A Deeper Dive Into the Book of Revelation - Part 25
God allows persecution, suffering, and tribulation so that His purposes might be accomplished. This has always been true. It was true in Job’s time, in Joseph’s time, and in Paul’s time. It is still true today, and it will be true also during the time of Great Tribulation.
We learn obedience to God through the things that we suffer. It is in our best interests to suffer when we do wrong so that we will correct our ways and not continue down a destructive path in life.
“My suffering was good for me, because through it I learned your statutes.”—Psalm 119:71 (CEB)
“Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep and honor Your word [with loving obedience].”—Psalm 119:67 (AMP)
God disciplines us as His dear children. Correction is not pleasant, but God’s correction is always in our best interests.
“Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good.”—Deuteronomy 8:5 (NLT)
“My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.”—Proverbs 3:11-12 (NLT)
“He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.”—Proverbs 13:24 (NASB)
“Correct your son while there is still hope. Do not help him destroy himself.”—Proverbs 19:18 (ICB)
“and you have forgotten the divine word of encouragement which is addressed to you as sons,
‘My son, do not make light of the discipline of the Lord, And do not lose heart and give up when you are corrected by Him; For the Lord disciplines and corrects those whom He loves, And He punishes every son whom He receives and welcomes [to His heart].’
You must submit to [correction for the purpose of] discipline; God is dealing with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? Now if you are exempt from correction and without discipline, in which all [of God’s children] share, then you are illegitimate children and not sons [at all]. Moreover, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we submitted and respected them [for training us]; shall we not much more willingly submit to the Father of spirits, and live [by learning from His discipline]? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for only a short time as seemed best to them; but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems sad and painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness [right standing with God and a lifestyle and attitude that seeks conformity to God’s will and purpose].”—Hebrews 12:5-11 (AMP)
“But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.”—1 Corinthians 11:31-32 (NASB)
The Apostle Paul suffered much more than most Christians, but he did not resent his sufferings. He realized that the things that he learned through his sufferings were priceless!
“I have learned to be content no matter what happens to me. I know what it’s like not to have what I need. I also know what it’s like to have more than I need. I have learned the secret of being content no matter what happens. I am content whether I am well fed or hungry. I am content whether I have more than enough or not enough.”—Philippians 4:11-12 (NIRV)
Jesus is Our Model
Jesus was no different. Yes, Jesus was sinless, but even Jesus learned obedience to His Father through suffering. Even in Jesus’ life, suffering was necessary to bring Him to full maturity, so that He could become everything that His Father desired for Him.
“Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.”—Hebrews 5:8 (NLT)
Without suffering, it would not have been possible for Jesus to fully accomplish His purpose in life.
“What we do see is Jesus, who for a little while was given a position ‘a little lower than the angels’; and because he suffered death for us, he is now ‘crowned with glory and honor.’ Yes, by God’s grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone. God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory. And it was only right that he should make Jesus, through his suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation.”—Hebrews 2:9-10 (NLT)
As children of God, along with Jesus, it will not be possible for us to fully become all that we were born to be and fully achieve God’s purposes for our lives without suffering and tribulation. The eternal rewards are incredible, but we can never experience them without suffering.
“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”—Romans 8:16-17 (ESV)
When James and John asked Jesus to allow them to be seated beside Him in His kingdom, His reply showed that those high positions of authority and responsibility have a high price tag. They do not come without suffering.
But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism [of suffering and death] with which I am baptized?”—Mark 10:38 (AMP)
Conformed to the Image of Christ
God’s goal for each of us is to be made compatible to the Heavenly Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. In order to do that, we must be conformed to His image.
“For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters”—Romans 5:3-5 (NASB)
Our souls must be transformed to reflect His character. Suffering, when we respond to it correctly, produces Godly character in our lives, helping to conform us into the image of Jesus Christ.
“And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;** and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; **and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”—Romans 5:3-5 (NASB)
God’s purpose is to bring us to perfection (full maturity) and into the fullness of the stature of Christ, as we are told in Ephesians 4:13:
“[That it might develop] until we all attain oneness in the faith and in the comprehension of the [full and accurate] knowledge of the Son of God, that [we might arrive] at really mature manhood (the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ’s own perfection), the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ and the completeness found in Him.” (AMPC)
Suffering and tribulation, as painful as they may be, help to bring us to full maturity in Christ.
