Read Through The Bible

Be Faithful until Death

One of the basic rules of Biblical interpretation is to understand what the text meant to the original recipient.  Only when we have understood the original message to the original audience can we struggle with the application for our lives today.  The second letter in Revelation 2 presents an interesting struggle in this respect.  The historical situation of the Church in Smyrna is so drastically different from our situation.  The circumstance in Smyrna that prompts this message is one of real persecution—persecution that potentially leads to death.  By the way, we should be mindful today that there are still many who face persecution that potentially leads to death.  Just this week, I received two different e-mail pieces detailing accounts of persecution toward Christians in other countries.

Our suffering may be more emotional—an appeal to be silent about our claims about Christ.  Regardless, the letter to the Church at Smyrna reminds us no matter our suffering we are to “Be faithful until death.”  What are the keys to “being faithful until death?”  First, we are to assume that we will be called on to suffer.  Choosing Christ will often put us at odds with the world.  Second, we can be assured of God’s character in the face of this suffering.  Ultimately, He wins!  This is the message of the whole Bible, the whole of Revelation, and all seven letters in Revelation 2-3.  Since He has overcome, we are called to overcome through Him.

What if you were to receive a letter from God?  Do you think that you would consider that letter to be important?  In a sense, the whole Bible is a letter from God to us.  Other parts of the Bible are literally letters.  Some of the Bible’s most famous letters are the seven letters in Revelation 2-3.  But, these are not just ancient letters of only historical value.  Every single letter has a very important application to our contemporary churches and to us as individuals.  Each of the letters follows this pattern:  the recipients, the identification of the author (which is Jesus, Himself), the account of the church, an assessment of the church, a call to endure, and an appeal to hear what the Spirit of the Church is saying to the church.

The message of each of these seven letters is relatively easy to understand, but not necessarily easy to follow.  For example, the concise message of this first letter found in Revelation 2:1-7 is to “Keep Jesus First!”  We are confronted every day to be wholeheartedly in love with Jesus.

Know this about being in love with Jesus.  God cannot be deceived about our love relationship with Him.  Add to this fact that our good works cannot replace our love for Jesus.  Neither can good theology replace our love for Jesus.  Neither can Godly values.  The Church at Ephesus gave evidence of all of these qualities, but the LORD of the Church, says to them, “But, I have this against you, you have abandoned the love you had at first.”  The bottom line is that nothing can replace our love for Jesus.

So, we must do as the text suggests.  We must remember what it used to be like.  We must repent.  Upon repentance, we must return.

The stakes are high.  Jesus says, “We must either repent or He will remove us.”  Removed from what?  Removed from our place of influence.  Removed from the power of God.

The Old Testament gives us the story of Samson.  God told his parents that his hair should never be cut (a Nazirite vow).  The covenant promise was that God’s strength would be upon him.  Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah.  The Philistines came to her and offered her money to discover the secret to his great strength.  At first, he told her that if he would be tied up with seven bowstrings that had not been dried, he would become as any other man.  She tied him up and called for the Philistines.  He broke free and whipped the Philistines who had come for him.  She asked again and this time he said that if he was to be tied up with new ropes, he would lose his strength.  A third time he said that the strength would leave him if the seven braids of his hair would be woven into the fabric on the weaver’s loom.  Again, he broke free.  Finally, after “she nagged him day after day and pled with him until she wore him out, he told her the whole truth.”  He told her that if his hair would be shaved, he would lose his strength.  When he fell asleep, off came his hair.  Awakening to fight off the Philistines, the Bible says, “When he awoke from his sleep, he said, ‘I will escape as I did before and shake myself free.’  But he did not know that the LORD had left him.”

I am so afraid that the church today is in danger of not even being aware when the strength and power of the LORD has left us.  We are busy, so we think we have HIS power.  We believe the Bible and thus have right theology, so we assume all is well.  We stand for Godly things, so we think surely we are ok.  But God says perhaps to some of us, “But what about your love for me.”  Not your love for things, not your love for programs, not your love for busyness, not your love for the work of the church, but your love for me.”

This brings us to the end of the New Testament.  Notice the final words of the Bible.  First the words of Jesus:  “Yes, I am coming soon.”  To that wonderful announcement, we can say as did John, “Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus.”  Until that time, as John prayed as a blessing, “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people.  Amen.”

Note to readers:  As of this writing, I do not feel as though that I can continue writing daily.  I hope to post on a weekly basis in 2010.  Thanks for joining me these last two years as we have walked through the Bible.

