Equipping University

Rather than evolving morally, it appears that humanity has merely developed more effective ways to kill one another as we advance in other areas. The lists above do not even contain such infamous murders as Joseph Stalin, Saddam Hussein, Idi Amin, Osama Bin Laden, Timothy McVeigh, and many others.

How do we explain such evil? The apostle John has just revealed to us the fact that God is seated on his throne in heaven and all authority belongs to the Lamb. If this is so, then why does so much evil continue to exist? Why do evil men rise to power only to extort and kill those under them? Why is there so much bloodshed on the earth? How do we explain the existence of diseases that can cripple entire nations? There is an answer to these questions and that answer is found in the sixth chapter of Revelation as Jesus begins to break the seals of the scroll that contain God’s plan for the world – the vindication of the righteous and the judgment of the wicked.

How are we to understand this passage? If we are honest, we must admit our first question is most likely, “When is this going to happen?” We are so conditioned to think in this way that we have great difficulty considering any other approach to the text. Perhaps, however, we should consider another approach. The first step in understanding this passage – and all the confusing passages that follow – is to consider the context through the eyes of the original readers.

How many billions of people wander through life without noticing the glorious God who created them and the world in which they aimlessly live their lives? How many millions attend houses of worship each Sunday and do almost exactly the same thing? It is so easy to live our lives distracted by our to-do lists and all the technological and social demands that we place upon ourselves. We are so consumed with the mundane that we do not even notice that we are surrounded by the inexpressibly beautiful.

While that is part of life here on earth, it is a completely different story in the presence of God in heaven. If we could manage to catch a glimpse of what it means to stand in the presence of God, our lives would forever be changed. We would no longer view the world the same way. We would no longer walk blindly through life with misplaced priorities and neglected worship. Instead, if we could steal a glance into the worship of glory, we would begin to see what life is truly about and live up to the very purpose for which all of us were created.

For many families in the centuries since the King James Bible was completed, it was the only book they owned. Most learned to read from the well-worn pages of the family Bible and found their language shaped forever by the words they read. Simply put, the King James Bible has influenced the English language more than any book ever written and has done so completely out of proportion to what a single book ought to be able to do. We often do not even realize how many of our proverbs and maxims are direct quotes or allusions to this copy of God’s Word. How many times have you uttered “an eye for an eye” or “fell flat on his face” or “the salt of the earth” or asked “Am I my brother’s keeper?” without even thinking of how you know those words? Without the King James Bible, there would have been no Paradise Lost, no Pilgrim’s Progress, no Handel’s Messiah, no old Negro spirituals, and no Gettysburg Address. How did we come to possess this remarkable book?