Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Victor Vasnetsov, 1887
We know that evil has invaded our government, our institutions, our schools, and even our beloved church. If we are well versed, we know that the evil one is capable of doing extraordinary things. He can steer the weather, poison our food in ways we are unable to detect, infect our bodies with miniscule agents of illness, ruin our ecology, railroad our thoughts, contaminate our money, destroy our earning power, and capture our very souls. He is even able to mimic the signs of His coming. It is a difficult time to be alive. We must work very hard to discern, to cultivate quiet in order to listen to what our God is telling us.
It is also a time of promise and of hope, though we wait for Babylon to rise again, for the Temple to be rebuilt, yes we wait for the abomination of desolation, for the tribulation. We wait for God's Plan to come together by His own supernatural hand. There are those who would try to quicken the date of His coming, but there is nothing we can do to hurry it. It will come when He commands the time for it to come. How do we keep our heads above water in such trying times? We lean on His promise. We love God with all our hearts and all our souls and all our minds. We love our neighbors even more than we love ourselves. His promise concludes our bible and these are the most powerful words in all the breath and life of the Lord, Jesus Christ, Our Savior:
7 "And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book."
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things.
9 But he said to me, "Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God."
10 And he said to me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.
11 "Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy."
12 "Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.
13 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."
14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.
15 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.
16 "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."
17 The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.
18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book;
19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.
20 He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming quickly." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.
Revelation 22:7-21
