Duly Dividing

“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.'” – C.S. Lewis 

The reading of Revelation reveals two groups of people,

Those with dirty hands and feet, far from shadows of steeples.

They distinctively display the mark of the lamb, outwardly,

The others cave, taking the mark of the beast, cowardly.

Those in perpetual poverty prosper, they overcome

Those whose need is worldy riches, live in spiritual slums.

It’s not God’s will for any to perish, but to change their mind,

He shakes the heavens and the earth, so that himself they might find,

The Lord leaves them to wander in the wilderness in tents

Pouring on them hail, wind, rain and scorching sun that is intense

Yet, Still they do not repent and give glory back to the lord

The grapes are trodden; outside the city, blood is poured.

Until his wrath is finished, the world is comprised of two camps

These are two cities: those with the mark of the Lamb, they are lamps

But those who take the mark of the beast, will cling to the darkness

And will follow the beast wherever he goes, nevertheless,

The gospel is eternal and will snatch some souls from the fire

Revelation warns the city of God that we mustn’t tire,

In refining ourselves in Spirit and in preaching the truth

And to be content in everything while we dwell in this booth

Not to be like Israel who quarreled with God and Moses

And constantly complained; to the Lord and stuck up their noses

Tribulations come and persecution as well, but take heart

They are to show the separate cities–telling is our part

We are to endure until the end in joy, singing God’s praise

And on the very, very, very last day, his city he’ll raise.

Those dead and those alive that are in Christ at that time will see

All that they had been hoping for throughout all of history

The presence of God and the Lamb in the true city of peace.

With darkness removed and the light from the Lamb will never cease

However the ones with the mark of the world, that is the beast

Follow the form of Satan and are not invited to feast

At the marriage supper of the Lamb, which is invite only

But they go to the outer darkness, weeping, gnashing, lonely

And for now God shows mercy, but then he will show no pity

Because there are two types of people and there are two cities

The city of God and the Lamb; and the one of the dragon

Those who follow the Lamb, or in contrast, have followed Satan.

 

“Did you really have to die for me?

All I am for all you are

Because what I need And what I believe

Are worlds apart

And I pray; Take my worlds apart” – Jars of Clay

The two Cities are the two worlds.”Come out of her my people!” Declares the Lord;

or store up treasure on earth, “where the grapes of wrath are stored?”

Constant caring–selflessness;

or self–serving, self-righteousness?

Seeking God’s will;

or one’s own thrill?

Following the Lamb wherever he goes;

or Following the beast through rain and snow?

Hope in heaven for all it’s worth;

or helplessly bound to wander the earth?

I’m stuck in two worlds or cities it seems;

but I am realizing that there’s no in between.

“When the day of recompense comes, our only regret will be that we have done so little for Him, not that we have done too much.” – George Muller

The mirror of Revelation reflects my true self,

I embrace the world and put God on the shelf

I have done more for my self and less for the Lord

Sure, I have sang a few songs and strummed a few chords

But in the greatness of his power, that causes great quakes

I have done less for the gospel, and made more mistakes

If I were put on trial for following the Lamb

Would I be convicted for my forehead and my hand?

Or found not guilty on lack of confirmation?

“Evidence there; but need more information!”

I talk a good a good talk, yet still say all the wrong things

And I fake a good walk but what benefit does that bring?

Service isn’t in song, it isn’t guitar strumming

It is in the ones who are happy at Christ’s coming.

Not because he saved us from future Tribulation

Or that we’ll be having some heavenly vacation

But those who persevered will be joyful to be

Serving the Lord…For all of eternity!

 

Why is the second coming of Christ important? First, it gives us hope — hope that someday all the sin and evil of this world will be banished, and peace and justice will rule.” – Billy Graham

“Who will deliver me from this body of death?”

Who raised the first man with only his breath?

Who will come to restore the city that fell?

Who will come to restore the garden as well?

Who will restore paradise that held the tree of life?

Who will put an end to all of the discord and strife?

Who will reign with justice that’s pure and undefiled?

The very same one on whom our sins have been piled

 

“A great reformation and revival-it will happen the same way the early Christians conquered Rome. Their program of conquest consisted largely of two elements: gospel preaching and being eaten by lions, a strategy that has not yet captured the imagination of the the contemporary church.” – Doug Wilson

We don’t get it: Revelation that is

It’s Jesus’ book, like all others, It’s his

We need to see Christ within the content

And see him throughout the Old Testament

In the beginning he created the earth

But man ruined that–so he gave us new birth

We see symbols within Revelation’s pages

That span many epochs and different ages

That is; that it is timeless, from paradise lost

Until paradise is restored Jesus blood was the cost

The tree of Life too, was found in Eden’s garden

The other tree tested man–then God had to pardon.

In Revelation the tree of Life still exists

But the tree of knowledge, it does not persist

The symbolism is clear to those willing to see

It’s not about clouds or the earth and the sea

But about a loving God and the Lamb that’s his son

And two cities of people and two wills to be done

The will of the man whose focus is on the earth

And the man whose focus is on the gifts of rebirth

God shakes the two cities while growing together

But will separate them in time, breaking the tether

Who is your king, is the question God asks?

We can not fool him by wearing a mask

The mark shines through tribulation and trials

The mark which never ends with Christ denials

Burned in fire, boiled in oil, or to lions they’re fed

Preaching the gospel–so that others were led

Only to Christ would these followers bow

They had it much worse than we do right now

Why therefore, do we seek a secret rapture?

