Revelation 7

Make the Connection

Posted on by Betsy

Have you ever been in a situation where you encounter a new thing, person, or place and your mind is realizing that there is some connection to be made? My husband had a conversation like that with our neighbor. We knew that both of them were raised in Navy families, and also knew at different times of their lives they lived in the Virginia Beach area. But one evening a conversation led them to realize that the houses they lived in were in the same neighborhood, which meant … you guessed it … they went to the same Elementary school. Instant connection! Suddenly the conversation switched to remembering favorite teachers, playground memories, what it was like to walk to that school, etc. The familiar became really familiar in that moment.

I felt that way when I read Isaiah 66. This well-loved Old Testament prophet wrote about a “new heaven and a new earth” and I realized a connection with his vision and the words written in Revelation. Another random connection is the number 66. This is from the 66th chapter of Isaiah, and Revelation is the 66th book of the Bible.

Today’s Scripture is a journey into what happens at the end. The Old Testament prophet talks about how God will gather all the nations and cultures together to see his glory, and points to the new heavens and new earth that God will create.

Isaiah 66 (Common English Bible)

18 Because of their actions and thoughts, I’m coming to gather all nations and cultures. They will come to see my glory. 19 I will put a sign on them, by sending out some of the survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Libya, and Lydia, and to the archers of Cilicia and Greece—distant coastlands that haven’t heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will declare my glory among the nations. 20 They will bring your family members from all nations as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots, in wagons, on mules, and on camels—to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, like Israelites bringing an offering in purified containers to the Lord’s house. 21 I will select some of them as priests and Levites, says the Lord.

22 As the new heavens and the new earth that I’m making will endure before me, says the Lord,
    so your descendants and your name will endure.
23 From month to month and from Sabbath to Sabbath,
    all humanity will come to worship me, says the Lord.

People love to speculate about the end times. Scholars, Bible study teachers, preachers, and the average Joe in the pew have differing ideas about what will happen when Jesus returns to claim his kingdom. Scriptures from Matthew, Second Corinthians, Ephesians, Daniel, Acts, Revelation, etc. sketch out what will occur. The study of end times theology is called eschatology. Notice the connection between Isaiah 66 and these passages from Revelation:

Revelation 7 (Common English Bible)

9 After this I looked, and there was a great crowd that no one could number. They were from every nation, tribe, people, and language.

Revelation 21 (Common English Bible)

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 

One connection I hope we make today is that heaven will be filled with people from all nations, races, cultures, and languages. Why do we struggle so much to get along on earth? Why do we war with one another when in eternity, all those “differences” will be set aside?

Perhaps this is a good reminder to do everything we can to live each day as though it we are living in heaven on earth. People, get ready! Heaven awaits.

Heaven on Earth by Michelle Robertson

Every Tear

Posted on by Betsy

I need to begin today’s devotional with a confession: I am hesitant to write on passages from Revelation. This book is so dense with meaning, so obscure with its analogies, and so over-analyzed that it makes me hold my breath to try to write about it. I had a recent conversation with my editor at Cokesbury when she called to offer me a new contract to write an adult bible study. My first question wasn’t about deadlines or pay … it was, “Is it on Revelation?” She said no, so I told her to have legal send me the contract. I respect this book too much to risk botching it!

That being said, we’ll take a dip into Chapter 7 today as it has a fabulous message with a life-giving ending.

Revelation 7:9-17 (Common English Bible)

9 After this I looked, and there was a great crowd that no one could number. They were from every nation, tribe, people, and language. They were standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They wore white robes and held palm branches in their hands. 10 They cried out with a loud voice:

“Victory belongs to our God
        who sits on the throne,
            and to the Lamb.”

As John envisioned heaven, he continually focused his attention on the throne. He is purposeful and intentional as he directs our sight there. It gives the reader a set of binoculars for seeing the truth … Jesus will reign at the end of days, and every knee will bow before him. Notice that verse 9 talks about the great crowd standing before the Lamb. What do you see? People from every nation, tribe, people, and language. Does your church look like that? Does your community reflect the diversity of heaven? How about your work place and neighborhood? I like to joke that you may be surprised to see who is standing next to you when we gather before the throne. On the other hand, they may be surprised to see you, too!

If heaven is filled with diversity, why do we live in such separation? This is a great reminder that the throne of God is the great equalizer. God loves all his children equally. Shame on us that earth is filled with systems of oppression and discrimination that marginalize the ones he loves.

11 All the angels stood in a circle around the throne, and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell facedown before the throne and worshipped God, 12 saying,

“Amen! Blessing and glory
        and wisdom and thanksgiving
        and honor and power and might
            be to our God forever and always. Amen.”

13 Then one of the elders said to me, “Who are these people wearing white robes, and where did they come from?”

14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.”

Then he said to me, “These people have come out of great hardship. They have washed their robes and made them white in the Lamb’s blood. 15 This is the reason they are before God’s throne. They worship him day and night in his temple, and the one seated on the throne will shelter them. 16 They won’t hunger or thirst anymore. No sun or scorching heat will beat down on them, 17 because the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them. He will lead them to the springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

It is a cold comfort to know that the hardships endured on earth will result in a place in heaven, but comfort it is. When we are persecuted for Jesus’ sake, when we are discriminated against, lied about, demeaned, rejected, and set aside, we need to remember that our displacement here is but a guarantee of a placement of honor there. If you have ever been ridiculed or put down for speaking God’s truth, get ready. You will wear the white robe of worship.

Read that last sentence again: He will lead them to the springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. You see, just like in baseball, there is no crying in heaven. No pain, no mourning, no grief, no back-stabbing, no hunger, no loneliness. The Lamb will shepherd us and we will find joy in the flock. Thanks be to God!

