Word of Encouragement (12/15/2021)
The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, “Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments. 6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!” And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments” (Rev. 16:4-7)!
Having addressed God as the Holy One, who is and who was and who has come in judgment, the third angel praises God for His “true and just... judgments.” How is God’s justice shown to be “true and just”? The angel says, “For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!” The sin of the wicked, which is highlighted here, is “shed[ding] the blood of saints and prophets.” This description implies only the killing of saints and prophets. But “martyrdom” in Revelation is more inclusive than just being killed for the faith; it includes suffering for the faith as well.
As you can see, the persecuted Christian community is described as “saints and prophets” rather than “elders and deacons and saints” (Phil. 1:1). This highlights the “holy” status of the Christian community, which is set apart from the world: “saints” means “holy ones” and “holy” means to be set apart from the world unto God. “Those who dwell on the earth” (which is a typical way the reprobates are addressed throughout Revelation) persecute the saints because they are “not of the world” even though they are “in the world.” The presence of the saints in the world causes “those who dwell on the earth” to feel uneasy about the way they want to live their lives because the saints show them that there is another way, a better way. While “those who dwell on the earth” put all their hopes on the earth and put all their efforts into building a paradise in this world (despite all the dystopian side effects of their efforts), the saints desire “a better country” (Heb. 11:16), “whose designer and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10).
But if the world wants to persecute and even kill the saints, it is because of the prophetic role of the church, particularly its witness to Christ by proclaiming His gospel. The world wants to silence the witness of the church by eradicating it from the face of the earth. Of course, shedding the blood of saints and prophets would be the simplest and most drastic way of doing it. But when that becomes untenable for whatever reason, the world will try to make the message of the gospel irrelevant and innocuous with all kinds of lies and distortions. How important it is for us not to cower under the threat of the world and to be steadfast and courageous in holding on to the faith! And how important it is for us to uphold and guard the truth of the Word of God!
The importance of guarding the truth of God is highlighted by the idea of shedding the blood, particularly of prophets. This expression warns us of the danger that can come from within the Christian community. If you recall, the act of persecuting God’s servants the prophets was typically committed by the covenant community, not by outside forces. When Israel was in rebellion, it hated the message of the prophets, of course, because they called them to repentance and faith in the name of God. The New Testament church is not immune from it because it is made up not only of true believers and not-yet believers but also of false believers. Paul warned, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Tim. 4:3-4). May the Lord increase our knowledge of the truth of God’s Word and deepen our love for it!