While we’re on this earth, one thing’s for sure

Trials and testing, refining by the lord, God

The lack of trials is what should seem odd

If we truly want revival and not the status quo

Jesus summed it up when he told us to go

But we create gospel ghettos, pleasing our ears

Not noticing the lost man drowning in tears

We park in the pew at our place in the Parrish

While a waiting world, ripe, is destined to perish

We will study the Bible in our Sunday School classes

But afterward, God wants us to get out of our Masses.

And fight the good fight, running the race to win

But I honestly don’t know where to begin

So I write rigorously to stimulate our senses

Agree or disagree, there is no sitting on fences

“We don’t have time to share the gospel with people around us. We do, however, have time to say, ‘That’s wrong.'” – Voddie Baucham

Remove the log from my eye

Cast it into the sea

Be my judge, Father

And give me eyes to see

That redemption​ is your way

And sharing that is our call

To the great and privileged

But even greater, to the small

The two cities collide

We are in the world

We need to see your power

Revelation is the scroll unfurled

And the veil pulled back

For followers to gaze

At your power over life

It never ceases to amaze!

I make time for trouble

I have time to play

Therefore I have time for testimony

And I have time to pray

“Far from minimizing biblical truth, metaphors serve as magnifying glasses that identify truth we might otherwise miss.” – Hank Hanegraaff

The voice of the Lord is like many waters

His eyes flames of fire

The feet of him are burnished bronze

And the devil is a liar

His voice is like a dragon’s call

His head full of horns

In him we see the nations rave

In Jesus–some reborn

He carries them up on eagles wings

He causes nations to rise

And in him the dead come back to life

Yet the devil, he still lies

Fortune and fame promised by him

Hope without heaven, he claims

Trust in me, all will be well

Come out! Jesus proclaims

The Lamb of God on Zion stands

And on his throne he sits

He is walking amongst the lampstands

The devil? He just won’t quit

His enormous tail sweeps down stars

His angels waging war

From the ends of the earth his fury unleashed

While Jesus stands ashore

He harkens his followers in Spirit and Truth

Giving pure water to drink

Promising a portion in the New Heavens and Earth

Satan stands on the brink

His time grows short and panic sets in

One to devour, he seeks to be found

But in the Kingdom of the believers

Jesus has him bound

“Where is the person whose heart is so passionately in love with the promised glory of heaven that he feels like an exile and a sojourner on the earth?” – Sam Storms

We are looking forward to an earth that is new

Not staring up, looking to Jesus for a rescue

Our hearts are in heaven, but our bodies are here

He who hears, that person has an ear

And sees the church as also the Lord has seen

He is patient with us, to make our robes clean

To change our minds and to do his will

“On earth as it is in heaven” and yet still,

We don’t cling to the things that are ours

Given by Christ, awaiting the final hours

We shelter ourselves in the shadows of the steeple

To keep ourselves from preaching to the people

Singing a song no one likes, putting on a play

Truth caged within our walls, what would Jesus say?

Go and tell, being sure to baptize them

I have longed to gather, like a mother hen

He wrote Revelation, parchment and pen

But metaphor and simile are lost on this generation

“One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time.” – John Piper

Get out of your pews

Shut off Fox news

Your love; God wants to restore

When we like wheat

Are dried by heat

And tossed on the threshing floor

We tweet our mood

Facebook our food

But glory to God is not found

The Spirit is strong

It’s we who are wrong

In our lives Satan is bound

It’s not assault

It’s the “church’s” fault

Why can we not see that?

We say “I’m right”

Are willing to fight

But our attempts always fall flat

Where is the love

The Innocence of doves,

But the shrewdness of serpents?

Tweet out your story

Overcome by testimony

You may find some will repent

You’ll be thought insane

Or beat with a cane

But God promises it’s all good

Tweet nothing but Christ

His grace will suffice

Facebook the true Spiritual food

“Jesus taught us that instead of beheading our enemies, we are to pray for our enemies, do good to them, and ‘turn to them the other cheek’ when they mistreat us (Matthew 5:39).” – Michael Youssef

Love my neighbors, Lord, have you met them before?

They’re sinners, awful and loud, I hate to open my door

I know; I will write a blog calling for the church to repent

I will stir them all up because it’s them that you have sent

I will use your words mixed with mine to get them to go

While I sit in my chair writing about all that I know

I can tell the church what you would have them do

Because I have studied your words for you

Don’t send me out there, I can’t do it Lord

Not without a really big shield and an even larger sword

And the Lord responded out of the whirlwind and said,

I am alive, though once I was dead

I’m sorry, where were you when I set the earth?

You know all this because prior was your birth?

I will ask you like a man and you tell me

Who is my servant and who is my enemy?

I gave you a shield, it’s a gift of faith, use it

I gave you armour and I know that it fits

You claim to know the words I have said

Put then the helmet of salvation on your head

And your sword is my words, maybe too heavy for you

You claim to have studied them, so you know what to do!

As for your writing son, look at your stats

One reader last week, which was actually a cat

“For a Christian to be a Christian, he must first be a sinner. Being a sinner is a prerequisite for being a church member. The Christian church is one of the few organizations in the world that requires a public acknowledgement of sin as a condition for membership.” – R.C. Sproul

Study with me if you will, knowing we all are sinners

If you haven’t, waltz with me in Revelation, it’s what’s for dinner

Start in the beginning with an open mind

Because a drastic change in the brain is what one may find.

Start from the beginning or you may get lost

And on waves of doubt your ship will be tossed

If you have waltzed with me up until this point

and I haven’t caused your brain to be out of joint

Join me in Matthew because I think we’ll see

Jesus as true Israel and author of all history.