End-Time People of Jesus
The church is the battlefield where the final war is being waged between the Lamb and the “Ancient Serpent,” Satan.
The
book of Revelation was sent to seven first-century churches in Asia to address
their real-life trials and tribulations. But in the process, it presents
messages relevant to all churches throughout the present age. Their daily
struggles become the microcosm of the vast cosmic battle that is being waged even
now between Jesus and the “Dragon” - [Photo by Tobias Rademacher on Unsplash].
Every
man and woman who hears and heeds Revelation’s message is pronounced “blessed,”
for the “season is at hand.” This last clause alludes to the passage in Daniel
where the prophet was commanded: “to seal the scroll until the season of the
end.” In contrast, John was commanded NOT to seal the book, “for
the season is at hand.” What for Daniel was in a remote future became all
too real for the “churches of Asia” – (Daniel 12:4, Revelation 1:3,
22:10).
All
this reflects the consistent New Testament teaching that history’s final era,
the “last days,” began with the death, resurrection, and exaltation of
Jesus. Satan, sin, and death were defeated decisively on Calvary. And following
his resurrection, Christ was exalted to being his reign “at the right hand
of God.” Consequently, he poured out the Holy Spirit to empower his church to
proclaim the “kingdom of God” throughout the earth. And the arrival of
the Spirit was irrefutable proof that the “last days” were underway – (Acts
2:17-21, Hebrews 1:1-3).
In
Revelation, the church is labeled “saints,” the “servants of
God,” the “seed of the woman,” the “kingdom of priests,” “brethren,”
and the people who “have the testimony of Jesus,” “keep the faith of
Jesus,” and have “washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb.” What
determines membership in this end-time company is identification with the “slain
Lamb,” both one’s allegiance to and emulation of him.
The
book is addressed to the “servants of God,” who are identified in the
prologue as members of the “seven churches of Asia.” They have been “loosed
from their sins” by the blood of Jesus, and thereby constituted a “kingdom
of priests.” The latter phrase is from Exodus when Yahweh summoned Israel
to the same mission. But she failed in that task, which has now fallen to the
churches of the “Lamb” - (Exodus 19:4-6).
When
the “nationality” of God’s saints is revealed in Revelation, they are
identified as the men and women who have been redeemed by Christ’s lifeblood from
“every tribe, and tongue, and people,
and nation” - (Revelation 5:8-10, 7:9-17).
The
Great Adversary of the “Lamb” and his people is the “Great Red Dragon,”
that “Ancient Serpent” who is called the “Devil and Satan,” the
one who is “deceiving the inhabitants of the earth.” Having failed to
destroy the “son,” he was expelled from the heavenly courtroom. Now, through
his earthly vassals, he “wages war” against Jesus by persecuting his people
on the earth - (Revelation 12:8-17).
Thus,
the Devil’s war against the “woman’s seed” plays out on the earth as the
“beast” is granted authority to “make war against the saints.”
In Revelation, martyrdom is not unexpected, but neither does it
constitute defeat. Satanic forces can only attack the “saints” when
authorized to do so, for the “Lamb” who now “sits on the throne”
remains in firm control of history. And the “saints” are those “that
keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” It is their identification
with the “slain Lamb” that enrages the “Dragon” - (Revelation
12:17, 13:6-10, 14:12).
In
the end, the “beast” and the “kings of the earth” unite to wage a
final “war” against the “Lamb.” In describing the battle, John uses
language from Ezekiel’s vision of “Gog and Magog.” But in Revelation,
the attacking force consists of the nations from the “four corners of the
earth, Gog and Magog…and they ascended over the breadth of the earth and
encompassed the camp of the saints.” This describes the final worldwide assault
against the church, Satan’s last-ditch effort to annihilate the “saints”
– (Revelation 16:2-16, 17:14, 19:11-21, 20:7-10).
These cosmic battles portrayed so graphically manifest in the daily struggles of the churches. The evidence for this is in the letters to the “seven churches of Asia.”
For example, the church at Pergamos lived in the shadow of “Satan’s
throne.” The
saints in Smyrna were under assault from members of the “synagogue of Satan.”
Though local magistrates threw some members “into prison,” Jesus laid
the blame for this squarely on Satan (“The devil is about to cast some of you into prison”). Members of the church in Thyatira were
being deceived by “Jezebel,” a surrogate and agent for the “Great
Harlot, Babylon” who was teaching the “deep things of Satan.”
In
Asia, the churches battled with “false apostles,” compromise, apathy, the
“Nicolaitans,” the adherents of the “teachings of Balaam,”
persecution, and so on, all attempts by the “Dragon” to deceive and
derail believers. His war was and is with the “Lamb.” However, he cannot
attack Jesus directly, so, at every opportunity, he seeks to destroy his
people.
None
of this is to say that the visions of Revelation amount to little more
than allegories intended to teach Christians how to live. The temptations,
sufferings, and persecutions endured by the “churches of Asia” were all
too real, just as has been the case with Christians throughout the present age.
The
attacks by the “Dragon” are deadly serious and have eternal
consequences. And the war between the “Ancient Serpent” and the “Lamb”
does consummate with the final assault against God’s people and the final
judgment of the wicked before the “Great White Throne of Judgment.” But
when we focus only or primarily on the end of the book, we lose sight of its
relevance for every Christian throughout the existence of the church, including
to this very day.
Photo by Evgeni Tcherkasski on Unsplash |
Nor does Revelation picture believers as mere pawns that are stuck between two great warring powers. It is the “Lamb” who has redeemed them “by his blood,” and the same “Lamb” who will vindicate them in the end. Already they have been “loosed from their sins”; already they are a “kingdom of priests” and are “reigning with him on the earth.” Our final victory over sin, Satan, and death is a foregone conclusion.
In
the interim, Jesus summons us to “overcome,” and thereby qualify to
reign with him and partake of the glories of “New Jerusalem.” And we do
this through “perseverance,” faithful “testimony,” by recognizing
and rejecting the lies of the Devil, understanding the true nature of our
struggle, and emulating the self-sacrificial service of the “slain Lamb.”
As Revelation puts it, the “brethren overcame the Dragon by the blood
of the Lamb, the word of their testimony, and because they loved not their
lives unto death.”
And
by recognizing just “who” and “when” we are, we
learn how we are to live in the present, “in these last days.” Already,
the present age and its institutions are “passing away.” They will not
endure forever, and we must live accordingly. Both individually and
corporately, we are “caught between the ages,” still living in
the old fallen age, but at the same time, citizens of the “New Jerusalem”
that even now is in the process of “descending from heaven.”
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