Read Revelations?
With all that is going on, it is a good time to review the book of revelations. I think we need to review and meditate on Revelations two and three. We still have time. Jesus has not come back yet, and no rapture has taken place, although I think if you have half a mind you can’t help but wonder if all the end-time pieces are gathered and are about to be played on a grand scale.
Yesterday our pastor delivered a sermon from the second and third Revelations where John having stood with God in heaven was told to write to the seven churches letters. In those letters, penned in exile in Pathos, Greece, he recorded the words of God and what God had said to him.
God is talking to his seven churches on earth about what he has against them and warnings before his son returns to earth. If you are a Christian, reading Revelations can cause some angst, because you, like me, have sinned. Some continue to sin, and we are anything except being prepared to be judged on that day we all will eventually face.
I was alarmed by the warning to the church of Ephesus where God warned those people to get back to the zeal they felt when they were first saved. He said he would remove that church’s lampstand if they did not change their ways. 4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. (Revelations 2:4-5)
If you truly have been saved, then the time following that moment was one where a strong love for God and Jesus and the holy spirit just came welling up from someplace deep inside. I was saved after leaving the Army and when I was training to fly jets and become an airline pilot. I remember one Sunday morning, perhaps a year later on, it was around 4 Am. I was flying back to Cincinnati from Las Vegas. During the flight, we had picked up a good tailwind and were clipping along with a ground speed in excess of 600 knots. I started to realize that I just might be able to make it back in time for church if we could keep up the speed.
Up there at 37,000 feet, I nudged the thrust levers forward a bit. The jet was already running at almost maximum speed with the airspeed needle almost touching the area marked by a barber pole symbol which indicated VNE or “velocity never exceeded.” Ah what the heck, I thought, there is certainly some extra built into every aircraft, so I nudged those twin thrust levers up some more. The needle moved a bit more, like maybe an eighth of an inch into the barber pole region. Immediately a harsh barking sound was generated, an electronic warning telling the inattentive pilot to SLOW DOWN!
I was a First Officer and the Captain, who seemed to be snoozing, looked at me with an annoyed expression as I pulled back the thrust levers. Well, a little while later, that captain sure looked to be snoozing once again, so I nudged the levers up some, then after a couple of minutes, I pushed them a bit more. The needle was like a millionth of an inch below the point where the claxon had sounded and I thought I was OK, but we hit a bump and the darned alarm sounded again.
This time the captain asked, “You in a hurry, have a hot date or something in Cincy?” I remember just answering, “Nope, just trying to make it to church on time.” I remember in the darkness of the cockpit seeing a smile on his face. He went back to snoozing and I pushed up the thrust again. I made it to church that morning and was almost on time. I wanted to get there because I just really wanted to be there. I felt alive there and no matter what Pastor Terry said, I was just inhaling it. I didn’t have time to change out of the black trousers and white shirt with the gold stripes on my shoulders, and when I walked in a little late, the pastor pointed me out and said it was good to see me. I must have said something about speeding in the jet because he asked me to tell the story and I did. I heard Pastor Terry tell that same story some years later, It had made an impression.
I think that is the zeal God is talking about. I think he wants us to love him that much because that’s how much he loves us.
