Going All Out
Imagine that you are close to the end of your career, or the end of your term as leader, decision maker, king.
You know that there is little time left to do all that you had hoped to do when your reign began, so you push extra hard. You go all out to make a real impact.
Rejoice then, you heavens and those who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you with great wrath, because he knows that his time is short! - Revelation 12:12
Today's reading is from Revelation, John's bizarre vision of the kingdom of God and the coming of the time of judgment.
It is a book we don't often talk about, and rarely hear about in church, though it has been the source of many apocalyptic movies and stories.
One of the reasons I believe we don't hear much about it from the pulpit is that it talks about the devil and his reign on earth.
In today's reading, we are told that he is desperate. His reign is about to end. His time is short.
If we believe that he exists, and many do not, and we believe that the end is near, and many do not, we can envision the devil going all out to take as many of us as he can with him into oblivion.
How ominous. You can see why people have a hard time thinking about such things. It makes for really bad dinner conversation.
Suppose you don't believe, you don't buy in to the fear of damnation and the manipulations of a super being hell-bent on destroying our souls. Is there nothing to worry about?
Consider this. There are some who want to bring about the end of the world to help cleanse the earth of all evil, and in doing so, they are helping the cause of the one whose time is short.
When we shift our focus from helping others to our own salvation, we do the work of the lord of the earth, rather than the lord of all.
I think we need to read Revelation. We need to know what John's vision was so we can recognize attempts to bring it about, not in fear, but in strength. With God's help, through the Spirit, we will recognize evil for good and decide accordingly.
If we let fear drive our decisions, we lose.
More to come...