Lightning in a Bottle: the Lightning is God, the Bottle is you

University of Queensland economist David Savage has done a comparison of the behavior of the passengers aboard the Titanic with those on the Lusitania, another ship that also sunk about the same time.  As the Titanic was sinking and women and children climbed into the lifeboats, the cellist and violinist from the band stood and played.  They died when the ship went down.  Men stood and smoked cigars.  They died, too.  This behavior is puzzling to economists, who believe that people generally behave in their own self interest.  "There was no pushing and shoving," says Savage, who has studied testimony from the survivors.

But when the Lusitania went down, the passengers panicked.  There was a lot of similarities between these two events: both ships were luxury liners, they both had a similar number of passengers, and each had a similar number of survivors.  The biggest difference, Savage concludes, was time.  The Lusitania sank in less than 20 minutes.  The Titanic took two and a half hours.  "If you've got an event that lasts two and a half hours, social order will take over and everyone will behave in a social manner," Savage says.  "If you're going down in under 17 minutes, basically it's instinctual."  On the Titanic, social order ruled, and it was women and children first.  On the Lusitania, instinct won out.  The survivors were largely the people who could swim and get into the lifeboats.

Yes, we're self interested, Savage says.  But we're also part of a society.  Given time, societal conventions can trump our natural self interest.  Sadly, natural self interest includes spiritual self interest.  Look at the story of Noah and the world-wide flood.  For 400 years, Noah preached repentance to the people.  Society pegged him as a crackpot, a person to be ignored.  But when the door of the Ark was shut tight and the rains began to fall, people banged on the door, begging to be let in.

It's the same way with those preaching hell-fire and damnation.  Society turns their heads from these doomsayers.  Yet while Jesus was here on Earth, he told a parable (doubtless rooted in truth) about a rich man who died and went to hell, and poor Lazarus who died and went to heaven.  The rich man begged to come over the divide, but it couldn't happen.  He begged that Lazarus could come and cool his tongue with a drop of water, but it couldn't happen.  Finally, he begged that Lazarus could come back to life and share the truth with the rich man's brothers, so they could avoid the rich man's fate.  Abraham answered that the society in which his brothers lived, much like the society that the rich man himself had lived in, would not listen to one who knew the truth--even one that had risen from the dead.

We know that Jesus has risen from the dead.  Yet our society has chosen to politely excuse ourselves from His message that repentance is required for redemption.  We have time, you see.  The Apocalypse is not yet upon us, and there is no need to panic.  Like the passengers on the Titanic, we are watching our ship sink, yet we are stoically smoking cigars and waiting to die.

Revelation 4:5 says, "From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder.  Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing.  These are the seven spirits of God. "  John is reporting on his own vision of heaven, and of the God who sits on the throne.  In the book of Revelation, thunder and lightning always mark and important event connected with the heavenly temple.  In the rest of the Bible, the lightning and thunder and even the blazing of the lamps are symbolic of the awesome majesty and power of God:

• Exodus 19:16.  "On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast.  Everyone in the camp trembled."  God was preparing to give Moses the Ten Commandments.
• 1 Samuel 7:10.  "While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offerings, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle.  But that day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites."  God was showing His power to protect His people from their enemies.
• 1 Samuel 12:18.  Then Samuel called upon the Lord, and that same day the Lord sent thunder and rain.  So all the people stood in awe of the Lord and of Samuel." This was Samuel's last act as Judge over the people of Israel, and God showed the people his favor toward Samuel's ministry.
• Job 38:1 (also Job 40:6).  "Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm."  Job had been questioning God's justice, His mercy, and His power over life's circumstances.  God was about to set Job straight.
• Psalm 18:13, 14.  "The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.  He shot His arrows and scattered the enemies, great bolts of lightning and routed them."  A poetic recitation of God's protection of His people throughout history.
• Revelation 8:5.  "Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake."  A future view of God's power and might, foretelling of an important event in heaven, one that we will get to in the months ahead (God willing).
• Revelation 11:19.  "Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within His temple was seen the Ark of His Covenant.  And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm."
• Revelation 16:18.  "Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake.  No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake."

See, God knows how to get our attention.  Why, then, do we always forget the message that He is sending us, and instead play by society's rules?  It is as if Society was our god, and God is mute.  We would rather please Society than to obey God.  Society can shame us, especially in the here and now.  Who cares about eternity?  If being godly embarrasses me now, I will not be godly--this is a choice we are making every day.

