Imagine You’re Walking
Imagine you’re walking with an enormous group of people. You’re all being drawn in the same direction. Off to the side you see lightning and a massive, shining radiance. You hear thunder, and you hear music that’s unlike any sound you’ve ever heard before. It’s indescribably beautiful.
You continue walking, along with thousands upon thousands of other people. Everyone can see and hear the marvels to your left. People cheer and continually tell each other about the sights and sounds you can all see and hear.
The road narrows, and you find yourself walking perhaps eight abreast. There are thousands of people before you, and behind you. The road turns sharply, and suddenly you’re all walking toward the brilliant light and music you noticed earlier.
The road narrows further, until you’re walking single file and you can see only a few people around you. You’re still walking toward the spectacular show, and you can see now that the glorious light is emanating from a throne. Seated on the throne is the most dazzling, vibrant, radiant figure you’ve ever imagined. A man is seated at his right hand.
One by one, each person in front of you takes his or her turn before the throne. You can’t hear what’s happening, but you can see some of it. One man, two or three places ahead of you in line, falls down on his face when it’s his turn to approach the throne. He looks up. The man to the side of the throne looks him in the eye, then turns to the dazzling figure seated on the throne and nods his head. The figure on the ground is lifted up, and he’s taken off into the heavenly music of the spheres amid great shouts of joy.
There’s only one person in front of you in line now. He edges forward, hesitant, with his eyes to the ground. The man next to the throne looks at him for a long moment, and then he says something. You can just make out the words—“Depart from me, I never knew you.” The person in front of you collapses and lets out a long, agonized wail.
It’ll be your turn to move forward in just a moment.
Will you be ready to stand before the throne?
This was an imaginary journey, of course, but the Bible promises that one day we will each stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Will you be ready?
This video continues our study of the book of Revelation, and looks especially at the letter to the church at Sardis. The people in Sardis were commanded to do something that even Jesus’ closest friends had failed to do in the garden of Gethsemane: “Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die…” (Revelation 3:2)
How about you? Will you “watch and pray”?