Paul, God's faithful servant, suffered a humiliating rebuke in his evangelism crusade in the great city of Athens. He made the mistake of trying to match philosophy with philosophy, trying to meet the Athenian scholars on their own ground. The result: near failure in soul-winning, although a few did respond.
When he came to the immoral city of Corinth, he says he "determined not to know anything among [them], except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2). The book of Revelation is also a presentation of the cross of Christ. In code language, "the Lamb as though it had been slain"(5:6) is the same message as Paul's theme in Corinth. Some 28 times we find that word "Lamb" in Revelation--the book is the most cross-centered book in the Bible! It's the same as Paul's message of "Christ, and Him crucified." Without discerning this truth, the fanatics or enthusiasts find Revelation to be their playground.
As we near the end of time, their confusion will become more and more painful to endure. Each will proclaim that he knows the secret of "finishing God's work," "listen to me!" But he "multiplies words. ... The labor of fools wearies [everyone], for they do not even know how to go to the city!" (Eccl. 10:12-15). Are you bewildered by the multiplicity of voices crying "Lo here! or, lo there!" (Luke 17:21)?
Psalm 46 was written for this time of cataclysmic confusion when "the waters [are] troubled" and "mountains [are] carried into the midst of the sea." The counsel is, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth!" The language is that of Revelation 18:1-4. Be wise and patient; spend time on your knees alone with God so that you are ready to discern that true last-days message of the cross.
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
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