Jesus is the good shepherd – and in this world of sin and death (Romans 5 v.12) how urgent it is to find and hear the voice of the good shepherd.  There have been many shepherds over the Centuries that have been good up to a point; for example, David, Solomon, Elijah and Hezekiah – and in recent Centuries, men of the calibre of Tyndale may well qualify. But they have been far outnumbered by worthless shepherds – and sadly is that not just about totally the situation today?

Our thoughts travelled along these lines as we read the 11th chapter of Zedekiah.  Verse 12 has that intriguing reference to those “who weighed out my wages thirty pieces of silver.”  Those who readily paid over the money to Judas Iscariot were extreme examples of worthless shepherds, totally blind to the “good shepherd” .

The one who received the 30 pieces of silver was the worthless one among the 12 Jesus was training to be shepherds to take his place after he left the earth. Do such shepherds exist today?  

The final verse of Zechariah 11 says, “Woe to my worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock …”     Tragically worthless shepherds think they are serving God – the scribes and Pharisees are outstanding examples of this. They have existed in every generation; John, in his old age, wrote of a church leader called Diotrephes (see 3 John v.9,10) who was such a person and John adds, “whoever does evil has not seen God.”  Our minds must have spiritual vision to “see” God. 

Doing evil starts in small ways, but whether small or not so small, there is a common factor says Jesus, “the world …. hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.” [John 7 v.7] Do we avoid reading God’s word because it pricks our conscience?  It is tragic that worthless shepherds think they are serving God, Diotrephes surely did, but those who constantly read and absorb God’s word, learn to be in awe of God, and so progressively develop an attitude that fits them to be seen by God and His Son as worthy shepherds,

In the process of this they learn what it is to endure:- this brings us to our concluding thought in today’s ch. 13 of Revelation. Verse 8 tells us of “the book of life” and those whose names are not written there. How tragic!  But then comes the challenge -“If anyone has an ear, let him hear … here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.” [v.10,11]  And as we try to endure we can add a parallel thought, ‘if anyone has an eye, let him read’ and, as a result, really follow in the footsteps of the good shepherd.

In the Old Testament we read how often there were bad kings on the throne in Jerusalem that corrupted the people, or were corrupt because of the people, kings like Manasseh, yet God – from our human perspective – kept delaying in acting to destroy the Holy City and its Temple.

Then in the New Testament Jesus wept over Jerusalem and forecast its destruction and that of the Temple.  Yet 40 years elapsed after they crucified their Messiah before God’s judgements were carried out, in that time there was a great ingathering of individuals, who like, Paul, came to believe  and serve Jesus with all their heart.

Now, the message in Revelation indicates a humanly indeterminate length of time as God’s keeps watch over the affairs of human beings while our Lord our mediator, as “the Lamb of God (is) seated in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water …” [7 v.17] and God’s word, for those who diligently read it, provides that living water.

The time is to come when “there would be no more delay, but in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets” [10 v.6,7]

An example of this is our current reading in Zechariah. Today’s ch. 10 forecasts Israel’s return to their own land, “I will bring them back because I have compassion on them, and they shall be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the LORD their God”[v.6] and “I will make them strong in the LORD and they shall walk in his name” [v.12] 

Back in Revelation in today’s chapter 11, we read, “the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever … The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged and for rewarding your servants … those who fear your name both small and great …” [v.15, 18]   No matter how small we feel in the affairs of the world, if we fear, that is, are in awe of all that God and His Son must be, let us redouble our efforts to serve them – not knowing how soon it will be before God says, there will “be no more delay”

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As we pondered the symbolic language of our Lord Jesus in his final message – a revelation given through his beloved disciple John – we were struck by the many different ways God has ultimately punished and destroyed those who have no time for him – often after a long period of grace looking to see in them a change of heart.

There are two classes of people who suffer his punishment.  First, those who claim to worship him, but are insincere or false in their worship and service. It can be said that they try to have the best of both ‘worlds.’ Second, there are those who have no time for God at all – especially those who have convinced themselves there is no God, no creator – that all that exists is the result of an incredible series of ‘accidents’ over endless ages. 

There is, of course, a small third group, those who are faithful, but who suffer at the hands of others, some of them become martyrs and we read of them yesterday in Rev. 6 v.9

Through the ages God has brought plagues upon both classes of people – we remember the plagues in Egypt in the days of Moses.   The Egyptians surely had a memory of the blessings that the leadership of Joseph had brought to their nation!  But human memories of good things always fade away – or become taken for granted. Is not this the spirit in the world today?  

As we read ch.9 of Revelation with its’ ‘pictures’ of destruction and reflected on its probable application to particular events through the ages we came to the final 2 verses which say, “The rest of mankind … did not repent of the works of their hands … nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.”   Any sense of repentance these days for disregarding God’s laws has now more or less vanished. These words are specially a warning to our generation.. 

We called to mind how Jesus read from the Isaiah scroll in the synagogue; he found the place where  it was written (Ch.61 v.1,2) that his work would be “to proclaim the year (time) of the LORD’s favour”  Then he stopped, but the next words of the scroll are “and the day of vengeance of our God” – and the world faces that ‘day’ now, for his return must be near.,   .

Finally,  the world has reached the predicted time (Matt. 24 v.14) when people of all nations can read God’s word and see its challenge to believe in God’s gospel – and its warnings of coming divine punishment on a godless world.  Tomorrow we will read of both the tragedy – and the triumph – that come with the opening of the final seal. .

“Who is worthy ….?”  This is a key question for us in our readings in the book of Revelation today.  In reading this final book in God’s word, our minds can get ‘bogged down’ in debating the meaning of individual details, but it is spiritually invaluable to gain the overall spirit – and wonder – of this final message/vision which our Saviour – has given to us. We have come to think of the visions in Revelation from ch. 4 onwards as rather like walking around a round house and often viewing largely the same scene from different perspectives.  

A “mighty angel” poses the question, “Who is worthy?” [ch. 5 v.2]  The first answer is in the last verse of chapter 4. “”Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”    There are “24 elders” who “fell down before the Lamb … And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” [5 v.9,10]

Our minds, or rather our hearts, cannot truly absorb the reality of this.  But we must try, remembering what we read last Week in Zephaniah, “Seek the LORD, all you humble … who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the LORD.” [2 v.3]

Back in Revelation John tells us he hears “the voice of many angels … saying … “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing!” [v.12]  These are seven things the Lord is worthy to receive. We are also in awed meditation of the situation and experience of those “who (are worthy) to share(s) in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” [20 v.6]

They (us  !?)will surely experience in some measure – worthiness –  the same as “the lamb” is “worthy” to receive. Finally, we meditate on what is recorded at the end of this inspiring final book of the Bible.  John says, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” [21 v.1] when “The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” [v.7] 

Let us live today – and all the days of our mortality yet to come – fully conscious in our hearts (not just our minds) that “the one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life.” [Rev 3 v.5] and such will be counted as “worthy” to reign with “the Lamb.”