Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Good rainy morning, Zane.

Yikes! 5 days to Christmas! We are totally unprepared for it in the traditional sense—yet quite prepared in the spiritual/understanding sense. I mean, what would we do without a Savior/Deliverer and Hope beyond what surrounds us?!?! This world scene is becoming more and more hopeless and depressing all the time!

For some reason, there’s an old Sunday School song flitting through my little head right now. I doubt you’re heard it. It goes, “Be careful little eyes what you see. Be careful little eyes what you see. For there’s a Father up above, looking down in tender love. So be careful little eyes what you see.” Other verses go, “Be careful little ears what you hear…” “Be careful little hands what you do…” “Be careful little feet where you go…” I could add one—“Be careful little brain what you think…” Of course, the main message of the song is that God holds us responsible for how we manage our aptitudes and freedoms. Therefore, Zane, please be very careful how you manage.

Not yet sure how to attack my day. I’d better look again at my TO DO LIST…and brace myself against getting scared. One entry on that list calls for spending some time in a dental chair.

I hope your day goes well. Love and prayers—Tua/Ray.

Have you ever wondered why world history reveals so much intense hatred for Jews? Have you ever wondered how it is that the Jewish Nation has even survived over time to remain a distinct people group in the wake of all that hatred? I am convinced that explanations for these historical phenomena cannot be done in purely objective and reasonable terms—it can only be explained spiritually. Based on the Biblical premise that there are only two spiritual powers (kingdoms) in the universe, I have to draw these two fundamental conclusions:

1. Satan hates the Jewish people and wants to destroy them (as well as those who embrace the promised Jewish Messiah).
2. God loves the Jewish people and has promised to preserve them (as well as those who embrace the promised Jewish Messiah).

This chapter presents a dramatized symbolic overview of this reality. God seems to love theater and puts on a real show for John! But without attempting to unravel and interpret all the data and details, I want to focus on the bottom line that sustains God’s people as contained in verse 11. “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so as to shrink back from death.”

The reason I refer to this as “the bottom line” is because I believe the same recipe for overcoming as characterized by this group of Jewish believers from the tribulation period, is the same recipe for our own victory. Let me summarize this way:

1. Personal salvation—“by the blood of the Lamb.”
2. Evangelistic testimony—“by the word of their testimony.”
3. Fearless faith—"they did not love their lives so as to shrink from death.”