Rev 2:10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.
I love those who attempt to predict the future. Global warning will destroy the earth by 2020. Oops! COVID will kill over two million in the US alone by year’s end. I love these types of predictions. They remind me of someone throwing a dart at a dartboard blindfolded. The predictive quality of the two is about the same.
The future is something we just can’t predict. There are too many variables, both internal and external, temporal and celestial, of this world and not of this world. The world is just too complicated for us to boil it down to some simple formula. We should keep trying, but let’s just keep our feet firmly planted as we do.
This is exactly what the Apostle John faces as he hears these words spoken and he writes them down. This message to one of the seven churches of Asia Minor is one of hope and of help. The angel lets this church know that suffering is coming. Anyone who has faced a difficult medical diagnosis knows the ups and downs of knowing.
The upside of knowing is that you can prepare. You can have discussions with family and friends. You can get your affairs in order. You mentally and physically get ready for the coming onslaught of medical treatments. But each of these is also a downside. No one likes these kinds of talks. Few like getting the loose ends wrapped up.
But the angel gives them some news that will help them in their testing. There is a time limit specified: ten days. We don’t know exactly how long this ten day period will last. Prophetic literature often uses numbers symbolically rather than literally. But we do know, as they would have known, that there was a limit to the timeframe. Their suffering wouldn’t go on non-stop. It would come to an end.
And the angel also tells them there is a prize waiting for them: the victor’s crown. Their responsibility was to be faithful to the LORD. That was their part. They needed to not give up on the hope they had received in Jesus. They had heard the testimony of Jesus and heard the word of God, and they had responded. Now they were being encouraged to continue to do the same.
COVID 19 is not the end of the world. Life will continue after it has been assigned its small place in world history. We will probably never know the truth about how and where it started. We will never know the actual numbers of those killed by it. There will be some semi-permanent etchings on some grave markers.
But we are called to be faithful through this. The suffering will not last forever. Even if it is fatal, it won’t last forever. We have a life promised to us, a life with Him. Suffering is not the enemy. Satan is. And we don’t have to follow his steps of rebellion. We can remain faithful.
The Arnold Journey 