Another way that God seeks to get our attention is through the Church.  Our text (chapter 4 verse 5) refers to the Church as "the Seven Lamps" and "the Seven Spirits".  This signifies a two-fold purpose of the Church: to be a light to the world, and to share God's truth to all people.

Source of Light
Zechariah 4:2 says, "He asked me, 'What do you see?'  I answered, 'I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lights on it, with seven channels to the lights."  The vision here was probably of seven lamps arranged around a large bowl that served as a bountiful reservoir of oil.  Isn't that a beautiful metaphor? God supplies the fuel, no matter which church is shining the light.  The bowl represents an abundant supply of oil, symbolizing the fullness of God's power through His Spirit, and the "seven lights...seven channels" represent the abundant light shining from the lamps (seven being the number of fullness.)  Remember, in Revelation 1-3, there are messages sent directly to seven churches.  These churches were probably real, and most likely were not the only churches in existence at the time.  The seven churches of Revelation represented all of the churches.  Today, there are seven distinct branches of Christianity--Orthodox, Catholics, Protestants, Baptists, Evangelicals, Pentecostals, and Adventists (although there is always some blurring between the distinctions).  Scripturally, each Christian Church draws its power from the same source: and that source is Jesus.

J.B. Phillips paraphrased the first chapter of John in this way: "At the beginning, God expressed himself.  That personal expression, that word was with God, and was God, and he existed with God from the beginning.  All creation took place through him, and none took place without him. In him appeared life, and this life was the light of mankind.  The light still shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.  A man called John was sent by God as a witness to the light, so that any man who heard his testimony might believe in that light.  This man was not himself the light; he was sent simply as a personal witness to that light.  That was the true light that shines upon every man as he comes into the world.  He came into the world--the world he had created--and the world failed to recognize him.  He came into his own creation, and his own people would not accept him.  Yet wherever men did accept him, he gave them the power to become sons of God.  These were the men who truly believed in him, and their birth depended not on the course of nature nor on any impulse or plan of man, but on God.  So the word of God became a human being and lived among us.  We saw his splendor (the splendor as of a Father's only son), full of grace and truth."  (John 1:1-14)

The light, the very splendor of God's own son, belongs to the Church to share with the world.

Source of God's truth
Revelation 1:4 says, "To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from  him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne."  I love this expanded version of "I AM"-- He is, He was, and He is to come.  Amen!  This is the message of the church.  And the seven spirits are described in Isaiah 11:2: "The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him--the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power; the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord."

The word of God, which as John shows us is Jesus, is given to the Church to share with the world.  Revelation 3:1 says, "To the angel of the church in Sardis write: these are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars."  This mystery was already explained in Revelation 1:20: "The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches."  Again, the number seven represents completeness--not only has God given us enough truth to find Him, he has bestowed this Truth to enough churches to reach every man, woman and child on earth for Him.  There is no excuse--one of the churches will speak to every person, but not every person will respond to all the different churches.  That may be why God allows so many doctrines, so many interpretations, to thrive--"so that by all possible means I might save some" (1 Corinthians 9:22)

Revelation 5:6 says, "Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders.  He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out to all the earth." Don't get caught up in the strange description--seven is the number of completion; horns are representative of power; the eyes allow God to see the whole world through the worldwide Church.

So God is using the Church throughout the World to send a message.  This message is of obvious import, because it is accompanied by thunder and lightning, rumblings and earthquakes.  And yet He sends this message in a portable package that is you.  He is sending a message in a bottle.  That bottle, as fragile as it is, contains the power of Almighty God.  You are, in other words, Lightning in a Bottle--you can do the impossible, because with God, all things are possible.

If you want to get to heaven, wash your clothes

In sin I wander'd sore and sadwith bleeding heart and aching head,'Till Jesus came and sweetly said,"I'll take thy sins away."

That washes white as snow.
I gave my heart, my life, my allTo Him who drank the cup of gallTo raise the guilty from the fallAnd take their sins away.

The water, Spirit and the blood

Agree, if we but understood,In making sinners pure and good,And take their sins away.

We cannot know, we may not tell

How we are sav'd from death and hell;Thru faith we know that all is well - He took our sins away.

CHORUSThank God for the blood!Thank God for the blood!Thank God for the blood! 

 When I was growing up, there were some stains that were especially hard to get out of clothes: grass, grape-juice, and especially blood.  If you didn't pre-treat a blood stain carefully, the garment was marked for life.  Yet in the Old Testament, God commanded animal sacrifice; blood was shed to wash away the stain of sin.  Similarly, in the new testament, particularly in the book of Revelation, the redeemed were said to have washed their garments with the blood of the Lamb of God.  The result of this washing is that the garments worn by the redeemed appear as white as snow.

