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Revelation: Overcomers Part 2

   Written by on April 17, 2015 at 12:12 pm

John himself had been boiled in oil because of his testimony [of Jesus Christ].  Having miraculously survived, it was assumed that he could not be killed so he was exiled to Patmos.  There, he wrote this book of Revelation to encourage those who similarly suffered for Christ.  Christians were marked with Jesus’ stamp of approval.  Even if they were not protected physically, they were preserved for eternity by the Holy Spirit’s seal.

logo-smith-gregPreterists believe that the book of Revelation is entirely about the Roman persecution of the early church, and a call for Christians to endure.  Futurists believe that the book is exclusively about future events that are yet to take place.  However, I believe that the Holy Spirit included Revelation in the canon of Scripture for all generations of Christians, and not just for the first or the last generation.  Believers in all ages have endured persecution of one kind or another.  Revelation is a call for faithful believers in the past, present, and future.

Revelation 6:9-11 describes the souls of Christian martyrs beneath the altar of God in heaven, crying out for justice.  “And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also (v. 11).”

In Revelation 7 and 14 we find 144,000 Jewish believers who likewise have been sealed by God.  Many have made much of this number, but it is not our purpose to investigate it here.  Suffice it to say that God’s people are marked as His, and that He promises rewards for those who bear His mark of faithfulness.

Some futurists believe the Rapture of the church will happen before this time of Tribulation.  In Luke 17:22-37, Jesus describes his appearance as happening at any time—suddenly and without warning.  Quoting Revelation 3:10, pretribulational (dispensational) premillennialists point to Jesus’ words:  “Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”  They also point to 1 Thessalonians 5:9, which says, “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Escaping wrath means being raptured, they maintain.

Other futurists believe that the Rapture will happen in the middle of the Tribulation or at the end.  They ask, “Who says it’s God will that the church escape hardship in the future, when we’ve endured it all along?  “Where would all these saints come from, who endure the Tribulation,” they ask, “if all the believers are raptured at the beginning of the time of trial?”  So it seems that your opinion about whether the church will go through the Tribulation depends greatly on your theology of suffering.  Do you believe that God will allow believers to suffer the Tribulation, or do you think His love will let Christians to escape it?  If you’re a futurist, then this is a question that must be answered.

Historicists believe that the timeline of Revelation covers not a seven-year period of Tribulation, but the full scope of Christian history, from the dawn of the Church to the Day of Judgment.  For them, persecution and endurance are continual themes for every generation—and it doesn’t matter when or if there’s a Rapture.  The fact is that sometimes, God’s people are removed from struggle and sometimes they are preserved through it.  The book of Revelation calls for believers to endure—and to do more than endure.  Christians are called to bear bold witness for our Lord, even in the midst of trial.

In the first century, many Christians under persecution recanted their faith in order to save their lives.  For first-century believers, Revelation was a call to continue, even if they had to pay with their last breath.  As an encouraging example, Revelation 11:1-14 gives a tale of two witnesses who stand up to the Beast, even though it ultimately costs them their lives.  Christians are reminded that even though they are killed, they will share in Christ’s glorious resurrection.  So too, Jesus encourages us, “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life (Rev 2:10b).”  Revelation is a call for believers of all ages to overcome the evil one, and to endure tribulation however they find it.

In His letters to the seven churches, Jesus has some final words to say to those who overcome:

“To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God… He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death… To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it… He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father;  and I will give him the morning star… He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels… He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God… He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne (Rev 2:7, 11b, 17b, 26-27; 3:5, 12, 21).”

I pray whatever trials you endure and whatever tribulations you go through, that you will overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of your testimony.  I pray that you will be faithful, and that you will receive your crown.

About Greg Smith

Greg Smith is a Baptist minister who has served churches in Central and Southside Virginia. He lives in Halifax County, VA with his wife and children. To read more of Greg’s writings check out his blog at revgregsmith.blogspot.com.

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