Revelation 17

Bible Passage:  Revelation 17

Things are getting from bad to worse.

After the frightening events in the last chapter, today’s passage does not let up.  We read about the great harlot – Babylon.  The war against the Lamb of God.  The mind spins as I read the passage.

But one thing is very clear…

The Lamb will overcome them for He is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings! (verse 14)

And He is accompanied by those who are called, chosen and faithful! (verse 14)

And these people that are chosen – God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind… until the words of God are fulfilled (verse 17).

This again fils me with confidence and yet serves as a strong reminder.

We have a God who will ultimately be victorious.  There is no doubt about that.  But in the process till His kingdom comes again, there will be lots of tribulations, persecutions and terrible things that will happen that will shake our faith, cause us to fall away and even deny the Lord.

This is because the devil will be working very hard to drag more men away from God… including the elect of God.

Therefore we must make sure we are amongst those who are called and chosen.

We are!

But there is also a need for us to be faithful.

There is a need for us to fulfill God’s purpose.

There is a need for us to be of one mind.

Until….

Until the words of God are fulfilled.

This reminds me of Jesus’ sermon on the Mount where He said,

¹⁷ “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. ¹⁹ Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

~ Matt 5:17-20

Jesus was trying to show us how trustworthy the Word of God is.

His purpose in coming was to fulfil the smallest detail of both the Law and the Prophets.  So His relationship with the Word of God was to accomplish, execute and fulfil it.

And Jesus states that absolutely everything in the Law and Prophets (the Scriptures) will be fulfilled.  He showed them that if they have contempt for the law by breaking even the smallest one of it, you are contemptible.

But if you diligently honour the law and encourage others to do so – you will in turn be honoured.

In a striking reference to the Pharisees, Jesus pointed out that they saw themselves as a standard for righeousness on earth with their strict adherence and observations of the Scriptures.  But Jesus told the people that unless their righteousness surpassed that of the Pharisees, they could not even enter the Kingdon of Heaven.

This tells us that the Bible – the Word of God – the Truth – should be the supreme authority in our lives.

We should study it and seek to understand it as best as we can.

We should not consider any part of it as unimportant or in consequential.

But beyond the study and understanding, we need to apply it – to live by it.  Strive to be even more rigorous in honouring God’s word in your practical everyday life.

Yesterday, the short term theological seminar ended and the students were reminded to bring along the lessons that they have learned over the past 23 days into their lives outside the seminar.

This reminder is also for us today.

Or else how are we to be of one mind as the Lord Jesus?  How are we to know what is His purpose so that we can fulfil it?

So as we draw to the close of another year of Bible Reading, let us resolve to continue again next year.  For the Word of God is living and active…  all the days of our lives until He comes again.

Amen.

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