And thanks be to Revelation for teaching us to hold on for now.

Almost Heaven by Michelle Robertson

Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing

Posted on by Betsy

How many of you remember Crystal Pepsi? Cheetos-flavored lip balm? Colgate Frozen Entrees? Heinz “Easy Squirt” purple ketchup? These are perfect examples of what happens when companies, institutions, and people forget to keep the main thing the main thing. Each one of us has a mission in life. The mission of Colgate is to make toothpaste. The mission of Cheetos is, well, to make Cheetos. The mission of Christ followers is to feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked and visit the sick and the prisoners.

How are we doing with that?

Today’s devotional is an appropriate follow-up to the recent one on Revelation 7. Jesus explains a vision of heaven much like the Revelation of John of Patmos’ vision. We are focused again on the throne and the diversity of the nations gathered around the Son of Man, the Lamb. But this passage takes a more cautionary tone:

Matthew 25 (The Message)

31-33 “When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.

A sorting will happen and it is clear that at the end of days, you will want to be counted on the right side. See what it will take to enter the Kingdom of God:

34-36 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’

37-40 “Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’

What a beautiful reminder to us about the importance of being the “hands and feet” of Christ in this life. By serving his fragile children, we are serving the king. Can there be anything more important? Can any calling be greater?

41-43 “Then he will turn to the ‘goats,’ the ones on his left, and say, ‘Get out, worthless goats! You’re good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—

I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.’

44 “Then those ‘goats’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn’t help?’

Friends, we don’t want to be counted with the goats. This is a good time to do a reality check. Are you giving, serving, helping, and engaging with people who are overlooked or ignored? If not, you are not serving the King.

45 “He will answer them, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.’

46 “Then those ‘goats’ will be herded to their eternal doom, but the ‘sheep’ to their eternal reward.”

Jesus is clear about his expectations. When people, community groups, and churches devote a lot of time in food pantries, homeless shelters, disaster recovery, and clothes closets, they are pleasing to God. I am blessed to serve a church like that, and we are surrounded by churches and organizations who are actively involved in local ministries. How about your church? How about you? Volunteering and offering financial support to the things that Jesus cares about will usher you right into the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

Let us keep the main thing the main thing.

Nope. (Photo from https://www.thedailymeal.com/eat/16-humiliating-and-hilarious-food-and-drink-product-fails-slideshow/)

A Shade From the Heat

Posted on by Betsy

I had the pleasure of having a conversation with a trusted and valued friend where the subject of “plans made and suddenly changed” came up. We acknowledged the need for grieving when that happens, and I found her comments to be both wise and helpful. Even when you are handling the change with patience and grace, it is still a good and necessary thing to recognize that unexpected change can take a toll on your heart. I think when we have come out the other side of these events and are mostly “unscathed,” we want to minimize or dismiss the impact that the loss of something that we had planned and looked forward to can have on us. This is not a healthy response. It is good to acknowledge the disruption, mourn over it, work through the grief of that unexpected change, and then seek closure. It is also good to count the blessings we see even in the midst of the trial.

I want to invite you to think about a situation or time when you felt the extreme heat of disappointment, an unfulfilled dream, a sudden illness, the end of a relationship, or a life-changing loss. To liken those events to being engulfed in extreme heat should give you a sense of what Isaiah was writing about in Isaiah 25. He is writing about the unexpected change that came over Israel when the surrounding nations assaulted them and drove his people out. Isaiah wisely acknowledged this tragedy, and then focuses our attention to the “plans formed of old” and praises God for the deliverance that will eventually come.

Isaiah 25 (New Revised Standard Version)

O Lord, you are my God;
    I will exalt you; I will praise your name,
for you have done wonderful things,
    plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
2 For you have made the city a heap,
    the fortified city a ruin;
the palace of foreigners is a city no more;
    it will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;
    cities of ruthless nations will fear you.

Note that Isaiah began this writing with words of praise and thanksgiving. The Assyrians had already overtaken the Northern Kingdom and Isaiah’s role as prophet was to warn of the time when the Babylonians would seize Jerusalem. It was a time of great tribulation and a forecast of the Great Tribulation that will come at the end of time. If you are in a tribulation or remembering a time of great trouble, you will find instructions here on how to handle your situation. The first step is to praise. Isaiah said, “I will exalt you,” a reminder that worshipping God in the storm is a choice we make. Will you exalt God in your disappointment?

4 For you have been a refuge to the poor,
    a refuge to the needy in their distress,
    a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat.
When the blast of the ruthless was like a winter rainstorm,
5     the noise of foreigners like heat in a dry place,
you subdued the heat with the shade of clouds;
    the song of the ruthless was stilled.

Even on our worst days, God is worthy to be praised. He offers refuge to the needy and provides shelter in bad times. He fights our battles for us and never leaves our side.

6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
    a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines,
    of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.

Christian readers will feel an immediate pull toward seeing this next section as a description of the Feast of the Lamb that Revelation talks about:

“for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd,
    and he will guide them to springs of the water of life,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:17

7 And he will destroy on this mountain
    the shroud that is cast over all peoples,
    the covering that is spread over all nations;
8     he will swallow up death forever.
Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces,
    and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,
    for the Lord has spoken.

All of our disappointments will be swallowed up, for the Lord has spoken. In the end, isn’t that the only thing that really matters?

9 It will be said on that day,
    “See, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.
    This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
    let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

Having this conversation with my friend provided a shade from the heat. Who in your life is in a predicament that burns? Can you offer comfort just by listening? God is on our side in all times of distress, and we can offer hope to others by reminding them of that very thing. Reach out to someone today and give them a listening ear. You will be blessed to be a blessing.

Let us be glad and rejoice!

Springs of the Water of Life by Kathy Schumacher