Meanwhile, back in the living room of someone’s home, a college dorm room, or corner classroom in the local church, some group debates the precise meaning of 666. For my energy, not much is gained by these exhausting discussions. Life is no better; faith is no better. However, when focused on the idea of God, the Almighty, seated eternally upon the throne of the universe, life and faith could hold no greater meaning. Mitchell Reddish gives the concluding hope of this scene. “All of creation has seen who sits on the heavenly throne. The occupier of the throne is not the Roman emperor or any other earthly ruler. The one who sits on the throne is God. For that reason, John is certain that ultimately everything will be alright—certainly not now, but one day.” Ah, one day! Until that day, the disciples of Jesus are called to endure, knowing that the day is coming.

This final worship scene is more fragmented than the other worship scenes. If the brief, “Amen, Hallelujah,” in Rev 19:4 is counted, then the scene contains five distinct hymns. All of the worship scenes’ participants encountered before emerge for this final time of worship. The content of the hymns is reminiscent of the hymns of the first seven worship scenes.

The first hymn of the worship scene revisits the theme of salvation belonging to God. The content of the second hymn reiterates the Hallelujah of the first hymn and continues, “her smoke rises up forever.” Just as God’s reign is forever, the overthrow of the forces of evil is a permanent action. An unidentified voice coming down from the throne produces the next hymn fragment. The voice is peculiar because every other mention of the throne suggests that God is on the throne. Since the hymn calls for praise to God, the voice cannot be God’s voice. Because the emphasis is on the worship bearers rather than on God, the theological nature of this song is not as significant.

The final hymn conjures thoughts of previous themes. A simple hymn, “Hallelujah, because our Lord God, the Almighty, reigns,” includes three important aspects of the revelation. First, the title by this point in the apocalypse refreshes the memory of all that the Lord God is and has done. Second, the title Almighty reminds the reader of the omnipotence of the Lord God. The aspect of reigning suggests God’s sovereignty in the present world and in the world to come. The last worship scene’s theological impact is in the last hymn. Captured in this final hymn is God’s sovereignty, his omnipotence, his holiness, and his rule. Missing from this hymn is a direct link between the worship of God and Jesus. Present, however, is the constant reminder of the Apocalypse that the Lord God reigns.

Good!  You kept reading.  Babylon falls!  I read one book about Revelation (a book by Eugene Peterson who also wrote The Message—a paraphrase of the Bible) that sub-divided the book of Revelation into a series of statements all beginning with the phrase, “The Final Word about…)  Well, in keeping with Peterson’s analysis, here is the final word about the enemies of God—they are crushed!  You have probably heard the cliché:  I’ve read the final chapter and we win!  Well, that’s what we get as we begin to read the final chapters of Revelation.

With the close of chapter 16, the judgment cycles of Revelation give way to some concluding aspects of the revelation of God’s plan for the world.  Chapter 17 describes that because of the reign of evil, the governments and powers of this world will seem as though they are in charge.  As citizens of Heaven, we must remember that God is always in charge.  Every time we get discouraged, we ought to keep reading.  Chapter 18 brings the fall of Babylon the Great.

Chapter 16 contains the final judgment cycle.  Notice there has been an extended interlude before the beginning of this judgment cycle.  But, also notice, that once this judgment cycle begins, there is no interlude before the sixth and seventh bowl.  I think the rhetorical effect is clear.  God is patient, but His patience is not forever.  His judgment is coming.  The pronouncement of judgment is a plea for repentance.  Sadly, as in this 16^th chapter, often there is no repentance.  Let us always remember that God’s judgment is not to be celebrated, but rather should motivate us to evangelize those who are without Christ.

The seventh worship scene comes at a strategic time in the Book of Revelation. Serving as an introduction to the revelation of the seven and final bowls of wrath, the scene’s significance is related to the pastoral impact of the worship. Always striving to maintain a pastoral concern, John revealed the worship scene in order to bring a theological perspective to the revelation of God’s most severe and culminating wrath.

In the first part of the hymn God is praised for his great and marvelous works and for being righteous and true. The names that he is addressed by are Lord Sovereign God and King of the Nations. The first title is familiar to Revelation; the second title is new. The second title amplifies the meaning of the first title to now specify that God is sovereign over the nations. This concept of God’s sovereignty over the nations is certainly not new because throughout Revelation God has been praised for being sovereign over all. John structured the second part of the hymn around a rhetorical question which is answered by three convincing proofs. God is worthy of reverence because he alone is holy, he is sovereign over the nations, and his righteous acts have been revealed.

Revelation 14:13 is a nugget in Scripture that is priceless.  Here the Bible gives a great promise to those who die in the LORD.  In fact, the Spirit calls these “blessed.”  Why?  First, they are at rest from their labor.  We labor and toil in this life seeking one day to be completely at rest.  Second, our deeds will follow us.  What a blessing to live and die in the LORD.  Make sure that you are living and dying in the LORD!