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So we just finished up Revelations in our Bible Study and at the beginning of the study, our pastor told us we had to pick a verse from Revelations we were always curious about, or wanted to learn more about, and write a paper. That's all he said. So I wrote my paper. And I guess I wanted to put it on here because when you work that hard on something you want to share it. :) Please comment, and if you disagree with anything, I welcome your thoughts, I really do. I hope you enjoy... oh and it's long... but the title of this blog told you that!
The Ultimate Promise
The injustices of this world are more than I can bear. From rape, sexual exploitation of children, extreme poverty, abortion, murder, slavery, abuse, violence, adultery, orphans, widows, and never ending wars, I am constantly aching for the pains of both my friends and people whom I have never met. I watch depressing movies about these issues, read every book I can get a hold of, and talk about these issues with anyone else who will listen or participate. I long for pain to cease. The only hope I have is the hope I have in Christ. He has brought me to a place where I trust in His sovereignty and perfect plan. I can no longer attempt to change this world alone. I must rely on Him to use me and my fellow brothers and sisters who know and love Him.
The Bible is God’s way of revealing Himself to us. He shows us His desire to be in relationship with us, His desire for us to be a light in this world, and to show us the contrast between His righteousness (light) and the sin (darkness) of this world. Revelations is the final book of the Bible, which calls out our sins using vivid descriptions of unlikely characters to bring us back to Jesus. It is God’s revealing of His promise that justice will be served. It is His revealing that the pains I am experiencing will cease because Christ reigns and also that I have hope because I believe in a Sovereign God who wants good things for His people. I am so excited to take you on a journey through the Bible as I share with you what I have discovered about light and darkness and what it means for both our present sufferings and for the promise of Heaven where suffering will be no more. The verse I have chosen comes from Revelation 22:5, it says, “There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the sun, for the Lord will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.”
The bible uses light and dark as stark contrasts to one another. Light can refer to Jesus, righteousness, and freedom from pain and suffering. Darkness can refer to Satan, sin, and pain and suffering. Throughout the Bible we find verses and descriptions of the hope that light offers. We also read about how light is Truth and darkness is a keeper of secrets.
When Jesus came to this world he offered himself as the ultimate sacrifice to save us from our sins. Isaiah revealed to us that Jesus would be coming and would be the light for us. “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles…” (Isaiah 42:6). So 700 years before Jesus arrived, the promise of a Savior coming was made! In John 1:4 we read, “In him was life and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” This is such a powerful message because our world does not understand Jesus’ teachings. He taught crazy things like turning the other cheek when someone strikes you (Matthew 5:39), selling your possessions and giving the poor (Matthew 19:21), losing our lives only to find them (Matthew 16:35), and loving our enemies (Luke 6:27). The reason that injustices still happen are because of that very idea… the world rejects light.
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). This promise is so sweet because it is going to release us from the injustices that bring us so much agony and lead us into the “light of life” or eternal peace and righteousness. Darkness is a constant reminder of our continuous sins and rebellion of God. Jesus is revealing to us that there is a place where those who believe and follow Him will go to be free from darkness. But it requires that we follow Him.
Not only is Jesus a light to the world, but we, as the disciples of Christ, are called to be a light too. In Matthew 5 Jesus gives the Sermon and the Mount and he preaches, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone else in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Our following of Jesus is a witness to the Light and promise of salvation. Although we are not the light of salvation, we are an example. I have learned that I cannot heal the wounds of this world. I can only show people, by loving them and following Jesus, to the One who is the healer of wounds.
This idea is capitalized in Ephesians 5:8, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth”). And in Colossians 1:13, “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves (light), in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” And finally in 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness and into his wonderful light.”
Unfortunately because this is a fallen world, a world that continues to reject Jesus, there is still darkness and pain. In the book of Job we see a very clear picture of the world we actually live in. It reads, “There are those who rebel against the light, who do not know its ways or stay in its paths. When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up and kills the poor and needy; in the night he steals forth like a thief. The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk; he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’ and he keeps his face concealed. In the dark, men break into houses, but by day they shut themselves in; they want nothing to do with the light. For all of them, deep darkness is their morning; they make friends with the terrors of the darkness” (Job 24:13-17). Light reveals sin and exposes our secrets. In John 3:19-21 we read, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”
The truth is that Jesus came to set us free and that He reigns. However, there is still pain and suffering because the world continues to believe Satan’s lies and rebel against God. Jesus came as a light and a sacrifice for our sins to release us from Satan’s grasp, but we have to follow Him. And we have to be willing to have our sins exposed. We must acknowledge sins, repent from them, and follow Christ. We are called to not live according to this world, but according to the will of God, which is light. Revelations is a wake-up call to the former churches, and to us, to turn from our sins and follow Christ. That is what is written in Ephesians, “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Ephesians 5:14). When I read this verse I think of it is a summary of Revelations because it is commanding us to wake up from death and live in light to bring those who are in pain and suffering to redemption.
This is why I love Revelations 22:5. It is the ultimate promise to release us from pain and sin. I read it more like this, “There will be no more night,” meaning there will be no more sin and pain and suffering. “They will not need the light of a lamp of the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light” meaning the world will no longer need a temporary light to show us the way to salvation because justice will be served and we will be in eternity where will we were sin no more.
And so even though I still get burdened down by the painful sins of our world, I have the ultimate promise of God’s eternal glory and light. I still cry when others share their painful stories, and I still have days when I feel depressed by the current and past events that cause so much suffering. I do hope to be a light to this world, and to share of Jesus’ salvation and truth as the only Healer who can bear our pains. So for today, I will strive to live according to the promise of hope He has given me. I found the following verse to be quite comforting when I am feeling weighted down; and I hope it will offer as much hope to you as it has to me: (It comes from Isaiah 25:8):
He will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove the disgrace of his people
from all the earth.
The LORD has spoken.
Adrienne Crawford |
