Thou Long Expected Jesus, Charles Wesley)

Continuing to work my way through the book of Revelation. Chapter 15 is kind of the prologue to the final outpouring of God’s wrath on a world that has steadfastly rejected Him . . . a world where those who do believe are martyred . . . a world left only with those who have embraced sin as their right and the enemy as their king. In this vision John sees in heaven those who have “conquered the beast and its image and number of its name” (15:2) . . . aka those who died for Jesus, refusing to bow to the world system. He sees them beside a sea of glass . . . I’m guessing it’s the sea of glass described in chapter 4 . . . so they are before the throne . . . the place of worship of Him who sits on the throne . . . and John says they sing . . . seems to be a pretty common activity before the throne . . .

And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are Your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.”   (Revelation 15:3-4 ESV)

After they had crossed the Red Sea and witnessed the destruction of Egypt’s powerful army under the mighty hand of God, the ancient Israelites sang, “I will sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously . . . the LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation” (Ex. 15:1-2). And now, these saints delivered through faith and by grace from the slavery of a rebellious world, and delivered by death from the physical presence of a dying world, sing as well . . . they sing the song of Moses . . . and they sing a new song . . . the song of the Lamb. It’s what the redeemed do . . . they sing songs of deliverance.

If there’s reason for anyone to sing, it’s those who have been delivered from bondage. If there’s cause for anyone to lift their voice toward God’s throne in heaven, it’s those who once were captive to sin, living in darkness, but are now freed through the blood of the Lamb and the grace of God and have been brought into marvelous light.

The song of the Israelites on the other side of the Red Sea was in the aftermath of God’s victory over the army of Egypt. The song of these saints in John’s vision, is in anticipation of God’s impending final victory over the armies of the nations assembled to oppose Him. And I have song too . . . a song in response to a victory won on a cross . . . a victory over sin and death . . . a victory won through the death of God’s beloved Son . . . a victory to be sung of for all ages.

Great and amazing are Your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! That You would send heaven’s best for earth’s worst . . . that You would sacrifice Your Son in order to redeem a family of born-again adoptees. That You would raise Him from the dead . . . in order to receive Him again to Yourself . . . in order to send in His place the Comforter . . . a seal guaranteeing our inheritance . . . a Teacher leading us into all truth . . . a Sanctifier conforming us into the image of Your Blessed Son.

Just and true are Your ways! Sin atoned for that You might be just and the justifier of all who believe and receive the gift (Rom. 3:6). The splendor of Your glorious Name made known . . . “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin . . . ” (Ex. 33:6-7). Your holiness upheld as You judge those who refuse Your cover for their guilt . . . for You alone are holy.

Songs of deliverance. Are they any better songs? I don’t think so.

Honestly . . . I didn’t expect to find it here. I am well down the path toward the final days of earth as I continue to read through Revelation. That things are wrapping up is evident . . . that the Lamb is about to close the book on this chapter of history is evident. But as they say, it ain’t over until the fat lady sings . . . or, in this case, until the last angel proclaims . . .

Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come, and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”   (Revelation 14:6 ESV)

How amazing is that? The sickle is about to swing . . . the final harvest, which will be thrown into “the great winepress of the wrath of God”, is about to take place (14:19) . . . but even in these final days of earth’s rebellion against her Creator, another angel is sent out proclaiming the eternal gospel.

First, it reminds me that God “is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (1Peter 3:9) . . . that He who made us and, by His Son’s death, has paid the price to redeem us, is the One who will call to those who have ears to hear, right up to the very end. Though His very character demands that He avenge every transgression against His holy nature . . . my God is also in essence love . . . and, in that love, He has offered the once for all atoning sacrifice for transgressions . . . and desires that people would avail themselves of the blood of the Lamb . . . and not refuse, thus inviting the wrath of the Lamb.

But what I didn’t expect to find here . . . at this stage in the book of Revelation . . . was the gospel . . . the good news. I’ve been aware of the “law of first mention” for awhile now . . . not sure there’s a “law of last mention” . . . but here it is . . . the last mention of the gospel. And an angel is sent to proclaim to earth-dwellers . . . to every nation, tribe, and language . . . the eternal gospel.

The gospel . . . that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and was raised on the third day . . . that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life, That gospel is the power of God for salvation . . . salvation past . . . salvation present . . . salvation future. It is the eternal gospel.

It is eternal in agency . . . the shed blood of Jesus being the basis by which all who have believed, and have had righteousness credited to their account, are declared justified. Those prior to Christ in time, covered by the eternal purposes of God to Himself provide atonement for sin . . . those on the A.D. side of the calendar, applying the blood through faith . . . those in the days immediately before the end of the age, also washed by the blood of the Lamb by responding, even at the last minute, to the good news message.

And the gospel is eternal in it’s efficacy . . . in it’s effectiveness. It saves completely . . . because the work is His finished and the price paid in full. It saves assuredly . . . because it is founded on the promise of Him who cannot lie (Titus 1:2). It saves wondrously . . . because it rescues the believer not only from the wrath of God but, by His glorious grace, converts the sinner into a child of God . . . infusing a new nature . . . making all things new. It saves eternally . . . that we might inhabit the place prepared for us forever . . . that we might worship the Author of Life without end . . . that we might join with a heavenly host, and those redeemed through the ages, and praise God for the eternal gospel . . .

