Do you see
your good works piled up as a sacrifice to God that looks so good to you that
you are sure they have built a suitable bridge to get you through the valley of
God’s judgment against your sin without any danger? Or do you see a sea of
glass, like crystal,[1]
telling you that you can only come to the Holy One who sits on the throne as a sinful,
condemned, criminal against the court of heaven who needs to be cleansed through
the only hope of such cleansing, which is the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ?[2]
When you see
yourself standing before the one who is on the throne, do you see your family
there all telling you that you can make it to God in your own strength, that
they all approve of you the way you are so God would have to approve of you as
well (they have all voted, so God must be bound to their decision)? Or do you
see yourself standing there as a solitary sinner with no recourse to family or
friends to speak on your behalf since they are all just as sinful as yourself,
but there is this glassy sea promising you that your sins can be forgiven and
your heart purified from all your unrighteousness?[3]
When you see
yourself standing before the throne of God, with the glorious radiance of his
seven-colored bow framing his presence, and his throne sending out flashes of
lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder, do you find yourself stacking up the
books, and scrolls, and electronic media that all tell you why you are free to
come to God as you think he is, in whatever way you have chosen to think is
acceptable or necessary? Or do you find yourself throwing off all earthly
philosophies, speculations, and religions as rubbish and casting yourself down
into the glassy sea with the realization that in this sea alone is the
cleansing from sin that makes you as right with God as you hunger to be?[4]
When you see
yourself standing before the presence of the one who caused a whole nation of
people to tremble with fear at the base of the Mountain, do you feel a strange
confidence rising up within you that suggests that things are going to be
different for you than it was for them, or that God is a different God than
they thought he was at the time, or that you have advanced with the world’s
evolutionary and technological developments so that no one has anything to fear
of God any longer? Or do you come before God with fear and trembling because
you know that he is a consuming fire who continues to destroy all those who are
against him,[5]
and your only hope is to come to him through that sea that gives you clean
hands and a pure heart?[6]
Today it is
very clear that the difference between living in expectation of blessing,[7]
and living with the certainty of condemnation,[8] is
what we believe is between us and the one who sits on the throne of heaven. If
we see anything there that fits the description of “the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life”, that clearly
“is not from the Father but is from the world.”[9]
Revelation 4
is actually a lot simpler to understand than I had ever imagined. It is a clear
picture of the one who sits on the throne, and the response to him of those who
know him best. Those who come to him through the glassy sea love him as the
treasure their hearts have been longing to find.[10]
From my heart,
Monte
© 2013 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
[1]
Revelation 4:6
[2]
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in
the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses
us from all sin.” (I John 1:7); “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood
6 and made us a kingdom,
priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.
Amen.” (Revelation 1); “18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways
inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or
gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that
of a lamb without blemish or spot.” (I Peter
1)
[3]
“If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)
[4]
“2 And he opened his mouth and taught
them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed
are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Matthew 5); “8 Indeed,
I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count
them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not
having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes
through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—“ (Philippians 3)
[5]
“Know therefore today that he who goes
over before you as a consuming fire is the Lord
your God. He will destroy them and subdue them before you. So you shall drive
them out and make them perish quickly, as the Lord
has promised you.” (Deuteronomy 9:3); “28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a
kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship,
with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12)
[6]
“3 Who
shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And
who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and
a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does
not swear deceitfully.” (Psalm 24)
[7]
Matthew 5:1-12
[8]
“18 Whoever
believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned
already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3); “36 Whoever
believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see
life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3)
[9]
I John 2:16
[10]
“44 “The kingdom of heaven is like
treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy
he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 Again, the kingdom of
heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one
pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
(Matthew 13)
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