Thursday, July 31, 2014

The Complete Revolution

Talk of revolution has become a hot topic worldwide. You can hear it in the disaffected speeches of prophets of doom, conspiracy theorists and assorted opposition figures.

In fact, every political party's manifesto is revolutionary in tone and intent. "Vote for us and we will reinvent the wheel, everything will be perfect!" It seems to get us every time, even after the evidence repeatedly confirms that the joy of victory does not far outlive the celebrations, and whatever improvements follow are quickly taken for granted.

Generally the revolutionary's rhetoric promises heaven on earth. "If we uproot this order of things we will establish utopia." Catchphrases like "liberty, equality, fraternity," (or "human rights" of late), inflame the hearts of many. Rabble-rousers at the head of revolutions get people to believe that fighting for peace and tearing down for progress are logically sound ideas. Only one thing these people choose to overlook: their highfalutin ideals have been tried before. There is nothing new under the sun.

Our minds lack the capacity to appreciate what a complete revolution would look like. That must be why we are willing to lend a listening ear every pretender who promises paradise. We are so accustomed to difficulty and hardship that anyone who promises marginal improvements in health, happiness or life expectancy seems like a Godsend. Therefore marketers get away with peddling perishables as the solution to eternal bliss.

But the only complete revolution is one in which everything is perfect: there are no bad people, no bad outcomes, no "unforeseen circumstances"... we can not even picture it! A world in which everyone has everything they need, loves everybody else, nobody is hustling to make profits or take advantage of another, all can spend their time doing whatever it is they really want to do. Inconceivable! In which there are no dangers to defend against and nothing to be afraid of, thus, no padlocks, no fences (literal or social),  no CCTV,  no weapons, no prisons, no police, no armies, because there is no need for all these things. No deaths, no funerals, no tears, no pain. We have never seen such a thing, and can not begin to understand it, because nearly everything we have known our whole lives would be missing.

Yet GOD has promised just such a total revolution of this sin-wrecked existence we live in.

Revelation 21
{21:1} And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 
{21:2} And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 
{21:3} And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, [and be] their God. 
{21:4} And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 
{21:5} And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 
{21:6} And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 
{21:7} He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
{21:8} But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

2 comments:

  1. That is why I am always against Kenyans who think that Rwanda is some sort of Heaven and have made it some kind of a god. That is foolishness. A complete revolution (as you put it) can never be on this earth minus the power of Him who created it (God). It is never possible in a fallen world that still struggles with the aftermath of sin for man to experience a complete revolution. Never.

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    Replies
    1. Right on, Bonface Morris. You've got the bigger picture.

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