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Thursday, May 22, 2014

Pastoral Pings (Plus) ~ A Secure Church in a Shaken Creation

A Secure Church in a Shaken Creation
          According to the description of the sixth seal,[1] history will one day act out a script that calls for a great earthquake, the sun turning black, the moon turning red, the stars falling to earth, the sky vanishing, and mountains and islands removed from the stage. That will not be a good day to be on the side of the world, the flesh, and the devil.
          In our aim of not going beyond what is written,[2]we must be careful to seek a thoroughly scriptural explanation of these signs and wonders. At the same time, we must accept that it will not always be clear how much these seals are described symbolically versus literally. Thankfully, this is secondary to the meaning the symbols communicate, so I first want to know what God wants me to believe, think, and do as a result of what he has revealed.
          Because this is Scripture, the written words breathed out by God,[3] there is a meaning in these words that is true, and is clear, whether these things turn out to be metaphors for events that will take place, or real descriptions of the events themselves. Whatever happens, it will be just like what is described in the Revelation.
          In fact, I suspect there will be a lot of smiles as God’s children discover what God had really meant by all the signs and symbols of his prophetic revelations. But we will all be in wonder at the absolute accuracy of God’s word to describe what is yet to happen, and in such wording as leaves us wondering how our Father will pull it off.
          So, without any certainty about whether the universe-shaking descriptions of the sixth seal are literal or figurative, here are some things that are communicated for our edification.
          The first description of this “great day of their wrath,”[4]is that it will be introduced by “a great earthquake.”[5] This is easy to contextualize. This is what people fear all over the world. We have seen the devastation of earthquakes that reduce cities to rubble. We know that a great earthquake, what coastal North Americans refer to as “the big one”, is hovering somewhere under the horizon.
          Whether this is what will literally happen prior to the coming of the Lord, or at the coming of the Lord, I cannot say.[6] What I know is that an earthquake means destruction. A great earthquake means huge destruction. A worldwide earthquake would shake people up in a way that would capture their absolutely undivided attention . When the earth beneath our feet begins to shake in the great and terrible way described, there will be nothing else on our minds but the inability to feel secure.
          This reminds me of a carnival ride I went on where the machine had us going  around a track on a dangling car that spun around at the same time the whole track traveled along its course.[7] Coming straight down that track so that I could see the ground coming quickly up to meet me, and then reaching the bottom only to have our helpless bodies spun around to start up the other side, it didn’t matter one little bit how white my knuckles were holding on to the bar in front of me. The whole contraption was moving as it willed, and my little seat was going to keep spinning and turning however that machine was designed to spin us around. Holding on tighter only made me aware that holding on didn’t help one little bit!
          That ride was the most insecure physical feeling I have ever gone through, and all to prove to my son that I was brave enough to do such things with him!   When I think of what that ride looked like, it was sitting on the earth, the whole machine quite securely resting on the ground. All the insecurity I felt was in that very short period of time in that very confined space on that one little contraption. The earth itself was still standing secure. While it may have felt like the earth was moving when I first got off the ride, it was only me, and my brain trying to find its equilibrium once again.
          When I think of the earthquake that is coming, and whatever it means whether real or symbolic, it is a picture of the worst insecurity that we could ever feel. It is not the fun, carnival-ride kind of insecurity where people actually enjoy feeling themselves being tossed around in unnatural ways because they trust that the rides are actually secure enough to hold them safely in and give them an enjoyable (or not!) experience with family and friends.
          Rather, it is the insecurity of people feeling that their whole world is shaken. This is the thing, that the whole world will be shaken by the return of Jesus Christ. Everything we stand on, everything we think is secure, will be shaken. Everything the world considers the reference point for life will be shaken.
           The writer of Hebrews gives us a very sobering explanation of this shaking that is on its way.
25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 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.[8]
          The issue here is whether we receive the one who is speaking. The same one is speaking through the book of Revelation. Those who receive him, receive “a kingdom that cannot be shaken.” Those who reject him face the most terrible shaking they have ever experienced, and only to clear the stage for something even worse.
          It is interesting that the Hebrews’ passage clarifies that the things that are shaken are “things that have been made.” What the sixth seal of Revelation describes is the shaking and removal of the created order. However, this is to replace it with that which cannot be shaken.
          The response of God’s children is to be grateful, and worship God acceptably, with reverence and awe, for our God is the consuming fire who comes to cleanse his creation of sin, and give us a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”[9]
          And, while we worship our Father for his awesome glory, we watch for any opportunity to lead more people out of the domain of darkness,” and into “the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”[10]
          The Church of the last hour is to be like a rider on a white horse, taking the world by storm, and conquering souls for the kingdom of heaven.[11] The plight of the last at the coming of our great and glorious Savior, Jesus Christ, spurs us on to make him known. Those who have ears to hear, will hear.

© 2014 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 6:12-17
[2] I Corinthians 4:6
[3] II Timothy 3:16-17; cf Romans 15:4, I Corinthians 9:10
[4] Revelation 6:17
[5] Revelation 6:12
[6] I still expect greater clarity by Sunday morning!
[7] Look up, “Zipper carnival ride” on internet for images
[8] Hebrews 12:25-29
[9] II Peter 3:13
[10] Colossians 1:13,14
[11] Revelation 6:1-2

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