A Vision of God.

Our world is obsessed with the end of the world.  Doomsday movies, books, and video games are among the top sellers.  The world will even tolerate a little Bible as long as we have killer locusts with long hair and lions faces in the story.  Reading through the book of Revelation, I have come to believe that God did not reveal the apocalypse to John to give us a good story.  I do believe that because it is a good story, the world is fascinated with Biblical prophecy.  However, as Christians, we must look at the Bible differently, for when we boil it all down, the theme of God's Holy Word is not about the characters and interesting stories found therein, but God Himself.  The creation account is not about the beautiful world we can enjoy; but it is about the all-powerful CREATOR who eternally exists, who created pitiful humans so that they can worship Him.  The stories of Abraham and Isaac, Moses and the ten commandments may make (somewhat) compelling drama when Charlton Heston proclaims, "Let my people go!"  But Abraham, Isaac, and Moses are there merely to point us to the God who chooses based on His good pleasure and not their good works.  Who does not know the story David and Goliath?  This account is so well-known, you will commonly hear sports commentators comparing athletic teams to this Biblical account. David and Goliath is not about the underdog winning.  It is about a savage pagan who was blaspheming the Eternal, Self-existent God, to which the weak human responds with the most important words ever uttered by mere mortal, "Is there not a cause?"  Truly there was and is a cause, Christ, the Messiah is the only cause; He is the all in all.  And so we could look at character after character and story after story untill we reach the end of the Bible and the book of Revelation.  In the first chapter of Revelation we see God revealing His glory to John.  John's reaction is to fall flat on his face as a dead man.  In chapter four, God reaveals the throne room of Heaven.  The reaction of John is to weep because it seemed no one was worthy, until the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the World appears, Jesus Christ.  Throughout the rest of the book of Revelation, we do not get much emotion or really much of anything from or about John.  More verses are spent describing Jesus and His throne room than the beast and his mark (666).  More verses are devoted to the vision of the Messiah than the dragon (Satan).  In reality, just like the first verse of the Bible, the last book of the Bible really focusses on one theme–The Eternal, all-powerful, holy, loving, merciful, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  The Lamb of God, worthy to receive honor and glory and blessing, Jesus Christ.  Maybe our fundamental movement could learn a lesson or two from this. . .(to be continued)