FAITHFULNESS AS GIVEN BY THE BOOK OF REVELATION - 1

by Bryan Gibson

 

Two very different groups of people are pictured in the Book of Revelation: those rewarded with heaven, and those punished with hell. Obviously, we want to know as much as we can about those rewarded with heaven. We want to know some of their characteristics, so we can be like them and receive the same reward. So let’s look at what made them pleasing to God.

 

THEY WERE CHRISTIANS, OR SAINTS

 

They became Christians in the same way everyone else in the New Testament did—by having their sins washed away by the blood of Christ (Revelation 1:5). According to Acts 22:16, the point at which this takes place is baptism. If you have not yet become a Christian, you need to do so. You cannot remain outside of Christ and expect the same reward these people received.

 

THESE CHRISTIANS HAD FAITH

 

In Revelation 2:19, a group of Christians are commended for their faith. The importance of faith is also seen in Revelation 13:10 and 14:12. This is certainly in harmony with the words of Hebrews 11:6: “But without faith it is impossible to please God…” The ones rewarded in the Book of Revelation did have faith and they were pleasing to God. Do I have the kind of faith they had?

 

THEY ALSO HAD LOVE-FOR THE LORD AND FOR OTHERS

 

Notice carefully the wording of Revelation 12:11: “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” What is implied in this passage is that they loved the Lord even above their own lives. Do I love the Lord that much? Do you? Earlier, we cited a passage where some brethren were commended for their faith (Revelation 2:19). Read this passage again, and you’ll see that they were also commended for their love.

 

THESE CHRISTIANS FEARED GOD RATHER THAN MAN

 

They took very seriously the charge, “Be faithful, even to the point of death” (Revelation 2:10, NIV), because some of them actually gave their lives in service to Christ (Revelation 6:9; 20:4). They were faithful to the charge Jesus gave in Matthew 10:28: “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”