Ready or Not, Here I Come
Notes
Transcript
I was thinking this past week about the games we use to play as kids. In our neighborhood we played a lot of hide and go seek. There was lots of great places to hide. Under porches, up on shed roofs, up trees, all sorts of places.
The person who was “It” had to count to 100 usually and then yell out Ready or Not, here I come.
Do you remember playing that game?
Sometimes the person who was it was not very good at being it and they took forever to find everyone. Sometimes a really good hiding place was found and the person was never found. It was hard to stay quiet and remain hidden until you were either found or It gave up in defeat.
This morning I want to take a look at just one verse from the Revelation of John. As I was preparing, I was reminded that we have hope for the future, we should look forward to it with anticipation with what God is going to do.
As week look at what is happening in our world, all sorts of emotions and feelings come bubbling to the surface. Many of us wonder, how much longer is God going to allow the forces of evil to have what seems like free reign in our world.
The Covid-19 virus has raised all sorts of theories and feelings. Some view it from one perspective and others with another. Even in the church there is different views which can cause division.
The recent uprising of racial tension has caused all sorts of feelings. It is causing division in the church.
The presidential election is fast approaching. There are divisions over who is the best choice. There are divisions in the church.
There are all sorts of social and moral issues that generate divisions in the church.
It should not be that way. Yes we can have different opinions over a certain subject or issue. Those opinions should not generate divisions.
The reason being is that divisions cause distractions from our mission of making Christ-like disciples who are making Christ-like divisions.
Those divisions cause great division in the Kingdom. Remember we live in the world, but we are no longer of the world. As Christians we belong to an entirely different kingdom, the Kingdom of God.
As we look at this passage this morning we can almost sense the feeling of Jesus of that game we kids use to play as He says to us “Ready or not, here I come.”
Jesus is coming again. Until that day arrives we are to be ready, to be prepared. We are too be busy making Christlike disciples.
The issues that we face today include thinking that it’s not going to happen in our lifetime or growing impatient with God. There is going to be a judgment. Our scripture this morning looks at the beginnings of that judgment.
In order to help us understand this chapter we have to look at some other passages of scripture to put things into context. Jesus spoke about the end times and I would encourage you to read Luke chapter 21 and Jesus teaching there. I want us to look briefly at portion of this chapter beginning with verse 25, Jesus said:
25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars. On the earth, there will be dismay among nations in their confusion over the roaring of the sea and surging waves. 26 The planets and other heavenly bodies will be shaken, causing people to faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world. 27 Then they will see the Human One coming on a cloud with power and great splendor. 28 Now when these things begin to happen, stand up straight and raise your heads, because your redemption is near.”
What do we know about this passage? For one, it is a future event. Many theologians look at verses 5 through 24 of this chapter as being a prophecy about the Jerusalem which was fulfilled in the year 72 when Jerusalem was destroyed and the temple was destroyed. Verses 25 through 27 however are pointing to a future event.
You might wonder, Pastor how do you know that? I look back to Acts chapter 1 verse 11 when Jesus ascended to heaven and they disciples were standing there staring up into the sky and the angels said to them:
11 They said, “Galileans, why are you standing here, looking toward heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you saw him go into heaven.”
There are events yet to take place because Jesus has not returned. What we are reading in Revelation this morning are events that are going to occur.
We need also to look at Matthew chapter 24 and look at what Matthew recorded:
29 “Now immediately after the suffering of that time the sun will become dark, and the moon won’t give its light. The stars will fall from the sky and the planets and other heavenly bodies will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Human One will appear in the sky. At that time all the tribes of the earth will be full of sadness, and they will see the Human One coming in the heavenly clouds with power and great splendor. 31 He will send his angels with the sound of a great trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from the four corners of the earth, from one end of the sky to the other.
Paul wrote about the end times in both of his letters to the Thessalonians. In his first letter he wrote:
13 Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about people who have died so that you won’t mourn like others who don’t have any hope. 14 Since we believe that Jesus died and rose, so we also believe that God will bring with him those who have died in Jesus. 15 What we are saying is a message from the Lord: we who are alive and still around at the Lord’s coming definitely won’t go ahead of those who have died. 16 This is because the Lord himself will come down from heaven with the signal of a shout by the head angel and a blast on God’s trumpet. First, those who are dead in Christ will rise. 17 Then, we who are living and still around will be taken up together with them in the clouds to meet with the Lord in the air. That way we will always be with the Lord. 18 So encourage each other with these words.
Notice what Paul tells us here. Jesus is coming again. He will come down from heaven and Paul says that the dead in Christ will rise and those who are alive will be caught up into the clouds to meet the Lord. This is generally referred to as the rapture, that future moment when Jesus will come to gather his bride, the Church. What a great day that will be.
It’s into this context that we can begin looking at these future events. Chapter 6 of the Revelation tells us about the seals of the scroll that only Jesus, the Lamb was able to take and to begin opening.
John writes in verses 1 and 2:
1 Then I looked on as the Lamb opened one of the seven seals. I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 So I looked, and there was a white horse. Its rider held a bow and was given a crown. And he went forth from victory to victory.
The picture of these horses and riders is not the most important aspect that we should look it. There isn’t a description of the rider, there is only the color of the horse. The important thing to note is what they are tasked and what they were going to perform.
This first rider and horse does not symbolize Jesus because Jesus has already conquered sin and death. He reigns victorious today. Because Jesus has already conquered it may be appropriate to view the rider as a poor imitation of Jesus as in the spirit of the anti-Christ. As we’ll see in later scriptures the anti-Christ attempts to imitate Jesus in order to get people to follow him.
