November 27, 2024
Passage Read: Revelation 13-14
Meditation Verses: 13:7-10
Thought
The beast is given authority over all the nations, which means Christians will be safe no where. Every nation will be required to pledge allegiance to the beast, to take his mark to buy and sell. He will make war on Christians and he will be able to reach every corner of the globe. There will be few safe places. All who dwell on the earth will worship the beast; they will gladly do his will. Whoever is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes. If anyone takes up the sword, by the sword he will be killed. If anyone fights back, he will be killed; if anyone doesn't fight back, he'll likely be captured. Herein lies the perseverance of the saints. There is little to hope for, but a quick death.
Application
There will be few if any friendly people. All will be set against Christians. There is little hope of finding hiding places. It will be like being a Jew in Hitler's Germany, only without a safe place to flee to. And few if any people who are willing to give shelter. People won't fear being found out as traitors to the beast; they will marvel and worship the beast and gladly capture or turn in Christians. There will be a few who choose Christ at this point, who join with believers in solidarity. But some of these will be false believers, who only seek to betray believers to the beast. There will be those who survive to the rapture, obviously. It seems impossible, so there must be some ability to hide and survive, or such slowness to the beast's "justice" system that it takes forever to condemn and kill the believers in captivity. As in any other society that outlaws Christianity, there are two choices: find a way to endure and survive, or get it over with as quickly as possible by refusing to hide or even deliberately speaking out against the tyranny. Both are legitimate options; it is not sin to go into hiding, that is the natural response when the wicked rise to power. What will I choose? What do I choose now? I suppose I won't be too hard to find.