In the fourth chapter of the book of Revelation, John sees a vision; he is taken by the Spirit of God into the very presence of God.  There are sounds like a trumpet, and sights of all different colors, but everything is centered on the throne in the middle.

Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders.  They were dressed in white, and had crowns of gold on their heads. (Revelation 4:4)

 The elders represent either the whole company of believers in heaven, or an exalted angelic order worshiping and serving God there.  The number 24 is often understood to reflect the twelve tribes of the Old Testament and the twelve apostles of the New Testament.  Let's pause a moment to reflect on these elders:

• Their purpose was to praise God.  Revelation 4:10 says, "The twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives forever and ever."
• Their position allowed them access to God.  Revelation 5:6, 8, and 14 say: "Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders....And when he had taken it (the scroll), the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb.  Each one had a harp, and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints...The four living creatures said, "Amen!", and the elders fell down and worshiped."
• Their purity is represented by the white robes that they wore.  Revelation 3:4,5 says, "Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes.  They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.  He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white.  I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels."
• Their perseverance is rewarded by God.  Revelation 6:11 says, "Then each of them (those who had been slain because of the Word of God) was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed."

Martyrs and missionaries will be dressed in white, standing before the throne of God.  So will all who overcome evil, who do not fall prey to sin.  Those who worship Him in word and truth will be found worthy by Him to come into His presence, clad in white robes.  Too drab, you say? Remember, all the colors that catch our attention are surrounding God and His throne.  He is the one who stands out, not us.  All attention will be focused on Him.

Okay, you say.  How do I know that we will be there in the presence of God, dressed in white?  Doesn't John say he saw only 24 select elders there?  Where will all of the rest of the believers be?  Look at Revelation 7:9, 13-14: "After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.  They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.  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'."

Now, I could be wrong, and this multitude of people from every corner of the globe, speaking every known dialect on earth--they could be the ones who survived the Great Tribulation described later in the Revelation.  But I believe that every one who elects to clothe himself with the righteousness of God will be rewarded with a heavenly home in close proximity to the Savior.  Those who clothe themselves in sin will be forever separated from Him:

• Psalm 109:29 "My accusers will be clothed with disgrace and wrapped in shame as in a cloak."
• Psalm 109:18-19 "He wore cursing as his garment; it entered into his body like water, and into his bones like oil.  May it be like a cloak wrapped about him, like a belt tied forever around him."
• Psalm 35:26 "May all who gloat over my distress be put to shame and confusion; may all who exalt themselves over me be clothed with shame and disgrace."
• Psalm 45:3 "Gird your sword upon your side, O mighty one; clothe yourself with splendor and majesty."
• Psalm 73:6 "Therefor pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence."
• Psalm 104:1,2 "Praise the Lord, O my soul, O Lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty.  He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent."
• Psalm 132:9, 16, 18 "May your priests be clothed with righteousness; may your saints sing for joy....I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints will ever sing for joy....I will clothe his enemies with shame, but the crown on his head will be resplendent."
• Job 8:22 "Your enemies will be clothed in shame, and the tents of the wicked will be no more."
• Job 29:14 "I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban."
• Job 40:10 "Then adorn yourselves with glory and splendor, and clothe yourself in honor and majesty."
• Proverbs 31:25 "She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come."
• Isaiah 59:17 "He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak."
• Isaiah 61:3, 10 "And provide for those who grieve in Zion--to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair....I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God.  For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."
• Ezekiel 7:27 "The king will mourn, the prince will be clothed with despair, and the hands of the people of the land will tremble. I will deal with them according to their conduct, and by their own standards I will judge them.  Then they will know that I am the Lord."
• Ezekiel 26:16 "Then all the princes of the coast will step down from their thrones and lay aside their robes and take off their embroidered garments.  Clothed with terror, they will sit on the ground, trembling every moment, appalled at you."
• Ezekiel 31:15 "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day it was brought down to the grave I covered the deep springs with mourning for it; I held back its streams, and its abundant waters were restrained.  Because of it I clothed Lebanon with gloom, and all the trees of the field withered away."
• Zechariah 6:13 "It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne.  And there will be a priest on his throne.  And there will be harmony between the two."
• Romans 13:14 "Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature."
• 1 Corinthians 15:53-54 "For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.  When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the moral with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory'."
• Galatians 3:27 "For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ."
• Colossians 3:12 "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."
• 1 Peter 5:5 "Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older.  All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

I urge you to clothe yourselves in the white garment offered by Christ to cover you nakedness and shame.  Put off the sin that separates you from Him, and be washed in His blood.

Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing pow'r?Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

• Are you washed in the blood,
  In the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb?
  Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow?
    Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
  
  Are you walking daily by the Savior's side?
  Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
  Do you rest each moment in the Crucified?
  Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
  
  When the Bridegroom cometh will your robes be white!
  Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
  Will your soul be ready for His presence bright,
  And be washed in the blood of the Lamb?
  
  Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin,
  And be washed in the blood of the Lamb;
  There's a fountain flowing for the soul unclean,
  O be washed in the blood of the Lamb.

The Revelation of John and the rainbow connection

Why are there so many songs about rainbows
and what's on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions,
and rainbows have nothing to hide.
So we've been told and some choose to believe it.
I know they're wrong, wait and see.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection.
The lovers, the dreamers and me.

Rainbows are a natural phenomenon, a scientific splitting of light into its elemental colors.  It was created by God, and designated to be a sign of an everlasting covenant.  It is visible in nature only after a rainstorm, or a heavy dew; I've even seen one in a waterfall.  Each time you see one, it is after a cleansing of the earth with water.

In the fourth chapter of the Revelation, John describes his vision of heaven, beginning with a description of the throne of God.  "At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.  And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian.  A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne." (Revelation 4:2-3)

What does it mean to be "in the Spirit"?  It means to be in a state of spiritual exaltation by the power of the Spirit of God--not a dream, but a vision like Peter's in Acts 10:10.  If you look up that verse, it speaks of Peter being in a trance, i.e. a state of mind that God produced and used to communicate with Peter.  It was not merely imagination or a dream; Peter's consciousness was heightened to receive the vision from God.  And so it was with John.  Revelation 1:10 says, "On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet." I discussed God's trumpet-like voice in my last blog entry; but today I just want to point out that to experience God, you have to dwell in the Spirit.  And you must be willing to go places you have never been, and see things that you have never seen.  Revelation 17:3, 6 says, "Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert.  There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names, and had seven heads and ten horns...I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus."  In the desert, John saw the blood of the martyrs. Then in Revelation 21:10, it says "And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God."  So when John was in the Spirit, he saw great and terrible things, both good and bad.

So we see how John arrived at his vision; now let's look at what he saw there: a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.  Revelation 4:9-10 says, "Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives forever and ever.  They lay their crowns before the throne and say, 'You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being'."

When you approach the throne of God, you must acknowledge:

• He is holy.  "God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne." (Psalm 47:8)
• He is high and exalted.  "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple." (Isaiah 6:1)
• He is lofty, holy and glorious.  "Look down from heaven and see from your lofty throne, holy and glorious. Where are your zeal and your might? Your tenderness and compassion are withheld from us."(Isaiah 63:15)
• He is indescribably beautiful. "Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man." (Ezekiel 1:26)
• He is the source of brilliant light.  "As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat.  His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool.  His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze."

Since God dwells in "unapproachable light" and is one "whom no one has seen or can see (see 1 Timothy 6:16), he is described in terms of the reflected brilliance of precious stones--an emerald rainbow around the throne.  Revelation 21:11 says, "It (the City of God) shown with the Glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal."  Revelation 21:19-20 says, "The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone.  The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst."  The precise identification of some of these precious stones is uncertain, but since carnelian is mentioned specifically in the verse we are studying, I looked it up.  Wikipedia says that carnelian is a brownish-red mineral which is commonly used as a semi-precious gemstone, similar to sard (which is generally harder and darker).  Both carnelian and sard are varieties of the silica mineral chalcedony colored by impurities of iron oxide.  The color can vary greatly, ranging from pale orange to an intense almost black coloration.  So this is how John described his vision of God, seated on the throne--in terms of precious stones: beautiful, mysterious and lovely.

Encircling the throne of God was a rainbow, resembling an emerald.  Ezekiel 1:26-28 says, "Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man.  I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him.  Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him."

It must have been terrifying for John to be taken up in the Spirit.  It must have been blinding to see the very throne of God--John must have wondered if he would live to tell about his experience.  Yet the word he chose to describe the radiance of God, the aura that surrounded Him, was full of hope and promise.  Genesis 9:13 says, "I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth."  The rainbow became a sign of God's pledge never to destroy the earth again by a flood.  And in the future that John's vision allowed him to see, the rainbow was a prominent sign.  Revelation 10:1 says, "Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven.  He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars."

