BE THOU FAITHFUL
“And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” — Rev. 17:12-14
I make no pretense of understanding the fine details of this remarkable book of Revelation. However, there is much in the book that is easily understood and that should instruct us as believers now on the basis of that which is to come. One thing is remarkably clear, and a confirmation of other passages in both testaments. That is, that the world in general, until the end of the age, will resist the truth of the Word of God, not only on an individual plane, but at the political level as well. This alone should leave us with no surprise when we see our nation, founded on scriptural principles by men who, if not all born again believers, were nonetheless men who respected the Word of God, now repudiating that word. Today, as far as science, education and politics are concerned, the Bible is irrelevant. As a society we “walk on in darkness,” and that darkness is deepening. That is true not only for our nation, but for the once “christianized” world in general. This is in keeping with the trend predicted in this book, and as also prophesied by the apostle Paul in his epistle to Timothy, “…evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived [II Tim. 3:13].”
Here we are informed that at the end of the age a world ruler will emerge to whom a coalition of nations will cede their authority and power, and who will “make war with the Lamb.” The only way they can make war with Christ is by attacking His church. What is now being done more or less subtly will at last be undertaken overtly and cruelly, as was the case in the beginning under the old Roman empire. While all this is interesting, and many today are declaring that “the end is near” because of the course the world is taking, what is of particular interest to us in this meditation is the spiritual lessons our passage yields.
The first emphasis is on the position and power of Christ, to whom the title is given, “Lord of lords and King of kings.” It is an interesting title, occurring only six times in scripture. In the book of Ezra, king Artaxerxes assumed it for himself (Ezra 7:12). In the prophecies of Ezekiel and Daniel, rather strikingly, it is applied to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, but with the modifier, a king of kings, whereas in I Timothy 6:15 the Holy Spirit ascribes it to Christ as “the King of kings and Lord of lords.”
“Lord of lords” is applied in scripture only to God in the Old Testament (Deut. 10:17, Ps. 136:3) and only to Christ in the New Testament, (I Tim. 6:15, Rev. 17:14 and 19:16). The clear inference is confirmed in our nugget for today. “The Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords and King of kings.” In other words, the believer need have no fear when viewing the downward trend of this present evil world. God has seen it from the beginning, Christ is the Lord of all and He will overcome them.
The second spiritual lesson emerges in the brief description of the followers of Christ: “They that are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.” That is the proper definition of a true believe in any age, whether during the tribulation or in the present. “Chosen:” “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people;” “Called:” “…that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light [I Pet. 2:9].” “Faithful:” “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful [I Cor. 4:2].” These are the distinctives of true believers then, and so they are today. No matter what direction the world may take, nor what kind of campaign it may make against the truth, it behooves us be faithful to the “high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (see Phil. 3:14).
Let the following passage be our lodestar as we see the age following the trend God has prophesied:
“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: Which in his times he shall shew, ; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.” [I Tim. 6:12-16, my italics]
Anchored for the storm,
"Pastor" Frasier
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