Notice that it says that he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest – there is no indication that the rider ever conquered anything.
John writes in verses 3 and 4:
3 When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 Out came another horse, fiery red. Its rider was allowed to take peace from the earth so that people would kill each other. He was given a large sword.
This rider was given power and it is assumed the power was from God to “take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other.” We think our world is in bad shape right now, just imagine what the world will look like when this happens!
Look at what has been happening in some of our once great cities. The rioting and destruction of property is unbelievable.
Police officers are being killed simple because they are police officers. There is a demand to de-fund police. Who is going to maintain the peace if there is no one there to maintain it?
How quickly violence can escalate in a community. Look at the drug violence that happens. Innocent people and kids are killed because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Peace can quickly be taken from us and one day it will be taken from the earth.
John writes in verses 5 and 6:
5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” So I looked, and there was a black horse. Its rider held a balance for weighing in his hand. 6 I heard what sounded like a voice from among the four living creatures. It said, “A quart of wheat for a denarion, and three quarts of barley for a denarion, but don’t damage the olive oil and the wine.”
This seal and the resulting vision is talking about the very basics of life, wheat and barley. It would take an entire day’s wages to purchase this amount of food. One commentator said that this was enough food for one day for a soldier and his horse.
Just think what would happen here in the United States if there were a disruption in our food supply. We witnessed that at the beginning of the virus outbreak. You couldn’t buy toilet paper, paper towels or cleaning products.
Several of the large meat packing plants shut down because their employees got ill from the virus. That drove the price of meat up. We were at Sam’s Club this past week. You still cannot buy a case of corn or green beans. They aren’t available.
We could quickly go to that time where people cannot afford to purchase groceries.
John writes in verses 7 and 8:
7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 So I looked, and there was a pale green horse. Its rider’s name was Death, and the Grave was following right behind. They were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword, famine, disease, and the wild animals of the earth.
This fourth rider has a name, his name is Death. John writes that Hades was following behind him. Hades, that place of the dead. Picture it as Hades following behind Death picking up the victims.
Can you even conceive the great number that die? John writes that they were given power of a fourth of the earth, meaning the population. Death came by means of sword, famine, plague and even wild animal attacks.
The population of the world is a little over 7 billion people. When this seal is opened over 1.75 billion people will die.
Why, what is the purpose of these events? It’s the beginning of God’s judgment on man for sin. There is also a slim opportunity for mankind to repent and turn to God. These events are nothing compared to what is coming and its man’s last chance to repent as we’ll see as we move further into this great book.
The scene changes in verse 9, John writes:
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar those who had been slaughtered on account of the word of God and the witness they had given. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “Holy and true Master, how long will you wait before you pass judgment? How long before you require justice for our blood, which was shed by those who live on earth?” 11 Each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to rest a little longer, until their fellow servants and brothers and sisters—who were about to be killed as they were—were finished.
John paints for us a picture of all of those from the beginning of the Church who had died for their faith being there in the very presence of God under the altar.
Why were they killed? It was because of the word of God meaning Jesus. The same phrase is used back in chapter 1 verse 2 where John wrote:
2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the witness of Jesus Christ, including all that John saw.
This fifth seal specifically points out those who died because of Jesus and their testimony about Him.
How is your testimony today?
Can you clearly articulate your faith and hope in Jesus? Would you be able to explain to someone how they can come to faith in Jesus?
Please don’t let this hour on a Sunday morning be all there is to your faith. You must live out your faith daily otherwise you really are not a person of faith. You need to die daily to yourself and say yes to God. You need to take up your cross daily and follow Jesus.
Look at the question that they ask God: “How long?”
How long until You bring judgment? I like the answer that they receive, it like a caring Father giving the answer. They are told:
11 Each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to rest a little longer, until their fellow servants and brothers and sisters—who were about to be killed as they were—were finished.
They are not forgotten. Just a little longer, there will be more added to their number. I see that implying there still some hope for people to repent and turn to God. There is just a little while longer before there will be no more opportunity.
The scene changes again in verse 12 as the sixth seal is open. John writes:
12 I looked on as he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became black as funeral clothing, and the entire moon turned red as blood. 13 The stars of the sky fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its fruit when shaken by a strong wind. 14 The sky disappeared like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth, the officials and the generals, the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in caves and in the rocks of the mountains. 16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the Lamb’s wrath! 17 The great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
These six seals are the beginning of the end for world as it has been known. When this sixth seal is opened even the universe is affected. There are things that will happen that scientists will attempt to explain but will come up empty.
When this event described in here happens, it won’t be a natural phenomenon. It will be a God caused event that will get the attention of everyone. Look at the response of the people. Everyone, from the highest to the lowest will be looking for a place to hide. They’re not hiding from the event, John says that they cried out:
16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the Lamb’s wrath! 17 The great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
The answer to their question of “who is able to stand it?” is plainly obvious. No-one, no-one can hide from God. That day is coming.
I hear preachers and teachers say all the time that speaking about the wrath of God is not applicable for the Church today. We witnessed the wrath of God in the Old Testament, but the New Testament God is a God of love. Yes that is true, but God was also a God of love in the Old Testament.
God’s love must be avenged. It is important to note that the wrath that is spoken of is not what we typically think of. It’s not the anger of getting even, it’s not the thought that you did this so that I’m going to do this to you in return. This wrath is a righteous judgment, because of sin.
The question for us today is are we ready? Ready or not here He comes. Jesus is going to return to gather His bride, the Church. Are you ready for that to happen? Or will you be left out? Don’t put off that decision.