Have you been half asleep and have you heard voices?
I've heard them calling my name.
Is this the sweet sound that called the young sailors.
The voice might be one and the same.
I've heard it too many times to ignore it.
It's something that I'm supposed to be.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection.
The lovers, the dreamers and me. 

The trumpet of the Lord, the voice of God

The judgement day is drawing nigh
Where shall I be
When God the work of men shall try
Where shall I be.

When east and west the fire will roll
Where shall I be
How will it be with my poor soul
Where shall I be.

Chorus
Oh, where shall I be
When the first trumpet sounds
Oh, where will I be
When it sounds so loud
When it sounds so loud as to wake up the dead
Oh, where shall I be when it sounds.

When wicked men his wrath shall see
Where shall I be
And to the rocks and mountains flee
Where shall I be.

When hills and mountains wear away
Where shall I be
And all the work of men decay
Where shall I be.

Oh, where shall I be
When the first trumpet sounds
Oh, where shall I be
When it sounds so loud
When it sounds so loud as to wake up the dead
Oh, where shall I be when it sounds.

When the savior reigns from shore to shore
Where shall I be
When God's angry Presence roars
Where shall I be.

Well, I'll be sleeping in my grave
When the first trumpet sounds
I'll be sleeping in my grave
When it sounds so loud
When it sounds so loud as to wake up the dead
I'll be sleeping in my grave when it sounds.

There is great significance to the sound of a trumpet.  When an elephant, the greatest land animal on earth, lifts his trunk and shrieks, it is said that he is trumpeting.  Trumpeter swans are the largest waterfowl on earth, and their call sounds like a trumpet.  In theater and television, the approach of royalty is heralded by a trumpet fanfare.  But the greatest allusion to a trumpet comes in the book of the Revelation, where John describes the voice of God:

After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven.  And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this."

First, let's look at the phrase "door standing open in heaven."  Matthew 3:16 says, "As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water.  At that moment, heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him."  So when heaven is open, we can see God.  Ezekiel 1:1 says, "In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God."  So when heaven is open, we can see visions.  John chapter one tells about Jesus calling the disciple Nathaniel; he had declared that Nathaniel was an Israelite in whom there was no guile.  Nathaniel wondered aloud how Jesus could discern this from just watching him.  But in John 1:51, Jesus replies, "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."  So when heaven is opened, we can see visions of angels, with Jesus acting as the Way, or the access to God.  Acts chapter seven describes the stoning of Stephen, and Acts 7:56 says, "Look, he said, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."  So when heaven is opened, we can see Jesus at God's right hand, welcoming home His saints.  Acts chapter ten describes Peter's vision telling him to go preach to the Gentiles.  Acts 10:11 says, "He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners."  So when heaven is open, we can see visions of our shared responsibility with Jesus to grant access to God to all men.  And Revelation 19:11 says, "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True.  With justice he judges and makes war."  So in the last days, heaven will stay open, and Jesus, who is called Faithful and True (his eternal nature) will act as a warrior on a white horse, rescuing his elect, and making war against sinners.

Now, let's look at my favorite part.  John said he heard a voice from heaven speaking to him like a trumpet. This simile is repeated in Revelation 1:10: "On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet."  Let's follow this melodious thread.

