A few years before his death, Johnny Cash took pen to paper and wrote a song. It was a haunting song. A song that was based on a dream where Queen Elizabeth II compared him to a "thorn tree in a whirlwind." A song that presents a God who is coming and cannot be stopped; and as Johnny writes, "will be taking names." I believe it is a song we all need to stop and consider in these strange days of lying politicians, angry mobs, unrestrained sexual perversions, and where everyone seems to be a lover of self. Throughout his life, in his ups and downs, Cash accepted the Christian faith as true and believed "that Jesus of Nazareth, a Jew, the Christ of the Greeks, was the Anointed One of God." Cash wasn't perfect, he was prone to depression and hard drink; but he believed. And as this song vividly describes, the Jesus he believed in is not someone to be trifled with. It is refreshing for me to hear faith come from this kind of rough man - - because you never hear anyone speak this way about our God anymore. Celebrities and athletes alike think they are the end all and be all. Cash knew better, Jesus to him was "the Alpha and Omega." Jesus is so often ignored, laughed at, mocked, and even cursed in our world flush with pride. Many people will say they follow him, but they are often just paying lip service to God for an hour on Sunday. But rarely, and I really mean this, do we fear him anymore. He no longer seems dangerous. Jesus has become our homeboy, our buddy, the proverbial nice guy. But this is not the biblical account of Jesus. He is "a Great King" and I believe this song captures his gravitas - - consider a few of the lyrics: The Man Comes Around There's a man going around taking names and he decides Who to free and who to blame every body won't be treated Quite the same there will be a golden ladder reaching down When the man comes around The hairs on your arm will stand up at the terror in each Sip and each sup will you partake of that last offered cup Or disappear into the potter's ground When the man comes around Hear the trumpets hear the pipers one hundred million angels singing Multitudes are marching to a big kettledrum Voices calling and voices crying It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks Till Armageddon no shalom no shalom Then the father hen will call his chicken's home The wise man will bow down before the thorn and at his feet They will cast the golden crowns When the man comes around Whoever is unjust let him be unjust still Whoever is righteous let him be righteous still Whoever is filthy let him be filthy still Listen to the words long written down When the man comes around Three Considerations:
I want to point out three things from this song you will never hear in the news, on TV, at the local coffee house, or even in your neighbors living room - - but they still are true none the less. When the man comes around... (1) Everybody won't be treated quite the same. There is a belief in popular Christianity today that accepts the idea "everyone is in unless you opt out." What this means is that salvation (deliverance from God's wrath) is currently and generously applied to all. Universal salvation for everyone, the doors of heaven are flung wide open to anyone and everyone. Black, white, male, female, cisgender, Christian, Jew, Muslim, atheist and even the few cannibal tribesman still chewing on human bones in the Indonesian Islands. So eternity is yours, free of charge, free of even faith, with no strings attached. That is, unless of course you don't want it. You can opt out. I suppose there are some fools who think the Grateful Dead are right when they sing, "I may be going to hell in a bucket, but at least I am enjoying the ride." But this is a small and rather minute number who would actually choose an eternity in hell. The rest of us would all someday like to see our loved ones beyond the grave in paradise. But Cash's song isn't so generous, "Not everyone is treated the same." Meaning, Jesus is a judge, and his justice is based on our actions. Some people will be deemed, "Unjust and filthy." That is why the hairs on your arm will stand up. You don't want to be accounted as guilty when he comes - - because if you are, the bible teaches "you are out and it will be too late to opt in." When the man comes around again, books will be opened, and as 2 Thessalonians writes, "when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might." (2) Till Armageddon no shalom, no shalom He believes in Armageddon. Who believes in Armageddon these days? We are too sophisticated for that. You can't tell me God is going to pour wrath on the earth? He is going to burn up the forests with fire, send plagues on livestock, turn water to blood? The best scholars tell us this is merely poetry - and you can't trust biblical poetry to mean anything. Can you? But what if it is more than mere poetry? What if the Bible means what it says when it writes, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” Can you? (3) The wise man will bow down before the throne People these days are not bowing to him. We don't have time to stop and consider a God no one can see, and a Savior no one is sure really died. We have more important things to do than speculate about future shadows and ghosts. Jonathan Edwards once wondered what people who are currently in hell would say if you could interview them, "I thought I had more time." "I really believed the learned men of town when they said religion was all myth and fairy tales." "I though being better than the other guy was enough." "I had more important things to do." How can our lives on earth compare to eternity? How can making more money, going on one more cruise, watching one more basketball game be as significant as worshiping the God who made you? Blue haired televangelists love to scare people into heaven, they look at the current day's headlines and see another sign of Christ's return. Yes, for many of us, we know this is nothing more than a religious game - - end times charlatans stealing money from old gullible ladies. But the deceitful antics of a few religious frauds does not negate the return of Christ. He is still going to descend that golden ladder and call us all to account. Jesus is still coming back. Just ask Johnny. At the age of 71, Johnny Cash died. Complications from diabetes and a broken heart over his wife's death four months earlier were the reasons for his death. All his records, recordings, concerts were over. It was time for him to come face to face with the man... and I believe he was ready to see him. I think we need to take some time and listen to this song. Instead of fretting over politics, your mortgage or how your favorite football team will do this fall, take some time and consider when the man comes around. It might just do you some eternal good.
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