Recall, Repent, Return (1)

REVELATION 2:4-5
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

Today let us consider something that our Lord said to the great church in Ephesus. The apostle John writes that he was "in the Spirit" on the Lord's Day, and it was at this time that Jesus appeared to him. However, his appearance was no longer that of a lowly carpenter. Rather, we now see him in his glorified form. His eyes were like blazing fire, his feet like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters (1:14-15).

When John saw him, he fell at his feet as though dead (1:17). This is reminiscent of how the prophets were struck down when they saw the manifestation of God, as if overwhelmed by his glory and power. We are aware, then, that when Jesus speaks we are hearing from no one less than God himself. When he first came, he was sent to suffer and to die, but now he has been exalted, never to die again. Man can no longer spit on him, strike him, or crucify him, but now he can only be feared and worshiped. In his mad zeal, Saul of Tarsus persecuted and killed his disciples, but when Jesus appeared to him in a light from heaven, Saul fell to the ground and whimpered, "Who are you, Lord?" (Acts 9:3-5).

Perhaps you are one of those who have mocked him, slandered him, and even referred to the history of his redemption as myths and fables. When his servants declared to you the truth about him and demanded your repentance, you cursed them and laughed at them. You have opposed them to their faces, and you have done all that you could to hinder their work.

This Glorified One is coming after you. Do not expect a humble peasant with a sheep under his arm, who would suffer your insults and abuse. But he is GOD, full of terrifying glory and power. He has marked you even now, and he will come after you. At a time of his choosing, he will take your life, and he will throw you into a lake of fire, where he will torture you forever and ever. You will curse him, and he will laugh at you. You will beg him to annihilate you, but he will ignore your pleas. He will sustain your existence so that you will suffer all the extreme agony that he has in store for you, and that he will inflict upon you in all its intensity through eternity.

This is the fate of everyone who does not worship Jesus Christ. You exclaim, "This is cruel and unusual punishment!" But you have been cruel to his people, and now he gives you your just reward. And it is hardly unusual, as you will have millions of companions in hell, too many for you to count. But take no comfort in this, as none of them will have even a second of rest from their suffering to help alleviate yours.

(to be continued)