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains He shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
(O Holy Night, 3rd verse)

You don’t necessarily expect to find “the Christmas story” when you read the book of Revelation. But that’s kind of the wonder of prophetic vision . . . because it is sourced from a place not bound by time, a single prophetic revelation can encapsulate events which, on earth, occur not only in the future, but also events which occurred in the past . . . and often the two are side by side. That’s kind of the case with my reading this morning in the Revelation given to John.

In Revelation 12 the focus is on a woman and a dragon. The woman is identified as she who is “clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars” (12:1). Recall Joseph’s dream in Genesis 37:9? . . . it seems this woman is Israel. There’s no question as to who the dragon is, ” . . . the great dragon . . . that ancient serpent, called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world . . . the accuser of our brothers, who accused them day and night before our God . . .” (12:9-10). And the deal is that this ancient dragon doesn’t care too much for this woman. He has opposed her in the past . . . he will oppose her in the future . . . and, you can pretty much guess, that he’s arrayed against her even now. How come? What’s at the center of this hatred and violent opposition? The Child.

This woman, Israel, birthed a Child . . . the same Child we focus on at this time of year . . . the angelic, innocent, beautiful, restful, peaceful, Child in a manger. You kind of realize, as you read this “behind the scenes” dynamic of “the Christmas story”, that our nativity scenes focus on but one “camera angle” of that history defining event. From one vantage point it may have been a silent night . . . all is calm, all is bright . . . but, in another realm, the forces of hell were going nuts.

And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her Child he might devour it.   (Revelation 12:4b ESV}

Any doubt that old King Herod was demon-possessed? That he was part of the dragon’s plan to consume the Child as soon as He was born? What other forces had Satan garnered around Bethlehem that night or in those days following the Child’s birth? You have to think that Satan had had his eye on Bethlehem ever since Micah penned his prophetic words, “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for Me One who is to be ruler in Israel, Whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.” (Micah 5:2).

But this serpent of old did not prevail.

She gave birth to a male Child, One who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her Child was caught up to God and to His throne.   (Revelation 12:5 ESV)

There it is . . . the Christmas story . . . and the life of Christ . . . in the blink of a prophetic eye.

He was born a king and established His kingdom, though His kingdom was not of this world . . . the King had come incognito . . . born and come into the world that He might bear witness to the truth (John 18:36-37). He would bear witness to the truth concerning man’s sin and God’s holiness . . . to the truth concerning man’s inability to deal with the “wages of sin” and God’s amazing grace in making way for redemption . . . to the truth concerning man’s hopeless situation and God’s love for the world . . . “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) . . . to the truth concerning a lost world and a Child come to save that world.

The Child, though He was Creator, “became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). And the Child would live to die on a cross for the sin of man . . . He would lie in a tomb for three days as the payment for our transgressions . . . and then, . . . O’ glorious then, . . . He would rise again the third day in victory, crushing the head of that dragon . . . defeating sin and death. Finally “her Child was caught up to God” . . .

. . . He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as He went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven.”   (Acts 1:9b-11 ESV)

Get that? The Child is coming again . . . soon . . .

What Child is this? . . . This, this is the Christ the King . . . Haste, haste to bring Him praise . . . the Babe, the Son of Mary . . .

I don’t think anyone’s saying, “Keep it down!” in heaven. I don’t think that there’s much concern about using your “inside voice” when you’re before the throne of God. And I don’t imagine that it’s because hosts of angels and multitudes from earth are trying to shout over one another in order to be heard . . . but rather, I sense it’s because of an energy . . . a passion . . . that it’s because everything is so alive. And, as I continue to read in Revelation this morning, I’m reminded that alive-ness is fueled by anticipation . . .

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God . . .  
                                                                             (Revelation 11:15-16 ESV)

Loud voices in heaven . . . anticipating the reign of Christ. Loud voices in heaven . . . awaiting the rule of heaven, which is currently established in the hearts of believer, to be established on the earth. Loud voices in heaven . . . speaking today to those with ears to hear.

It doesn’t say so explicitly, but imagine that those shepherds out in the fields some 2,000 years ago heard loud voices. There they are . . . maybe half asleep as everything has settled down for the night . . . I’m guessing it was dark . . . and then all of sudden . . . BAM!!!! . . . someone throws on a light switch . . . the glory of the Lord, the brightness of the unapproachable light which envelopes God, shines around them. Shield the eyes . . . squint up into the sky . . . feel your knees buckle. And then hear the voice . . . the angel’s voice . . . what I imagine to be a heavenly loud voice . . .

“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11 ESV)

Good news? Pretty much. He who would be King comes first as Savior. He who would reign comes first to rescue. He who in absolute essence is holy and spotless comes first to be made sin for those in bondage to sin. He, though being rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we through His poverty might become rich (2Cor. 8:9). Loud voice stuff? Yeah . . . the sort of news worthy of some energy and passion . . . the kind of truth needing to be shouted from the skies.

Lots of things “competing” for the air waves at this time of year . . . easy for the loud voice to be lost in the cacophony of busyness and tradition . . . for the good news worthy of the loud voice to be like seed that falls along the path but is devoured by birds sent by an enemy before it can take root. I can’t help but feel that mine is to contend for the loud voice . . . to hear it afresh . . . to proclaim it anew . . . to join with “a multitude of heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest” (Luke 2:13-14) . . . to become part of the choir of loud voices gathered around the throne . . . falling on their faces . . . worshiping their God . . . passionately proclaiming,

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and and who was, for You have taken Your great power and begun to reign”   (Revelation 11:17a ESV)

O come let us adore Him . . . with loud voices even . . . Christ, the Lord!