• Exodus 20:18 (when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments) says, "When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountains in smoke, they trembled with fear."  Why did they tremble? Maybe because they heard a trumpet so loud it shook the earth.  Maybe it was because they heard the trumpet, but no one in the camp was sounding the trumpets.  Or maybe it was because they heard the trumpet voice saying, "I am the Lord your God; you shall have no other gods before me..."
• Exodus 19:16-19 gives a prelude to God giving the Ten Commandments.  "On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast.  Everyone in the camp trembled.  Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.  Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire.  The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder.  Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.
• Deuteronomy 4:36 reminds the people of that great and terrible day at Mount Sinai: "From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you.  On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire."  Did his words sound like a trumpet to them?
• Isaiah 58:1 says, "Shout it aloud, do not hold back.  Raise your voice like a trumpet.  Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins."   When the prophet spoke the words of God, he was encouraged to raise his voice like a trumpet so all could hear.
• Jeremiah 6:17 says, "I appointed watchmen over you and said, 'Listen to the sound of the trumpet!'  But you said, 'We will not listen'."  The watchmen stood on the wall to warn the citizens of danger.  The sound of the trumpet could be the impending approach of an army.  If the watchmen were derelict in their duty, the city could be overtaken and could fall to the enemy.  In the same way, God sets watchmen (prophets, preachers, pastor/teachers) to stand on the wall and warn of spiritual danger.  But if those men will not listen to the voice of God (that sounds like a trumpet to their ears), then the nation will fall to sin and will be destroyed.
• Ezekiel 33:3 and 4 speak of a watchman who does his job, but who is ignored: "And he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head."  The faithful watchman speaks for God, but if his message falls on deaf ears, it is not God's fault, nor the fault of the watchman.  Like the story of a pious man whose house was in a flood.  "God will save me from this flood," he thought as the rains came down and the floodwaters rose ever higher.  A man drifts by on a raft and invites him to join him.  "No," says the pious man.  "God will save me from this flood."  Soon, the Coast Guard sends a speedboat to rescue him.  "No," says the pious man.  "God will save me from this flood."  Finally a helicopter buzzes over his house.  "Grab the rope ladder!"  The pious man shakes his head.  "No, God will save me from this flood."  Eventually the pious man drowns in the flood water.  He is taken up to heaven and stands before God.  "Why didn't you save me from the flood?" he asks.  God answers him, "I tried three times, but you wouldn't take my help."
• Hebrews 12:18-24 describes our hope in God: "You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because  they could not bear what was commanded: 'If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.' The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, 'I am trembling with fear.'  But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God.  You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven.  You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel."  Wow!  What a contrast.  We can either come to God as a frightened sinner, seeing the fire and smoke and darkness and gloom, and listen to the voice of God sounding like a loud trumpet that hurts our ears, so much that we beg it to stop as we tremble with fear before our Creator; or we can approach God with confidence, joining the angels in their praises to the Father, joining other righteous believers who have been made perfect in His presence, joining Jesus who has granted us access to God with his blood that cries out (but in a good way, not like the blood of Abel that cried out to God in an accusing way, causing God to curse Cain and put a mark on his head showing he was cursed--no! the blood of Jesus calls to God, marking us as cleansed and forgiven, free from the bondage of sin.) Amen!

Now let's look at the final phrase: Come up here and I will show you what must take place after this.  Revelation 11:12 says, "Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, 'Come up here.' And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on."  When we are obedient to God, he will bring us to a higher plain, as our enemies watch and wonder.  Revelation 1:19 says, "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later."  I want to pursue this last part in future blog postings; I want to know and understand what will take place later.  Revelation 22:6 says "The angel said to me, 'These words are trustworthy and true.  The Lord, the God of the spirits and of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place."  Pick me!!

Where shall I be when the trumpet sounds,
When it sounds so loud till it wakes up the dead,
Tell me where I shall be when the trumpet sounds.
Sinner, please don't let this harvest pass.
Oh, in that judgement day the sinner will run.
Where shall I be when the trumpet sounds,
In that great judgement day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We buried my father last week

Last week my Dad passed away.  His home-going was a relief to his family, as he had suffered for so long.  He wanted some specific things at his funeral--he had it all planned out.  He wanted eulogies from five Baptist preachers, and a long-time friend who is a retired publisher and politician.  Needless to say, it was a long service!

One of the preachers reminded me of a term often used by my Dad to describe someone as uncouth, or an oaf.  He used to tell me, "Get your feet off of the couch, you clod!"  Apparently he used this term to describe many people, not just his immediate family--the preacher said my Dad had called him a clod, too, for some long-forgotten misdeed.  My brother-in-law also reminded me that Dad would sometimes call himself a clod, especially after he would belch.

The preacher used the term "clod" to show how close to the earth we all are.  Man was created from the clay, and Woman was created from flesh.  "All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return." (Ecclesiastes 3:20)

It is amazing how we were created.  It is even more amazing that God, the Spiritual Head, would send His Son to live among us clods, us "dust bunnies" to redeem us and make us like Himself.

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead.  The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.  If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.  So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.  The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.  The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.  As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.  And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. (1 Corinthians 15: 42-49)

A seed is a wonderful thing, full of potential.  But it is not capable of realizing that potential until it is covered with dirt and water.  So it is with us; we hold on to the shell, when the glory and honor belong to the imperishable spirit.

At my Dad's home-going celebration, when he lay at the altar of the church, there were no tears.  There was rejoicing and encouragement from everyone who spoke.  It was only at the grave-side, when the family bade him farewell, that we wept for him.  There was dirt and rain; there was flesh and tears.  But we know that he shed the dusty shell, and his spirit dwells with God the Father, the Spiritual Head.