November 14: JUDGING THE ONLY SOURCE OF LIFE
Now after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. Revelation 11:11-12
This is a beautiful picture, in symbols, of a resurrection! These two witnesses (v.3) for God had been looked upon as dead by those who dwell on the earth (v.10). But for others—indeed many others—the word of God was not dead at all, but very much alive. For those who saw them as living and active (Hebrews 4:12), the great fear [that] fell upon them was the thrill of renewed hope and a new beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10).
The written words uttered by the Spirit of God not only stood on their feet, but accomplished the great purpose of directing the attention of everyone toward heaven… toward things which are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18). Even their enemies saw them, which is not without purpose. Every one of us is the Lord’s former enemy, won to Him by the convicting power of His word.
God speaks life by breathing His Spirit into one who was without life. His word prospers. So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11)
In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven (Revelation 11:13). The attempt made by France to kill the word of God actually sparked a marvelous honoring of the Written Word as never before. The earth was shaken by the formation of Bible societies across Europe and in America. Translations into more languages proliferated, and attention to the work of foreign missions sprang up in various places. Men saw, as never before, the necessity of faith in the God of the Bible as well as recognizing it as a foundation for virtue and morality. The tenth of the city and the seven thousand people…killed symbolize God’s grace in minimizing the damage done by the rise of atheism while maximizing the benefits of seeing the horrendous consequences of rejecting God. A tenth in the Bible symbolizes the smallest part of a whole. The seven thousand symbolizes the totality of hardened unbelievers whose lives would have been spent blocking others from the benefits of God’s Word.
At the beginning of this chapter, God invites people to judge Him, but not according to Satan’s side of the story. The Lord’s side of the story is summed up at the cross of Calvary, and His love is made evident in countless additional ways, including His testimony throughout the Written Word.
Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it. Job 40:2