Revelation 14:1-20 (Good Reasons to be Faithful)

Introduction

I’ve occasionally seen pictures or brief videos (many of you have probably seen them too) of some wild-eyed person standing with a sign (usually a sandwich-board that hangs down the front and back) that says, “The end is near.” It’s often a brief news item related to some dire sense of impending doom – a catastrophe that seems just over the horizon.

“The end is near.” i.e., our political system is about to be upended.

“The end is near.” i.e., our economy is about to crash.

“The end is near.” i.e., a big object from space is about to hit the earth.

In any case, the idea conveyed by this message is that disasteris coming, and there is nothing we can do about it. Some indiscriminate and arbitrary horror is headed right for us, and there is no way of escape… What’s done is done, and all there is now is to face the consequences.

This short and shocking phrase might just as well be a title for today’s passage – “The end is near.” But our text does notpresent any arbitrary or indiscriminate disaster. No, there is intentionaland discriminate action here (both the wrath and the blessing)… and both are even celebrated in our text as God’s righteousness and grace are both on display for all the world to see.

Last Sunday, we left off at the end of Revelation 13, and the picture we saw there was of a furious dragon, making war on Christ and His people in the world. The ancient serpent (the devil) even used political, economic, and spiritual “beasts” to unleash his rage against “those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus” (Rev. 12:17). And the dual “call” we heard in chapter 13 was for Christiansto “endure” and to be “wise” – Christians are to perseverein faithfulness to Christ, and they are to know the devil’s tactics and prepareto face them (with God’s help).

In our passage today, there is a nearly identical “call” – a call for the “endurance of the saints.” But today, the emphasis is not on what Christians are to endure… but why they should endure. That’s why I’ve titled this sermon “Good Reasons to be Faithful.”

Christians are to endure the dragon and his beasts; they are to endure the various afflictions this world often throws at people who mean to follow Jesus.

But why? Why would anyone sign up for this?

Why should Christians maintain allegiance to Christ if all that’s going to do is make them a target for sinners and an object of the devil’s fury?

This is the main subject of our passage today.

But there is also (I think) a secondary subject too… an implicit message for unbelievers. So, my sermon title is a bit of a play on words… I’m using the word “faithful” in two distinct ways.

One way to understand the word “faithful” is as an adjective – the kind of person who perseveres or endures. As I said, that’s the main subject or imperative or takeaway of our passage.

But another way to use the word “faithful” is as a noun – those people who are among the faithful, or those who are the believing ones, or those who are full of faith. This, it seems to me, is the secondary and impliedtakeaway of our passage.

Here we have (primarily) a call for Christians to be faithful – to keep faith in Christ, to keep clinging to Him, to keep enduring to the end. But we also have an implicit call for non-Christians (i.e., everyone else who is not at this moment believing the gospel and clingingto Christ and living a life that lines up with that profession of faith)… it’s a call to be faithful – to have faith, to believe that Christ is the true Lamb of God who rescues His people, and be counted among those who are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

Friends, the end is near; and this means there are good reasons to be faithful… while there’s still time to be so.

Let’s read our text together, and let’s consider those reasons presented to us.

Scripture Reading

Revelation 14:1–20 (ESV)

1 Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.

2 And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, 3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders.

No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, 5 and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.

6 Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.

7 And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

8 Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”

9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”

12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”

14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand.

15 And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” 16 So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.

17 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.

18 And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.” 19 So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

20 And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.

Main Idea:

In the one gospel of Jesus Christ, there is a promise of blessing for all those who are faithful to Christ and a promise of wrath for all who remain in their sin, and both of these are good reasons to be faithful.

Sermon

1. Salvation’s Song (v1-5)

Our passage today has a series of three distinct visions, and each one contains something (or multiple somethings) that John heard as well. The Apostle John “sees” and “hears” three times (or in three clusters). He says, “I looked” or “I saw” three times (v1, 6, 14); and each time he “saw” he also “heard” (v2, 7-9, 15, 18). Each of these visions (what John “saw” and “heard”) are the way I’ve formed the structure of my sermon, with the climactic “call” as its own point (point three).

