James 1:2-3 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance."
There is an unholy trinity eager to do its malevolent work in the world, and it wants you to fall for its tricks. The powers of darkness are not creative. They are copycats. The devil has no currency of his own. He only deals in counterfeits. He’s a liar and a deceiver, and he’s very good at what he does.
In Revelation 12 we are introduced to the dragon. In chapter 13 we meet his two accomplices: a beast from the sea (13:1) and a beast from the earth (13:11).
The first beast represents the political sphere; the second beast represents the religious sphere. The first beast is a perversion of good government; the second beast, also called the false prophet (Revelation 19:20), is a perversion of true worship. The first beast shows us what a diabolical state looks like; the second beast shows us what a diabolical religion looks like.
The deadliest, most violent, most oppressive work the devil does on the earth always utilizes a perverse government, empowered and supported by a perverse religion.
Revelation 13:10 must have been a hard message for the Christians suffering in Asia Minor: “If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain.” This is not a graduation speech telling 22-year-olds they can accomplish anything they set their minds to. This is not a cheery address assuring us that the good guys always come out on top. To be sure, the saints will be victorious in the end, but not apart from suffering, and oftentimes not apart from death.
God was less concerned that His people figure out how to change a godless empire, and more concerned that His people not be conformed to the godless empire in which they lived.
So if the world around us loses all vestiges of Christianity and grows increasingly hostile to the Word of God, how then shall we live?
The end of verse 10 gives us an answer: “Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.” Revelation 13:10 is not a political theory. No doubt, Christians who live in a democracy, with thousands of churches and millions of other believers, in a country with a rich Christian history, have more political options than first-century believers did in a thoroughly pagan Roman Empire.
But if verse 10 isn’t everything we need to hear, it is something that we almost never hear. The Spirit of God speaking through the Apostle John didn’t say, “Here is a call for political strategy,” or “Here is a call for cultural transformation” or “Here is a call for building a better Christian civilization.” There may be a time and place for all of those. But the singular call given in this passage is simpler—and perhaps harder: endurance and faith. It seems that God was less concerned that His people figure out how to change a godless empire, and more concerned that His people not be conformed to the godless empire in which they lived.
There are times where we are called to be bold and conquer. In some situations, we need that message, but when that’s the only message we hear, we can become anxious, arrogant, obnoxious Christians. When the whole world seems against you, and the burden feels crushing, and the weight is almost too much to bear, God’s Word to us is simple and clear: “Don’t quit. Don’t give in. Be patient. And do the right thing.”
We hear much about courage in our day, and rightly so. The Bible has nothing good to say about cowards. But the cardinal virtue we call “fortitude” is as much about endurance under attack as it is about an eagerness to rush into battle. Conspicuous bravado in front of our friends is rarely more courageous (or more important) than faithfully putting one foot in front of the other in an unnoticed life of consistency, honesty and integrity. Tell the truth, love your enemies, rejoice always, again I say rejoice—this is the way of endurance and faith.
The world doesn’t know it is worshipping a defeated devil. One by one, the unholy trinity—the dragon, the beast and the false prophet—will be thrown into the lake of fire. No political program can put them there. But Christ will.
“The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:25).
Are you tired? Do you feel defeated? Are you afraid? Discouraged? Weary in well-doing? This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints. The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice—from Boston to L.A., from New York to Honolulu, from Miami to Fairbanks—let all the distant shores around the world rejoice, for our God reigns.
Kevin DeYoung is the senior pastor at Christ Covenant Church (PCA) in Matthews, North Carolina and associate professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary.
This content was originally published on Decision Magazine
Never ever give up!! Run the race to the end! Great is your reward in Christ