The Call to Be Faithful Witnesses in Revelation

The most crucial of all symbols in Revelation is the symbol of Jesus as the slain lamb. The Old Testament promise of God's future victorious kingdom was inaugurated through the crucified Messiah, the true Passover lamb. His death was not a defeat, but it was his enthronement as the king of kings who lives forever and ever. By his wounds, we are healed, dry bones raised to life, infused by the spirit to enter the new creation. And it is our great privilege and responsibility to be his witnesses in the world until he comes. [01:31:44] (59 seconds)  #LambOfGodVictory

These witnesses are dressed in sackcloth. They're declaring truth in the midst of confusion and deceit. They speak God's word boldly in an atmosphere of opposition and resistance. They grieve over sin, their own first, and the sin of the people. And they boldly declare God's warnings and call people back to their creator. The truth always calls for repentance. It calls us to walk away from old masters and to surrender to the true Lord. [01:15:05] (50 seconds)  #SackclothWitness

From heaven's perspective, those who resist the beast are truly victorious. Their external defeat cannot take away the victory through the lamb. And as we'll see in the remaining chapters, the beast will finally be destroyed, not through a lengthy war, but by the coming, the arrival of Jesus, the king. It's not a match. [01:19:52] (33 seconds)  #BeastDefeatedByChrist

It's not God's judgment alone that brings repentance in the end, but judgment plus the faithful sacrificial witness of his people. Here we see, we are reminded of that story of the cross and the resurrection, the suffering, the death, and new life all over again. It seems to be the end here. The bodies are lying in the street. God is silent. The people rejoice. They exchange gifts. They have a party. The last traces of God have been removed. We're done with it. [01:21:32] (47 seconds)  #WitnessAndJudgment

Not humanity, not the Romans, but the beast. Demonic forces. As I said, remember the word apocalypse is behind the scenes. What's going on behind the scenes? Things are not as they seem. The enemy was not the Romans. It's the demonic forces behind the scenes, symbolized by Sodom's immorality and corruption and Egypt's slavery and oppression, any city that resists the inbreaking of God's kingdom and persecutes Jesus' witnesses. [01:19:12] (39 seconds)  #BehindTheScenesSpiritualWar

As I was studying this passage, I was struck by three characteristics of these two witnesses. They were marked by repentance. They're clothed in sackcloth. They're empowered by the spirit, symbolized by oil and light, and they were vindicated by resurrection. They received new life. Sackcloth is a powerful external symbol representing mourning, think of fasting, of deep repentance, and profound humility. [01:14:19] (46 seconds)  #RepentancePowerResurrection

How easy it is to feel discouraged in the face of opposition. How quickly I lose sight of what God can do with simple obedience and faithfulness. My role, our role, is simply to be a witness, to stand firm in our convictions, and surrender to God the outcomes that we cannot control, to yield to him my fear of being misunderstood, of being overlooked or ridiculed, to remain faithful in the small and mundane moments of my day, witnessing to his goodness and faithfulness wherever I go, and so being shaped more and more into his image as a faithful witness because he to save, to seek and save the lost. [01:25:10] (65 seconds)  #FaithfulEverydayWitness

I have witnessed followers of Christ in restricted countries stand up against intimidation even when they were mistreated, when they were beaten and jailed. As one of them, our friend, Mohammed, once told a policeman, you have a real problem with us because if you let us walk around, we will witness to our neighbors. If you arrest us, we will witness in prison. And if you kill us, we will go straight into the arms of our loving father. [00:58:44] (38 seconds)  #FaithfulUnderPersecution