Title: The Hero of the Throne in Heaven
Revelation (65) The protagonist of the throne in heaven (Revelation 15:5-8)
1. a church-centered person
The text describes what happened in heaven before the final judgment, the judgment of the seven bowls. From the throne of heaven, seven angels with the seven plagues come out in luminous linen robes and priestly robes with gold belts on their chests (verses 5-6). Then the four living creatures surrounding the throne of God gave each of them seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God to the seven angels dressed in priestly robes. Until this was over, no one could enter the throne of God (vv. 7-8).
This scene shows that the last great calamity that will come upon the earth will come from the throne of God because of God's wrath. This means that the center of the entire universe and the center of the real world is the throne of God. In other words, the spiritual wind from the throne of God appears as the reality of the human world. All things and the entire universe are moving in order around the throne of God. What do we learn from the image of the universe moving around the throne of God? We learn that if we move our lives centered on God, we will have the most orderly and blessed life.
The most necessary thing for a life that respects order in the spiritual dimension is a temple (church)-centered life. Whenever you feel confused in your life, what you need most is to reorganize your life around the church. Then, the order of life will be restored and God's blessing will be prepared through that order. After all, a church-centered life is like the foundation stone that leads to the most blessed and stable life. Especially for saved believers, there is no life in this world that is as blessed and happy as the church-centered life.
If the church is upright, there is no other place more blessed than the church. Why has the church, the fountain of blessings, lost so much credibility these days? It was because the life of spreading the silent love with the blessing after the door of blessing was opened was not enough. There are no minuses in a church-centered life. Even if we sometimes encounter ruinous moments in our lives, there must be a history of reversal in the life of loving and serving the church, where God builds a bigger mansion on top of the ruins.
2. Those who are washed with the blood
The smoke that filled the throne of God prevented anyone from entering the throne, so no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished. That means, paradoxically, you can enter the temple after the seven plagues are over. After all, the seven plagues are not calamities to destroy people, but calamities to select people and bring them to the throne of God. As such, for the saints, God's disaster is not a means of annihilation, but a means of selection.
Even in the personal life of a believer, God's disaster is often given as a process of selecting good things and making them mature. After all, who enters that heavenly temple? Only those who have passed God's test process and have been cleansed without blemish can enter. Luther said. “The one who enters into the temple of God is the only one who is clean inside and outside.” Who is clean? Those who have been washed by the blood of Jesus Christ. In other words, no human merit can enter the throne of God, and only those who have been washed clean with the blood of Christ can enter the throne of God.
One day, the god Dionysus in Greek mythology promised Midas any wish he would grant. Then Midas asked that everything he touched would turn into gold. As he wished, everything he touched turned into gold. But it was good that the stone turned to gold, but the food turned to gold and could not be eaten, and even the beloved daughter turned to gold. In the end, Midas' hand became a negative hand.
Gold is a blessing when it is obtained rightly and used wisely. Gold given meaninglessly is never a blessing, but rather a source of disaster. Realizing this, Midas begs Dionysus to release him from the terrible calamity that turns everything he touches into gold. Then Dionysus said, “Go to the Paktolos River, immerse your head and body in the river, and wash away your sins.”
Saints have the Paktolos River. That is the blood of Jesus Christ. The world will also be changed through those who are cleansed by the blood of Christ and become the protagonists of the throne in heaven. Always rely on the blood of Christ and joyfully bear the cross to live a heavenly life and become blessed souls who change the world.