Disturbance Point

Revelation 7:13–17

"Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes-who are they, and where did they come from?" I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

I was encouraged to write about this further today when I read SP Lawrence Khong's "Our Thoughts This Week" at Sunday (last 2pm) service and I got excited when he said "The Lord told me clearly that we must preach through the Book of Revelation beginning January 2015". It's going to be interesting. I like that SP admitted that the reason why for 38 years he avoided this topic is because he was afraid that he "would be entangled among the diverse theological views concerning the details of God's plan for the end times" but that the Lord showed him that he did not need to be bogged down by the finer details and metaphors this apocalyptic book seemed to require him and most everyone to understand. What is important is the ultimate message and according to SP it is "a powerful proclamation of God's impending judgment to a lost and broken world and a pressing preparation of God's people for the end times." That is the answer most of our prebelieving friends seem to be afraid of the most when we speak of the Doctrine of Last Things, it is quite clear regarding my friend desired to make the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, in its entirety, only an allegory and "a tour de force of fiction literature." Indeed as SP Khong wrote: "I believe as we preach through the Book of Revelation at our Celebration Services, the Holy Spirit will convict many pre-believers of sin, righteousness and judgment, and will result in many turning to Christ and joining our cell groups to become extreme disciples of Christ." It is quite politically incorrect nowadays to talk about the judgment to come, and I do tread very lightly when speaking about these things to friends as I've said. But treading carefully does not mean that we do not share our convictions or views of ultimate reality in an appropriate environment or  timing of discussion. We simply cannot second-guess how the Holy Spirit works and when He prompts us, we ought to lovingly speak the truth that we know (perhaps unlike the prophet Jonah) and it is up to Him how to work on the life and thinking of our friends. This reminds me of the apostle Paul having a similar experience speaking with the governor Felix in Acts 24, after establishing common ground or points of reference and relevance we will eventually reach a "point of disturbance" in our discussions with people: "Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, "That's enough for now!..." (vv. 24-25). You should know a little more about Governor Felix: "..Greed, cruelty and lust were stamped upon his countenance. His administration as procurator of Judea had been marked by injustice, extortion and violence. By his side sat the lovely Jewess Drusilla, a daughter of Herod Agrippa. She had first married a Gentile, who to please her, had become a Jew. Then Felix, with the aid of a sorcerer's incantations, had won her from her husband and was living with her in sin and shame." (McCartney, 1974); that the apostle Paul had Felix rightly disturbed when he talked about "righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come" and our friends should be rightly shaken as well and it is never a matter of whether one believes a Christian view/narrative or not. Truth is objective and by definition, exclusive — it is what it is regardless of whether we believe it or not and it will exclude all false claims. And we and everyone have no excuse (Romans 1:19-20). We are given reason and that to a large extent we can rationally evaluate between competing views (contrary philosophies and other religions) to a large extent and that is maybe why some would prefer to supress the truth (Romans 1:18) – that they are made uncomfortable by it. Of the major points Paul discussed (righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come), it should be noted that what comes before this is that he "spoke about faith in Jesus Christ" (v. 24) — His redemptive work in us, the Good News and Amazing Grace. Brothers, we live in a world that is on one hand, very relativistic, wanting to be extremely tolerant of all views (except probably Christianity) and so dismissive of any idea of a final judgment and yet on the other, full of suffering, hungry for justice and believing in retributive Karma, judging from a deep sense of moral ascendancy. But objective morality only exists if God exists. Amidst all this irony of human existence stands our Lord Jesus Christ, Who alone is worthy, the [exclusive] Way, Truth and Life and He comes a second time to complete God's work in this fallen world. SP rightly notes, and I am persuaded, that "There is no neutrality. There is no middle ground between following and rejecting God. There are no innocent bystanders. We need to choose a side — God or Satan."

Daniel 7:13–14, 27

"In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every  language worshipped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed...Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him."

~10.11.2014