He Wins! We Win! - December 28, Readings: Zechariah 11-12, Revelation 19, Psalm 148:1–8, Proverbs 31:22–23

Link to Today's Readings

Do you ever feel like there is no hope for the future in this world?

There is nothing in sports more thrilling than a come-from-behind victory, when one team seems to have surefire victory and the team that seems destined to lose mounts a heroic effort to win. My favorite season as a Yankee fan was 1978 when my guys in pinstripes came from 14 games behind to win the AL East and then eventually the World Series. Almost as wonderful was the 1996 Series, in which the Yankees lost the first two games of the Series, at home, to the Atlanta Braves and headed south for what seemed like certain defeat. Four games later, they hoisted the trophy while I jumped, danced and shouted in my living room.

Revelation 19 is the moment when the apparent victory of evil in this world comes crashing to a halt. Right now, the wickedness seems to be getting its way, doesn't it? The moral foundations are crumbling and people are abandoning truth and righteousness to embrace evil. Even in the church our values are more shaped by the culture of the world than the revelation of the world. I've talked to more than one skeptic who has gloated that Christianity is fading and the church is dying. Sometimes, it seems like they are right.

But they are wrong. At least in the long run they are. I don't know what is going to happen here in America - we may continue in the course we have set, following the European path of spiritual and moral decay. But this much we know - Jesus is going to win it all. If you think he's losing right now, it's all an illusion.

I love to go back in the video archives and watch old baseball games, when I know how they came out. Okay, let's face it - I'm talking about games the Yankees won, especially ones it looked like they were going to lose. I watch the video and feel the tension, but I do so with an assurance that in the end one of the guys on my side is going to get a hit and all will be well.

That is the attitude we need as we face this world. Yes, things look bad and it can be tough to be positive and faith-filled. But remember what the score will be at the end.

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in[d] blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

From this moment until the end, mankind will marshal his strength to continue the war begun in the Garden, when Adam and Eve chose the other side. Most will continue on the wide path and stand in rebellion against the Lord who paid for the sins of the world. That war isn't going to cease, or even lessen. It will intensify until that climactic battle. But at that moment Jesus will ride out of heaven in glory and he will establish his authority over all the world. Jesus is Lord and he will stand supreme. 

Don't forget that. Yes, the world is evil. The god of this age has blinded minds and hearts are bound in sin. We live in a world with loyalties to the kingdom of darkness and we serve the light. It is going to be hard. But as we face hardships, as we see things going badly, we can rest in this hope - that Jesus Christ's ultimate victory is guaranteed. 

The end is written and Jesus wins. Don't forget that during those times when things seem bad right now. 

Father, help me never to forget, when I see the specter of the victory of evil, that your Son will one day stand in glory and defeat all of your foes. He wins, and we win with him - those of us who have been born by your grace. Thank you Lord.