Young People’s Blog

“And, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat upon it…and there was a rainbow round about the throne” (Revelation 4:2-3).

Here in the book of Revelation we find God on His throne, and it is a throne of judgment. God must judge sin, and if man refuses God’s offer of mercy, He has no choice but to act in judgment. However, we notice that there is a rainbow “round about the throne.” What does this mean?

You will remember that the rainbow was first seen after the flood, when Noah came out of the ark. The Lord said to him, “I do set My bow in the cloud…and it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that My bow shall be seen in the cloud…that I may remember My everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh” (Gen. 9:13-14,16).

The rainbow is composed of beautiful colors, and was a reminder to this world that God would never again destroy the world by a flood. Here in Revelation, God is about to deal with this world in judgment, but the rainbow is a reminder that even in judgment, God remembers mercy.

“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

The word “changed” in this verse is the same word Greek word metamorphoomai as we saw yesterday in Romans 12:2, where the word is translated “transformed.” But here in 2nd Corinthians 3:18 it is the same thought as we had yesterday, only this time it is becoming more like Christ. Naturally we are not like Him, but if we are truly saved, we have a new life in Christ. Then, as we continually look on Christ, by faith, we gradually become more like Him, as the Holy Spirit works in us to change us.

As we see in this verse, becoming more like Christ is a process that goes on all our lives; it does not happen all at once. We will never be fully like Him until we are at home with Him in heaven. However, God is beginning that process down here in this world, and it should be our desire to be more and more like Christ.

“Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2).

What does it mean to be transformed? The Greek word that is translated “transformed” in this verse is metamorphoomai, from which we get our English word metamorphosis. If you have studied biology, you know that tadpoles undergo metamorphosis when they change into frogs, and caterpillars undergo metamorphosis when they change into butterflies. It is a complicated process, and makes quite a different animal in each case.

The same thing can happen to us as believers, when we make the decision to present ourselves to the Lord as Christians, and want to be changed from being conformed to this world, into those who can be used for the Lord. Then the Lord, by His Spirit, renews our minds, so that our whole thinking is changed. Then, instead of wanting the things of this world, we have a desire to do the Lord’s will. Of course our outward appearance does not change, as with the animals, but our outlook on life, and what goes on in our minds, definitely does change. If we are willing, the Lord will make this change in us. Tomorrow we will notice another place in the Bible where this word is used.

“That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence until the day of Christ” (Philippians 1:10).

The word “sincere” is an interesting word, and probably originates from two Latin words, “sine,” and “cera.” “Sine” means “without,” and “cera” is the Latin word for “wax.” So the word sincere literally means “without wax.” In the days when potters made ceramic vessels out of clay, the clay would sometimes crack when it was fired in a kiln. Instead of throwing it out, an unscrupulous potter would simply fill the crack with hot wax, let it firm up, and then cover it with a little more clay. The pot would work well as long as it held only cold liquids, but as soon as hot liquids were put into it, the wax would melt and the vessel would leak.

The Lord does not want us to be like that kind of pot, that pretends to be a good one, but has a crack in it that is filled with wax. He wants us to be real, first of all before Him, and then before others too.

“I am like a broken vessel” (Psalm 31:12).

Have you ever felt like a broken vessel when you read your Bible? Do you sometimes find that it is hard to remember what you have read? Life is busy these days, and someone figured out recently that the average person who works in the business world today, or studies today, probably processes more information in one week than the average person processed in a lifetime 150 years ago. Wow! No wonder our minds get overloaded!

It is good to remember what we have read, and since we are indwelt by the Spirit of God (if we are truly saved), He will help bring to our remembrance what we have read. However, remember this: if you keep a leaky pot submerged in water, it will always be full, even if it leaks. If we read the Word of God every day, it will have a purifying effect on our lives, even if we do not remember all that we have read.

“Also He hath set the world [or eternity] in their heart, so that man findeth not out from the beginning to the end the work that God doeth” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 JND).

This verse shows us clearly that God created man for eternity, and not for time. Man’s heart is never satisfied with anything in this world; after a while, he wants something more. That is why the woman to whom we referred yesterday could never find lasting happiness, even though she seemed to have everything to make her happy. Our hearts are too large to be filled with anything that this world has to offer. Yet how many look to the things of this world to make them happy, instead of realizing that only the Lord Himself can fill our hearts.

