Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: Revelation 6-7 and Psalm 56

In Revelation 6-7, John witnesses the Lamb of God unsealing the scroll containing the will of God for the progression of the End of the Age (perhaps better thought of as the Age of the End); that is, the whole period between Jesus’ ascension to the throne and His final return as Judge and King on the “Day of the Lord”.

John sees that, throughout this Age, God’s will allows humanity to experience the inevitable consequences of human sin. Our sin has broken the created order, and so war, conquest, famine, death and the persecution of the righteous typify this age. God’s longing is that humanity will see what sin does and will turn and repent. But the majority do not! When, at the opening of the 6th seal, John sees the Great Day at the End of the Age, it is a day of terror for those who have remained unrepentant. They recognise that this is to be the Day of their Judgment, and they try desperately to hide from God. But, tragically, the one thing they still will not do is repent.

The beautiful revelation of chapter 7 is that when the people of God are marked as His very own before that final judgment, there is not only a perfectly vast number of Jewish believers (that’s the symbolism of the 144 000) but also a “great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.”

In this life it may feel as though the people of God are a tiny minority in the midst of a dark and rebellious world, but in the end we will be this incredible and beautifully diverse multitude. Together, we will worship the Lord in all His magnificence and beauty, and will spend eternity with Him!

Life Application: Keep this grand vision in your mind throughout the day. Know that you belong to the Lord and to His beautiful multitude, despite all the brokenness and hard-hearted refusal to repent in this world. Do not be discouraged by the evil you see, but celebrate the certainty of your eternal destiny!