Day 311: Revelation 14-18

It's hard to believe that I'm almost finished with reading through the Bible. The goal was to read it through in a year(ish). I began on January 12, 2011. Tomorrow will be the last reading and it will be January 13, 2012...so I missed a year by one day. Better than I expected.

However, that's tomorrow..this is today.

Have you ever wondered where the idea of the harps comes from? You know...the picture of going to heaven, wearing a white robe, sitting on a cloud and playing a harp. I have. I can see the idea of the white robes...that's an image found often to depict the holiness that God imparts to people who are washed clean by God's grace. Sitting on a cloud isn't really in scripture though if you think of going to heaven as going up into the sky then I can understand the idea of a cloud. But playing a harp? I actually didn't think it was in the Bible, but it is!

The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. (Revelation 14:2)

But wait, there's more...

They held harps given them by God and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb:
   “Great and marvelous are your deeds,
   Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
   King of the nations.
Who will not fear you, Lord,
   and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
   and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.” (Revelation 15:2-4)

Death is the enemy. Always has been. There's no way to overstate the importance of Christ's victory over death. He faced it down...on it's turf. And because of His victory over death everything changes. For the Christ-follower death is not to be feared. Just as He turned the most atrocious, barbarous act imaginable (His own death on the cross) into the most amazing redemptive act in history, Jesus changes death...

    Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”
   “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.” (Revelation 14:18)

I have to admit that I don't have a clue about what most of the book of Revelation is talking about. It's filled with weird imagery that defies interpretation...at least by me. That's why I was glad when I read this:

Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. (Revelation 17:7)

Finally! There will be an explanation! He's going to clear it up for me!

Wrong.

The explanation is no more understandable than what he attempts to explain.

But that's ok. I remember reading some of the prophecies in the OT. Many of them were written in a way that was confusing if you were looking for a detailed prediction of how things are going to happen. What you got was assurance that God was in control. It was only after the events which were prophesied eventually came to pass that you could read with understanding. The imagery made sense. I think that's what we have in Revelation. The over-arching message is that the world will end (you always knew it was only temporary anyway)...Jesus is victorious...so stick with Him and you'll be ok. In fact, you'll be way more than ok.

You may even be able to play the harp.