King Solomon was probably more wealthy in every way than any other man in the world’s history, and it is clear from the book of Ecclesiastes that he tried to find happiness in things down here. He ended up by saying that “all is vanity (emptiness) and vexation of spirit.” He found out that only in God Himself can man find lasting joy and happiness.

“Whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he” (Proverbs 16:20).

In the last few years, a number of universities have started what are called “happiness classes.” Noteworthy among those institutions offering such courses is Yale University, with a 320-year history in New Haven, CT, U.S.A. The course is called “Psychology and the Good Life,” and the response has been overwhelming. As of March, 2021, well over three million people had signed up for the course.

The course does emphasize some good things, such as getting enough sleep, being grateful for the good things we have in life, and doing things for others instead of focusing on ourselves. One woman who signed up said, “There’s no reason I shouldn’t be happy. I have a wonderful marriage. I have two kids. I have a nice job and a nice house. And I just could never find happiness.” The course has evidently made some improvement in her life.

But there is one thing that the course does not offer, and that is a relationship with the Lord Himself. While some of the advice that the course gives may make some improvement in a person’s life, ultimately knowing the Lord Jesus as Savior, and walking in fellowship with Him, is the only way to true happiness. We will speak more about this tomorrow.

“To Him who loves us, and has washed us from our sins in His blood, and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father: to Him be the glory and the might to the ages of ages. Amen” (Revelation 1:5-6 JND).

The Apostle John was so overcome as He thought of the Lord Jesus—all He had suffered, and then His glory, that he broke into this song of praise. Through His shed blood the Lord Jesus has not only washed us from our sins, but He has also made us a kingdom. We are not kings yet, but the kingdom is reserved for us, for we will inherit the kingdom when the Lord Jesus comes in judgment, and takes His place as King over all things.

However, we are already “priests to His God and Father,” for we already have the liberty to come into God’s presence at any time, and to approach Him in prayer. In the Old Testament only a priest could go into the tabernacle or the temple, and only once a year could the high priest go into the “holy of holies.” But now we may approach God at any time, for every believer is a priest.

Do your heart and mine overflow with praise, as John’s heart did? If we realize how much the Lord Jesus has done for us, our hearts will be filled with praise too.

“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God…and the dead were judged…according to their works” (Revelation 20:12).

In 1945, it became very evident to prominent Nazi officials that Germany was going to lose the war. A man named Paul Budin was the general manager of the HASAG company, the largest munitions company in Germany. During the war, they had worked thousands of Jewish laborers to death. Paul Budin lived in Leipzig, and as the Americans were approaching the city, he knew that he would be caught and treated as a war criminal.

Knowing that he was about to be caught, Paul Budin killed himself and many of his friends and family. He also destroyed all the HASAG company files, including the record of all those who had perished while working for them.

Paul Budin and his friends escaped being caught by the Americans and prosecuted as war criminals, but will they escape God’s judgment? No, for our verse today tells us that the wicked dead will be raised to stand before God, and will be judged for their works. We may be able to escape man’s judgment, but we cannot escape God’s.

“Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love” (Revelation 2:4).

By the time the Apostle John wrote the book of Revelation, the assembly in Ephesus had probably existed for about 40 years, and there had been a lot of blessing there. This message was for the assembly in Ephesus. However, when John wrote Revelation, there was something wrong. They were doing everything right, but not for the right reason. They were doing it simply from a sense of duty, but not out of love for Christ.

We can all understand how important this is. Would you like it if your mother kept your house perfectly clean and orderly, and put good meals on the table, but didn’t show you any love? Or if your father provided money to give you nice clothes and other things, but never had time to show you any love? Nothing can make up for this loss, and I have known young people who never forgave their parents for not showing them love. One girl said to me, “My father was always working; he never had any time for me.”

The Lord wants us to do things right, according to His Word, but He also wants our hearts. If we realize how much He has done for us, our hearts will respond with love to Him. Then we will do what is right, and also for the right reason.