And remember… the context of what we’re reading today is a series of several other visions John saw, which basically describe the overarching narrative of the whole Bible:

· the dragon has been at war with God from the beginning;

· he first tried to destroy the promised child (the Messiah or Christ);

· then he set his fury on those the Messiah came to save;

· and then the dragon even animated earthly powers and the world itself to join him in his war against Christ and His saints.

Throughout all of these other visions, the reader or hearer of what John wrote is to know that God has planned all of this from before the beginning. And even though it may not look like it right now, God and His Christ are sovereign over the whole thing… and those who believe the gospel, those who trust and follow Christ, those who endure the sufferings of this world… they will eventually enjoy every blessing God has promised them in Christ.

And this is where John’s three visions in chapter 14 begin. Chapter 14 is the next episode in this fast-paced run through all of redemptive history. If the present age (i.e., the time between Christ’s first and second coming) is what we saw described in Rev. 13, then the climax of the whole story is what comes next… And Rev. 14 does not disappoint. The whole story of the Bible concludes with the salvation of God’s people and the destruction of those who stand against Him… and there is a clear rationale through each scene in this climactic episode.

Remember, this apocalyptic book was initially written to real churches in real history. So, we are not surprised to see the main point of this whole chapter is a call for the saints who would read this to endure, to persevere, to be faithful. John is relaying his visions, not necessarily to give details about precisely whatis going to happen when the end arrives, but to give the Christians reasonsto endure (why they should remain faithful) while they are still waiting for that final day.

Our first section (v1-5) is the first reason to be faithful; and it is because the faithful (those who are counted among the faithful and those who remain faithful to the end)… they are the ones who get to sing the song of the redeemed.

John says he saw “the Lamb” standing on “Mount Zion” (v1). And just like the beast of Revelation 13 had those “who dwell on the earth” (Rev. 13:8, 14) withhim, bearing his “mark” on their hands and their heads (Rev. 13:17), so too the true “Lamb” and true King has His people with Him, marked off with His own “name” and His “Father’s name” (v1).

Friends, there are so many OT allusions in this passage, that I cannot even point out half of them.

· “Mount Zion” (v1)

· the “roar of many waters” and the “sound of loud thunder” (v2)

· the collective “voice” that is “like the sound of harpists” who are singing a “new song before the throne” of God (v2-3)

· the purity and blamelessnessof those who “have been redeemed” (v4-5)

All of these have rich OT roots, and this should color our understanding of the flower we’re seeing here. In short, this first vision is the celebration of all those who have been purchasedor “redeemed from the earth” (v3). These are those who have been justified (or counted as righteous) because of the person and work of “the Lamb” (v1, 4). And it a picture of total triumph and ultimatevictory.

Whatever else we might learn from this first vision of John in chapter 14, we can know that the other visions to follow are grounded in the reality that the victory of the Lamb and His people is a sure certainty. And this is especially warranted by the “singing of a new song,” which “no one could learn… except [those] who had been redeemed” (v3).

In the OT (in Exodus), when God “saved [His people] that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and [His people] saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore,” they “saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians,” and they rejoiced with a song of salvation (Ex. 14:30-31).

They sang praises to God.

· “I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously” (Ex. 15:1).

· “The LORD… is my God, and I will praise him… I will exalthim” Ex. 15:2).

· “Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?” (Ex. 15:11).

They sang of God’s destruction of the wicked.

· “The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name” (Ex. 15:3).

· “Pharaoh’s chariots and his [army] he cast into the sea” (Ex. 15:4).

· “Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy” (Ex. 15:6).

· “In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble” (Ex. 15:7).

And they sang of God’s salvation of His people.

· “The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation” (Ex. 15:2).

· “You have ledin your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode” (Ex. 15:13).

· “You will bring [Your people] in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O LORD, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established” (Ex. 15:17).

Friends, throughout the Psalms, the psalmist refers back to this very scene and song, and he invites others both to remember what God has done and to find hope in the promise that He will do it again on the day of final victory (I encourage you to read Psalm 33 in its entirety sometime later today with this in mind).

There’s no doubt that John’s vision in Rev. 14 is drawing upon that historic and epic salvation which God performed for His people in Exodus, and this vision applies it to the present and future salvation of God’s people on the last day.

