Christians fear the time of the end for their physical
safety. They worry about
persecution. Perhaps those fears are
more legitimate now that even our country seems to have embraced torture as an
acceptable form of questioning. But
forgetting the merely mundane issues that surround our physical well being,
what of our spiritual condition at the end of all things? The thought of being categorized as ‘holy’
seems foreign to my thinking. I can see
myself as forgiven. I can see myself as
saved by grace; but sinless? Could I
stand before the throne of God without an intercessor?
In the Old Testament Sanctuary model, the priest acted as
the intercessor for the children of Israel.
He went before the Ark of God to plead for forgiveness for the sins of
the people. In the Heavenly Sanctuary,
Christ is our High Priest and fulfills this role. He pleads before the throne of God for His
people, those who have embraced Him and accepted love over evil. But there will come a time, when Christ
leaves off His work of acting as our defense attorney. He will come back to claim us. At this time, He declares those telling words
… “let he who is holy, be holy still and let he who is unholy be unholy
still.” There is finality in those
words. There is an absolute in those
words.
He did not say let he who is forgiven, remain forgiven. The word was “holy”. Holy implies that actions and words are free
of all evil, of all the influences of sin.
Motives, thoughts, and actions in harmony with the government of Heaven
– this is what it means to be holy. Our
world is the exact opposite of Heaven.
And in general we have lived lives reflecting the world around us. The transforming power of God appears to be
on a schedule for us. Perhaps this is
why so few are thought to “live’ through the end days. Many will be ‘put to sleep’ to await the
coming King. This is considered a
kindness by God, not a punishment. There
will come a time when to live is considerably harder than to sleep in death.
But fear of death pales in comparison to fear of permanent
imperfection. To have found yourself to
be a goat, not a sheep – to be lost, not saved – to be unholy, not holy – and
to live through the entire experience.
The thought is terrifying. This
is the time of Jacob’s trouble. Jacob’s
great lament on his return to see his brother Esau was not just his fear of
dying. It was a deeper fear that he had
not really changed, that he was simply older, not different. Jacob fled from Esau a petty selfish thief.
Was he returning a genuinely different man in the core of
his soul, or was he simply older? He
wrestled Christ thinking it his brother throughout the night; the blessing he
craved at daylight was more a confirmation that he was really different than
anything else. Jacob was not asking for
money, he had that. He was not asking
for women, kids, or love – he had all of that.
He was not even really asking for God’s favor, he had that. He just wanted to know, he was not the same
man he used to be. And God heard him,
and spared him, and blessed him – confirming the change.
Out time is coming if it is not already here. We face world’s end where evil rules, and too
often has ruled within us. Are we really
different? Have we allowed God to really
change us? Or are we simply acting a
good game. There are only 2 choices,
only 2 conditions, only 2 results. There
is no multiple choice. There is no
do-over. There is no ‘third’
chance. It comes down to “holy” or
“unholy” – still.
To be sealed in the kingdom of God is a goal of no small
achievement. To be one of the 144,000
special souls who witness the end of days.
It matters not whether this number is literal or figurative. It matters not how the last 10 plagues fall
upon the earth. It matters not how many
die, or even if we are among them. But
to be uncertain is to live in horror. To
find yourself “unholy”, does not prevent persecution, of body or of mind. The ultimate test of faith comes upon
us. Is the salvation or our God
real? Is His transforming power in our
character real? Has it worked? Are we holy or simply deluding ourselves? This is the last great trial we face. To put our money where our mouth is.
It is not our God we doubt, but our history. We know so well the extent of evil that has
lived within each of us. Are we finally
free of it? How can one so evil as I be
truly changed. Most times in life when
sin is not being committed, it is being planned. Lack of opportunity to commit sin is not the
same as being free from it. Will we find
ourselves not committing sin by mere denial of circumstance?
This agony was experienced once before in our world in
Gethsemane. Would His sacrifice be
enough? The weight of sin was upon His
soldiers. One who never knew sin, now
had to bare its entire weight. How
disgusting the burden of evil. How
overwhelming the extent of it. Could He
be reconciled to His Father after having borne its burden? Perhaps the stain of sin would prevent Him
from ever being in the presence of His Father again – eternal separation –
effectively hell. This agony nearly
overwhelmed Christ. We are destined to
share this experience.
Knowing how evil we have been, can we ever come to know
ourselves in the context of the absence of sin?
Forgiven is something we understand, but reformed? And more to the point, can we even conceive
of ourselves as “holy”. The alternative
is even more fearful. I can imagine a
perfect God. I can imagine Love big
enough to come to die for me and save me.
But can I imagine me different than my past?
We do not need the physical presence of the antichrist in
our world to begin to experience the time of Jacob’s Trouble. We know what is possible today. We know what could be done in us, if we
allowed. Has time already passed us
by? Are we in the sorting phase, or past
it? The thing I fear most in this world
is me. I fear my selfishness. I fear my judgment. I fear my arrogance, in thinking I might
trust my own wisdom, rather than follow His word. In so doing am I preventing Him from truly
changing me? It drives me back to my
knees. I plead with God to kill the
‘self’ that fights to reign in me. All
of this only points me back to the desperate need of a savior. Save me.
Change me. Find a way to force me
into the “holy” group. Ignore my
refusals. Over-ride my
stubbornness. Undo my stupidity. Push me,
Pull me. Drag me kicking and
screaming. Just do not let me away from
Your side. Hold me fast Oh Lord, for
without my savior, I am dead already…
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