Sabbath Meditation #3

Theatre of Operations

In a war, the phrase “theatre of operations” refers to the locations of battle or where battle is being planned. It raises an interesting question: Since the Church is engaged in a battle, where exactly is the theatre of operations? Where is the battle being fought?

The answer given in Scripture is quite clear: earth, the world, is the theatre of operations. When Jesus ascended to be invested as Lord of the heavens and the earth He was not retreating or escaping from the battle. Rather, having won the decisive battle, which was the crucial engagement, on the Cross—a victory manifest through His resurrection from the dead—He also won the right to continue to lead the war. Complete victory was now assured and certain. But the size and scale of that victory is beyond human comprehension and imagination. Through the leaven of the Gospel the entire earth is being and will be renewed, all enemies have been and will be vanquished and abolished, heaven and heaven's throne will be established on the earth.

Our Lord's ascension and session at the right hand of God was not an escape or deliverance from the earth or from the war being waged here. Rather, His ascension was in order to engage the enemy more effectively, powerfully, and comprehensively than ever before. Whereas once God's focus was on the preservation of a small nation, then just a tiny remnant of that nation, then, finally, upon one single Man of that nation, now, with the decisive victory won, and with the investiture of the Messiah as Lord of heaven and earth, with His Spirit poured out upon His people, the Church of the Living God, the universal transformation of the creation has commenced. It is the great battle of our time.

Sadly many Christians seem to miss this point. They think that the whole focus of the Christian's life should be to escape or depart this world to be with Jesus. They tend to gloss the significance and point of Jesus' victory over death to be an escape from this world and going to heaven. Becoming one of His people, becoming a Christian means, in this view, that one's hope also should focus upon dying and going to be with the Lord. They see themselves, in nurturing this hope, as following in the footsteps of Jesus, who likewise died and went to be with God.

What a sad misconception of the truth. Probably when these saints depart and go to be with the Lord they will be in for a real shock. Yes, they will find that the whole focus of the heavenly realm is upon the Lamb, seated on the throne. But, the Lord's focus will not be on those around Him so much, as upon the earth, upon the theatre of operations which He is now conducting. Likewise, all the glorified saints in heaven and the angels be focused upon what the Lord is concentrated upon.

Pity the poor saint who enters heaven thinking that at last he has left the world behind, only to find that everyone there is actually focused upon the world which he thought he had left—for therein is the theatre of redemptive operations; therein is the glory of the Lord being manifest before the angels, the principalities, and the entire creation. No doubt there will be those who will regret that in their time of enlistment here they did not have more focus upon the theatre of operations.

Paul is a wonderful exemplar of this ethic. In prison for the faith—coming to the sunset of his life—he writes to the Philippians that he knows that if he were to die, it would be to his great personal gain. He had a genuine desire to depart and be with Christ, for that would be, in a personal sense, much to his advantage. But if he were to stay in the theatre of operations he would be able to continue to make a contribution to the war effort. Convinced of this—that he still had work to do, that he could still be useful to the Philippian congregation—he knew that the Lord would have him stay and continue the battle. (Philippians 1:20—26)

Paul knew that the focus of his and our Lord was upon the achievement of the restoration of heaven upon earth, which ultimately will manifest to all creation the glory of God in full measure. He knew that to accomplish this holy task required great labour and warfare. Like, Paul we each have limited time to engage in the great battle of our time. Our lives upon earth in the theatre of operations are very short. Our demobilisation will come soon enough.

In the meantime, let make every moment count. Let us make every Sabbath count. Let us be focused indeed on the entire theatre of His operations. Let each saint play his part in the battle array of the Lord. This Sabbath let us review the theatre of His operations with Him while the Captain of the Lord's host walks amongst us. Let us honour and worship Him as our Lord and King. Let us consult with Him, seek and secure His direction and aid in all the current battles, and with Him make plans to open new fronts of engagement.