I saw a t-shirt recently that said, “Hang in there! It gets worse.” I thought about our journey through Revelation as I chuckled at the shirt. John does not pull any punches as he describes the gruesome effects of evil in our world and the fierce judgment of God.

It seems to me that we experience cycles of things getting worse but then settling down to not being so bad. I’ve seen cycles like this with the economy, weather, and crime. These observations depend totally on my perspective and experience. It may seem that wildfires are out of control because my family, who live in California, had to evacuate their home recently, but fires were lower this year than last. It may seem that crime is spiraling out of control because of some friends who were recently victims of crime, but crime in general for our area is down from four years ago.

I’m not saying that these issues are insignificant; wildfires and crime are real. They fluctuate greatly over time and require constant attention and opposition. However, we tend to focus on scary stuff and take for granted the positive stuff. When was the last time you made a long car trip or plane trip without incident and responded in celebration, “Wow, what a great trip! People must be driving better. Our transportation system really has improved!”  If you found yourself nodding in affirmation of our natural tendency to bemoan the negative, you will find this 17-minute video of global church history quite revealing. Click here to watch it. Listen for some common elements throughout the centuries.

It's human nature to obsess with fear and anxiety. Jesus sent his message to John so that we don’t obsess with the evil that is around us, but to focus on the sovereign power of God over all terror and chaos. John reminds us it does get worse, but eventually, according to Revelation, the tide turns and things get wonderfully better in the end because of Jesus.

If you want the second part of the story, I’ll send it to you tomorrow. It’s a fascinating story.

Grace and Peace, 

Drew

If you want to talk more about Revelation, join us in the parlor tonight at 7 pm or get the meeting link at www.chpc.org/revelation. 

Also, don't forget the Celebrate Summer event at Patrick's Park on Hamilton Ave just north of the church building on Friday night from 6-8pm - games, free ice cream cookie sandwich, band, line dancing, and an excellent opportunity to meet folks in the community. You can sign up to help by clicking here.