After the 7th Seal, a New Heaven and a New Earth

Umbrella of Christ's Infinite Atonement

In the economy of the theater, a new play is waiting in the wings while the old play continues.  When the old play is over, the sets for the new play immediately come into play. (Jefferey Marsh, BYU professor).  When the 6th seal closes with an abrupt snap, the 7th begins immediately.  I always thought the 7th seal was the Second  Coming of Christ, but there are many events that occur to wind up the reign of Babylon and Satan.  Angels pour plagues upon the humans who have not repented and brought their sins under the merciful umbrella if Christ's atonement.  We need to make sure we have taken advantage of Jesus' grace before that final seal snaps closed.

There are many powerful images in the last six chapters of the Book of Revelation, far too many to discuss here.  Some have already been introduced as the dragon (Satan) the beast (the servant of the beast) and the Harlot (the wickedness of the world.) The false lamb with horns who is a counterfeit for the Lamb of God, but who speaks like the beast.

As I look at the conditions of this world and nation, I am almost scared to ask, "What more could happen" for fear someone will show me.  Politically correct and liberal philosophies have caused a degeneration worse than that of Rome in her fall.  Simple things that I would call no brainers, are being touted as normal, alternate life styles, and even admirable and a source of pride.  Satan has even kidnapped God's covenant token of the rainbow as a symbol of what is being called simple tolerance and  diversity. When I was growing up (even when my children were growing up) it was a given that if a person had two X chromosomes, she was a female; and X and a Y being a male.  How the person identifies him or herself would have been deemed ludicrous.  The idea of people marrying a person of the same gender of him or herself would have received stares of disbelief.  The idea of promoting transgenderism in young children would be seen as the child abuse that it is (the National Council of Pediatricians recently released a statement to that effect!) 

George Orwell wrote in 1949, "If you want a picture of the future, think of a boot stamping on a face - forever."  

In his book, 1984, Orwell wrote about the dangers of political parties:

Now I will tell you the answer to my question.  It is this.  The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake.  We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power, pure power. What pure power means you will understand presently.  We are different from the oligarchies who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites.  The German Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives.  They pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just around the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal.  We are not like that.  We know that no one ever seized power with the intention of relinquishing it.* 

Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship.  The object of persecution is persecution.  The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now you begin to understand.  George Orwell, 1984

As we approach the second coming, we need to cling to the Savior and His gospel as the only safety we have.  We need to be revolutionary in our perception and testifying of the truth.  In the late 1700s, as the desire for liberty grew in the hearts of Americans, men like Thomas Paine wrote that "these are the times that try men's souls."  The same thing is true today and is growing increasingly more important in the future. We are so afraid of offending someone or being politically  incorrect that we often fail to defend those things which we believe to be morally correct. We cannot justify being a summer soldier or fair weather patriot; we must stand tall in times where it may be difficult to do so.

I pray that I may know the truth through the Holy Spirit, speak the truth with conviction, and live the truth every day of my life.

© December 29, 2019, Kathleen Rawlings Buntin Danielson

* . . . with one exception:  one of many reason that I, and many like me, revere George Washington is because he did just that.  If any man was set up to seize power  - even being pressured to be a king - it was he.  He is one man who had immense power and who humbly relinquished that power back to the people and their elected representatives for the love of his country and his fellow man.  Oh, that all men were like Washington.