Revelation (edited)

WOW WOW WOW WOW WOWWWWW! Rev. Simon Kok rocks, man!!!! The first paragraph of this post will be dedicated to praise His sermon for clarity, faithfulness to the Word and passion. I have never heard any preacher in my life that spoke on Revelation in such a way that concern very much on the context and not confusing (some just answer symbols with symbols, making it as clear as mud). This is entirely a nice pleasant satisfying gift for me. Revelation certainly a foreign book. The heavy use of allegory and symbols making me only desire more clear cut chapters, the last chapter and the letter to seven churches for example.

His sermon was focussed on Rev 20:11-15. He said when you read a passage in the bible, the context of these verses are dependent to the chapter, the chapter to the whole book, the whole book to the bible (Lilis likes this). Then He gave us background on the Roman empire, how the gospel were written in the time of severe persecution, and this Revelation too served to communicate important message for the Christians to cling tightly onto the hope given in the midst of anguish and sorrow. To prevent it being destroyed by Caesar, the message was presented in metaphors. Now, there were a lot of mentioning about beasts, regarding its head, thorns, feet, winged or not. We were adviced not to look into it literally. The details are not as crucial as what or whom they represent. The main point of this book is to remind Christians of the hope that we have, so that we may endure to the end (Lilis likes this). It is not primarily talking about the last judgement as most people would think.

Now, into the passage. Let's just check out what it says:

¹¹Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. ¹²And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. ¹³The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. ¹⁴Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. ¹⁵If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

John saw "a great white throne" which is actually the glory of the Lord. Now, earth and sky fled? How could it be possible, since the sea and Hades exist and giving out the dead? It might just saying that earth and sky were destroyed and completely no more. As we talk about this time, I have goose bumps...imagine the awe...standing in the presence of the Lord...(refer to a song I posted long ago"I can only imagine" by MercyMe).

Then, He talked about who* will be present on the judgement day: The Judge (God the Father), the accused (us), the witness (Christ) and evidences (books). Books were opened. The passage indicates that there are two kinds of books. One is book of life and the rest are mentioned only as"books". What is written in book of life, the Bible clearly said that this book is guided by the Lamb of God. Or rather In this book of life, the question asked will be "Have you received the grace of God? Have you believed in Jesus?" That will determine whether your name is included there. The other books as the passage tells us are simply records of the things we did (good or bad deeds, things ought to do but failed to do, things we have done in our life). The significance of these "other" books is that it points us to the fact that we are not only judged by faith but also whether we have lived a responsible life. Whether you are Christians or Non-believers, all the dead will rise and the things they had done in their life will be taken account.

Death and Hades will be thrown in the lake of fire which symbolizes eternal separation from God. Blessed be those who took refuge in God! For they will see no death.

So, how then shall we live? the judgment is not then and there but it is here and now. Our conscience bears witness to us, ready to convict us whenever we sin. Living a life as Christians is not living only by mystical supernatural faith that we neglect the necessity to do our part. When your son is sick, do not only pray for him and believe that God will heal him. Do something about it. Bring him to the doctor, provide for him. If the parents didn't take care of their son (only praying) and the child died, their own conscience will speak judgment probably as long as they live and God is no where to be blamed for the death of their son.

Pas gue bilang 谢谢，你教的很清楚 (trims, apa yang anda ajarkan benar-benar jelas). keterbatasan mandarin gua tidak mengizinkan gua berkomen banyak. Sayang. Lilis AYO belajar mandarin. dia cuma reply with a smile dan bilang 你，努力努力读！(kamu belajar yang rajin ya!). Yes Sir! Revelation is so trendy right now ;p!

* Who will be present in the day of judgment? In the OT (Deut 17:6; 19:15), it was told that a man (accused) can be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses but not on the testimony of one. My writing above only present one (Christ). We forgot that the Holy Spirit is a witness too. Who are the accuser? Satan. Satan actually served also as a witness. So, I think the complete list will be: The Judge (God the Father), the Accused (us), first witness (God the Son), second witness (God the Spirit), the Accuser/third witness (Satan) and evidences (the two kinds of books). Imagine, we do not have Christ and the Spirit on our side? What a hopeless situation!

Disclaimer:
This script is not corrected by the preacher and is not intended to represent his exact beliefs. It is solely interpreted by the writer, much to her own benefit.