6/16/2023

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING:

“This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666. Then I looked. There before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads.” (Revelation 13.18b- 14.1)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Because of the tribulation caused by the dictates of the Second Beast, the line had been drawn “in the dust of the earth.” Let me unpack that phrasing in this way. There is a phrase which many of us have heard which says “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” It is usually heard at graveside services. It means two different things depending on the perspective of the listener. For the believer in God, it is a reminder that the origin of life (mammals in particular) comes from “the earth” out of which God formed and fashioned their life. It is by the “hand of God” that we were made and commanded to be identified by the image which God determined. For humankind, that image would reflect the very being and nature of God, the Creator. There will be no escaping the truth that our life originated with God and in the end will return to God. [Not to distract, but we can learn from the Parable of the Pounds to inform us more on what is “returned to God” in full or in part. We simply do not want to reduce ourselves to be “buried in the ground.”] For those who do not believe in God, the phrasing is a simple resignation that life is done, it is finished and nothing more can come from it except for adding to the “ground of our being.” With no orientation to the true cycle of life which shall be known in resurrection, there is no resurrection. We might as well add Isaiah 22.13 “But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! ‘Let us eat and drink,’ you say, ‘for tomorrow we die!‘” And it seems that is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy in today’s world, as well as a prevailing sentiment; or dare I say- the goal. Except, whether a believer or not, the reality is “this world is not our final resting place.” Such a teaching and philosophy must be confronted, addressed and be defined. This is where the “line drawn in the dust (or sand or dirt…for my Alamo rememberers)” comes into play. And the “play” is the thing is it not?

There is that interesting story told about how the teachers of the Law, the Scribes and Pharisees and Elders in the Sanhedrin tried to play Jesus. Their intention was to “draw Him out” into the open and expose Him for the double-minded person they wanted the people to believe He was. The problem was, of course, that Jesus was never double-minded. He was of a singular mind and His mind was focused on the will of God. What was and is that will of God? (And it will always be the will of God!) It is to show mercy, pursue reconciliation and to abide by the line of righteousness which defined them all. In the midst of the questioning, Jesus knelt down to the woman being used as a pawn in this human chess game and drew a line in the dirt or dust. The line could have been names (as I tend to believe) or symbols (I would love to storytell that version) or merely a line of demarcation which showed a “me versus you” or “you versus God” proposition. He punctuated his “line in the dust” with the challenge “Let the one without sin cast the first stone.” Think of it in this way, “Let the one who believes he is justified to execute punishment because they are above the Law, step across this line.” We can further consider it this way, “Don’t throw from a distance (as from a distance you all look like good and just people) but get upclose and personal and clobber her in the head with that rock you are holding behind your back so ready to justify yourselves against me using her.” That, mighty ones of God, would be the nature and character of sin. Degrade another to cover your own faults.

Now, as we move into Revelation 14, with the line drawn which designates “those who remain faithful to God and the Lamb” and everyone else, the goal and objective stated in Revelation 6.9-11 is fulfilled. That fulfillment was the completion of the 144,000. It would be the signal of “what is next” is “what is now.” It is necessary for us all to face the truth about ourselves, our faith and our witness before all the world. Someone has to draw the line in front of us so that we will know the truth for ourselves about ourselves. Adam didn’t cross the line in Eden and left Eve hanging. He then hung himself by participating as she crossed the line. It was a glorious day for Satan and a black-eye for humanity. We have been wrestling with the price paid that day ever since. But, then comes Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God, into our world. He is not drawing new lines. He makes the original lines perfectly clear as to God’s meaning, purpose and intent. God is the God of all people. He so wants all people to call upon the name of the One who is their true God. We have to face the truth. We can deny it. We can ignore it. We cannot escape the reality of it. Our origin is God and to God we shall return to be fully known. Look, the world (ie Satan, and trust me that is what it is) is trying to redraw the line to exert his control and authority over the people of God on earth just as he did in Heaven. The Church, the faithful to God without question (not without sin) is intended to “mind the line” that has already been drawn. God’s mark has been made. His Word is written in our hearts as surely as it is “written on our foreheads.” We must set ourselves against the evil which persists and be persistent ourselves to “the Way, the Truth and the Life.” We are the line of demarcation. We establish the authority of God in our lives, in our families, in our homes, in our neighborhoods, in our communities, in our schools, in our businesses, in our politics, in our places of worship, in our interactions and relationships, in our nation and in our world. The time is long overdue for us to say “Enough is enough for us.” Joshua said it this way when he drew his “line in the dirt,” saying “As for me and my house, we will choose to serve the Lord our God.” What choice will we make or have made when the line is undeniable on the Day of the Lord?

A PRAYER FOR TODAY:

You are our God and we shall be Your people in spirit and in truth. Continue to dwell among us. Let the revelation by Your Holy Spirit inspire us to greater service in a more refined identity. We do not live as ourselves for ourselves. Rather, we live in Christ as He lives in us. We declare it with all the elders and angels in Heaven, saying “Holy, holy, holy is He who was and is and is to come.” In Jesus’ name we live, serve and pray. AMEN.