Commentary
by Walter Albritton
Choose God’s
Eternal Reward Or Face Everlasting Punishment
Revelation 14.
Key Verse: Here
is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of
God and hold fast to the faith of Jesus. – Revelation 14:12
John the
Revelator did not flinch from speaking of fire and brimstone. He warned his
readers that everyone would experience one of two realities in the next life:
eternal reward or everlasting punishment. His thinking is not vague but clear.
People have a choice. They can choose Christ, who is Life, and be rewarded with
eternal life, or they can refuse Christ and face everlasting punishment.
The issue is
one of endurance. God calls us to stay the course, endure the race to the end,
by keeping the commandments of God and holding fast to the faith of Jesus. To
refuse this call is to worship evil and suffer the punishment of those who
ignore God’s commandments. Those who choose Christ will suffer but after the
death of the body, they will enjoy eternal life in heaven. Those who turn their
backs on Christ will drink the wine of God’s wrath and be tormented “for ever
and ever.”
Does this make
John a “hell fire and brimstone preacher”? No, but it does make him a faithful
preacher of the full gospel. John’s major emphasis is on the love of God, not
on his wrath. He does not water down the gospel, however, to make it more
palatable to people who prefer their own ideas to those outlined in the Word of
God. Many people blindly rationalize that because God is love, he would never
condemn anyone to hell. Others, among those who refuse Christ, conclude that
there is actually no such thing as hell; God, they assume, is a benevolent
Creator who will eventually take all people to heaven regardless of their
behavior in the world.
Such logic is
obviously flawed. Heaven seems like a good idea so it is embraced. Hell seems
inconceivable so it is discarded. Those who reason like this have made their
own minds their source of truth, rather than the Word of God. They presume, in
foolish pride, that what they think is more important than what God says. To reach this point, of
course, these persons have first decided that the Bible is not the Word of God
but a book of history and outmoded ideas about God. For them there are no
abiding standards of right and wrong; morality is whatever society wants it to
be.
Those who
choose to worship Christ and keep God’s commandments have a different
perspective. They believe that the Bible is the ultimate source of truth,
offering us changeless standards of right and wrong. When these standards are
overridden by a morality gone to seed, that society has chosen to oppose God
and renounce Christ. Christ cannot be Savior and Lord of anyone who refuses to
obey the commandments of God. Jesus made it plain that those who love him will
obey his commands. Christ and God’s commandments are inseparable. God still
calls his people to holiness and purity of life. Irreverence and depravity are
still an abomination to God.
John’s words
are a strong warning. Unrepentant sinners will not escape the wrath of God. As
Christians are “sealed” with God’s protection, so unbelievers are “sealed” for
everlasting punishment. Our choices are important. Our decisions determine our
destiny. We can choose Christ, or refuse Christ. In this world we will suffer,
but as believers we will know in our pain that He is with us. By choosing to
endure, to keep the faith, to honor Christ in all ways, we are accepting God’s
offer of eternal life, an eternal reward of living in his presence.
John is no
“foaming at the mouth” preacher shouting about hell as though he wants sinners
to go there. If I knew a bridge was out, would I not want to tell people
driving on that highway about the danger they faced? John had received a
revelation of truth from God. He knew those who refused Christ were facing
death on life’s highway unless they turned from their evil ways and began to
worship the Lamb. Those of us who preach and teach the gospel today would do well
to imitate John’s urgency in calling people to “fear God and give him glory” by
renouncing evil and choosing Christ. When we choose to endure in the faith, God
comes to our side in every night of pain and bewilderment. He comes. He keeps
his promises. We are not alone, and we can witness to others that despite our
trials, we have known the strengthening Presence of the Comforter. No matter
how dark the night, we have a song,
while unbelievers hear only the frightening discordant sounds of hell.
In the course
of our endurance, we can choose also to tell others of the great faithfulness
of our God. We can tell any who will listen that all we have needed, “His Hand
has provided,” and invite them to take His Hand and join us on this exciting
journey to heaven. Anyone on his way to heaven surely ought to invite someone
to come along!
+ + + + (Contact
Walter at walbritton@elmore.rr.com)