“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace [Who imparts all blessing and favor], Who has called you to His [own] eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself complete and make you what you ought to be, establish and ground you securely, and strengthen, and settle you.”—1 Pet 5:10 (AMPC)
“My brothers and sisters, think of the various tests you encounter as occasions for joy.** **After all, you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Let this endurance complete its work so that you may be fully mature, complete, and lacking in nothing.”—James 1:2-4 (CEB)
“Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh [and died for us], arm yourselves [like warriors] with the same purpose [being willing to suffer for doing what is right and pleasing God], because whoever has suffered in the flesh [being like-minded with Christ] is done with [intentional] sin [having stopped pleasing the world],** **so that he can no longer spend the rest of his natural life living for human appetites and desires, but [lives] for the will and purpose of God.”—1 Peter 4:1-2 (AMP)
“Therefore, we speak of you with pride among the churches of God for your steadfastness [your unflinching endurance, and patience] and your firm faith in the midst of all the persecution and [crushing] distress which you endure. This is a positive proof of the righteous judgment of God [a sign of His fair verdict], so that you will be considered worthy of His kingdom, for which indeed you are suffering.”—2 Thessalonians 1:4-5 (AMP)
“The Lord will perfect that which concerns me”—Psalm 138:8 (NKJV)
“And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.”—Philippians 1:6 (AMPC)
“And in Him you have been made complete [achieving spiritual stature through Christ]”—Colossians 2:10 (AMP)
Great Tribulation
The Body of Christ has always suffered persecution and tribulation. In these last days, the Body of Christ will be made perfect, whole, and complete. There will be one last period of Great Tribulation that will finally bring the Body of Christ to full maturity. Our sufferings, combined with the sufferings of those who have gone before us, will finally bring the Body of Christ up to the full “measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ.”
“Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured [to death], refusing to accept release [offered on the condition of denying their faith], so that they would be resurrected to a better life; and others experienced the trial of mocking and scourging [amid torture], and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned [to death], they were sawn in two, they were lured with tempting offers [to renounce their faith], they were put to death by the sword; they went about wrapped in the skins of sheep and goats, utterly destitute, oppressed, cruelly treated** (people of whom the world was not worthy)**, wandering in deserts and mountains and [living in] caves and holes in the ground.
“And all of these, though they gained [divine] approval through their faith, did not receive [the fulfillment of] what was promised,** **because God had us in mind and had something better for us, so that they [these men and women of authentic faith] would not be made perfect [that is, completed in Him] apart from us.”—Hebrews 11:35-40 (AMP)
Dan Cummins, in his book, Until the Harvest, reminds us that every stalk in a wheat field comes to maturity individually, but the entire field comes to maturity together at the time of harvest, because of a combination of common environmental conditions. (Cummins, p.6)
“There is coming a final hour upon the earth where shared environmental factors will be uniquely experienced by everyone at the same time in the same field – the entire world. It is during this final hour that shall try the whole earth that the corporate church will reach maturity – one *head *at a time. It is in this final hour that the Lord’s Prayer will be answered – Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. It is at the time of the harvest that the world will be delivered from evil and the evil one.” (Cummins, p.7)
In his teachings, Dan Cummins points out that the Great Tribulation period has two main purposes. Yes, the Great Tribulation brings judgment on the devil and on a world that has rejected Jesus through unbelief, but this time of Great Tribulation will also purify the Church and prepare her to meet her Heavenly Bridegroom.
As the angel said to Daniel, “Many will be purged, purified (made white) and refined, but the wicked will behave wickedly. None of the wicked shall understand, but those who are [spiritually] wise will understand.” (Daniel 12:10 AMP)
“It will come about in all the land,” Declares the Lord, “Two parts in it will be cut off and perish, But the third will be left alive. And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will listen and answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ And they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’” —Zechariah 13:8-9 (AMP)
The children of Israel had their wilderness experience before they could qualify to enter into their promised land. The Church (the Sun-Clothed Woman of Revelation chapter 12) will also have her time in the wilderness as a last-ditch effort on God’s part to help us qualify to enter into His rest (Hebrews 4), and to obtain our “promised land” of God’s higher blessings, higher rewards, and higher positions of responsibility in His Kingdom.
“In that day the Branch of the Lord will be splendid and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be excellent and lovely to those of Israel who have survived. It will come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy (set apart for God)—everyone who is recorded for [eternal] life in Jerusalem. When the Lord has washed away the [moral] filth of the daughters of Zion and has cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning”—Isaiah 4:2-4 (AMP)
