Following Judah's Lion

And so we Slumber...

If you listen closely you may hear it. And if you hear it you may understand it as well. The end draws near with the fanfare of Biblical prophecy and yet without the warnings that should accompany such a colossal climax. The faith to believe what Christ has said has in large part vanished, and the coming wrath of Almighty God is no longer believed. Like a magnificent locomotive, God’s wrath, fueled by the prophetic promise, makes its way through history and will soon visit the sins of this world. Does it seem like a medieval fairytale to your ears? Are those type of truths relegated to former and less educated ecclesiastical communities? Are we past stories like that, stories that should frighten and yet now are mocked?

Just as the world and God’s people together slumbered when Christ came in Bethlehem, so does the world and Christ’s church slumber again even at the advent of His fearful return. The babe comes now as a Lion, vengeance as His mission, and the power of His own Word as His irresistible weapon. The imagery of such an event betrays our reality and we return to our doctrinal slumber, believing our creeds but not the reality about which they stand. But our unbelief hinders nothing in God’s unfolding plan, and we sleep at our own peril. Why should the world care when their Christian neighbor lives as if this world is our final destination?

And so we slumber…

Preachers teach us how to get the most out of this life, but few warn about what is on its way. The uncovered objects of God’s coming wrath sit in pews and listen to little lectures on success, marriage, and an assortment of “how to” messages that mirror Home Depot presentations. Where in God’s dear Name is the prophetic voice still crying in this present wilderness, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord”? Why do the services end with a smile and never with a fearful shiver? The immeasurable wrath of God has been promised and the Lord is not slack concerning His promises, what He has said that will He also do. And yet the church has treated God’s promises as tools that enable us to cascade successfully through this life of pleasure and advancement.

And so we slumber…

We dwell in the age of God’s grace and with that knowledge we have spoken lies that unsuspecting sinners have believed. We have told them God loves them and in that true statement the church has misrepresented the Almighty by revealing the most desirable essence and attribute of God without the balance of His mighty justice which must judge all uncovered sin. Oh yes, you say, but my sin is covered by Jesus. Is it? How can you be sure when you desire not the things of God and have no thirst for the nectar of His Word? How can you be sure when you have placed your eternal destiny upon the repeated words of someone else’s prayer of salvation that you were told to mimic? That is your security, a few mumbled words?

And so we slumber…

The events of this present world manifest the truth of God’s foretold warning, and each dawn could be the final day before spiritual calamity. We should be desperate and yet we are satisfied; we should be weeping and yet we laugh; we should be in fear and yet we are confident; we should be praying and yet we are playing; and the days go by unnoticed and unremarkable. Hundreds and even thousands of missionaries live in peril throughout the world as the church in America plans its next enjoyable outing. The unseen war rages in the heavenlies while the church knows no spiritual battle.

And so we slumber…

We sit in small groups and dissect the Word to see how it affects our everyday lives and we refuse to address the ramifications of neglecting so great salvation. This is no small issue and the coming of the Great God in all His glory is no trifle. People sit and imagine how wonderful it will be when Jesus takes His throne in Jerusalem and they fail to realize that event will be cataclysmic for billions of lost sinners. Bursting through the clouds He comes with vengeance in the brightness of His Words and with an entourage of warring angels set for destruction. This is no grocery store novel, this is what will happen only a thousand times more savage than any human mind can understand.

And so we slumber…

So listen again and hear what the Spirit is saying to the church. You desire to hear pleasant things, good things that soothe your soul? Do you not desire the truth? And if the truth is unpleasant and unappealing to the flesh and yet it is the truth, then glory to its Author. There continues to travel in the heavenlies a dreadful appointment, headed by the Lord of all Justice and adjudicated by His Word. This is no Lord of the Rings fantasy, no Star Wars Trilogy, this my brethren is the coming of the King of Glory, Creator and Ruler of the Universe. Sound the alarm and plow your hearts, let the nations tremble at the sound of His chariots for behold He comes in fury. The cup of His wrath is almost full and the angels prepare themselves to serve their Master. All creation will witness a spectacle that eclipses everything seen heretofor, and the Lord Jesus will be magnified in one final, violent triumph. This will not be for man to question, this will be the Lord’s doing and it will be in its own way marvelous in our eyes. There can be only one reason for our apathy about God’s coming retribution, we do not believe what God has said.

And so we slumber…