Waiting For Death ...

… is not a comfortable time for those sitting at the side of loved ones. Imagine then, these standing before their Lord after the Fourth Seal:

And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. (Revelation 6:9-11 KJV)

Not a pretty thought, is it.  Perhaps that’s why so many stay away from reading Revelation. We feel the longing of those souls who cry “How long, O Lord, holy and true.”

They heard His word, and believed.  They were faithful and they were slain because of that faithfulness.  Perhaps Stephen stood with them under that altar, joined by Peter, Paul, the other disciples slain for their faith. As the ages continued forward, they were joined by others, slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held.

We pray for a pastor in Iran, holding fast to his faith in God’s word. And we are grateful not to be in that position ourselves. The question crosses our minds, “Could we be as firm in our faith?”

Can we stand condemned by our neighbors, our friends, by the courts of our land and still stand in faith, proclaiming belief in God and sharing the great commission?  Can we do it with the love that we know flows from God – the God that Paul tells us:

Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:4 KJV)

Or are we as divided as these:

There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings. And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him? (John 10:19-20 KJV)

Why hear Him?  Because I’ve seen the changes in lives of those accepting Christ as God’s gift:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:16-17 KJV)

Just as a lifeboat beside a sinking ship cannot save unless we’re in it, so is the salvation offered by God.

How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will? (Hebrews 2:3-4 KJV)