Brothers and sisters, the first reason those early Christians (and all Christians, by extension) ought to be faithful to Christ is because the faithful(those who are counted among the faithful and the kind of Christians who remain faithful to the end)… they get to sing the song of the redeemed… and no one else.

Brothers and sisters, it may seem like defeat is inevitable; it may feel like all hope is lost; but this passage urges Christians to grab hold of hope and cling to it as a sure certainty. The saints who endure… those who keep the commandments of God… those who keep their faith in Jesus… those are the ones who sing the song of the redeemed on the last day.

· Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who died in the place of sinners.

· Jesus of Nazareth really died and really came to life again.

· Jesus is risen and glorified right now, reigning over all the universe.

· And Jesus will come again.

· And when He does, He will stand on Mount Zion (that symbol of unmatched glory and full restoration), and all those who are faithful to Him will be with Him… singingthe song of salvation.

But, friends… those who right now are not believing or trusting in Christ… those who are not presently clinging to Him as their only hope in life and death… those who are not turning from their sin and following Jesus… the first reason you ought to be faithful (i.e., to pick up faith, to begin believing) is because rebellious sinners will not sing the song of the redeemed on the last day.

Rather, those who continue in sin and remain in unbelief will hear the announcement of their own judgment… God’s righteous condemnation of every sinner among “every nation and tribe and language and people” (Rev. 14:6).

2. Proclaiming Judgment (v6-11)

In this second vision, we see yet another reason to be faithful; and it is because God’s wrath is coming on “those who dwell on the earth,” regardless of who they are or where they live (v6).

Starting in v6, John tells of another vision. He “saw” an “angel” with “an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth” (v6).

Remember that Revelation divides all humanity into two groups, and we see them clearly distinguished in our passage today.

· There are those “with” the Lamb (v1),

o those who have “his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads” (v1),

o and these are the ones who have been “redeemed from the earth” (v3).

· And there are those “who dwell on the earth” (v6),

o those who are citizens of “Babylon the great” (v8),

o those who “worship the beast… and receive [his] mark” (v9),

o and these are the ones who “will drink of the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger” (v10).

This second group (those “who dwell on the earth”) is the focus of this second vision, and the “gospel” they hear is truly good news… but not for them.

When John “saw another angel” with “an eternal gospel to proclaim” (v6), John heard three announcements, one after the other, that rise in their severity.

· First, John heard a divine messenger say, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water” (v7).

o This may or may not be a call to repentance and faith.

§ I can see how some might think it is.

· The angel commands the earth-dwellers to “fear God,” “give him glory,” and “worship him” (v7).

§ However, the whole theme of this passage is the great division between the people of Christ and the people of the world… the faithful and the rebellious.

§ And the main thrust of this first announcement is that “the hour of [God’s] judgment has come” (v7).

· This suggests that the call here is not to repentance and faith, but to fear and glorifyand worship the God who deserves such things, whether the people are inclined to do it or not.

· Recall that the Bible teaches us that one day “at the name of Jesus everyknee [will] bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and everytongue [will] confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9-11).

· This does not teach us that every person will be saved in the end, but rather that every person will confess what is true about Jesus… He deserves fear, glory, and worship; and He will have it.

· Next, John heard another divine messenger say, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality” (v8).

o Over the next few weeks, we will learn a lot more about how John was using this symbolic city of “Babylon” and even why he refers to the great city as a “she” (v8).

o For now, let’s understand that “Babylon” is the name of the whole beastly system described in Revelation 13.

§ “Babylon” represents the entirety of the earthly kingdom that sets itself up against God and His Christ.

§ “Babylon” is the political, economic, and false religious power that is at work in the world to make war against Christ’s people, having taken up the devil’s cause.

§ Therefore, the announcement here is that the earthly and demonic opposition is “fallen”(v7).

· Just as the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah foretold long ago, on the last day, “Babylon the great” will fall, and the ruin of that monstrous kingdom and all its inhabitants will be devastating.

· The third announcement John heard from yet another heavenly messenger has the clearest and most detailed message of all.

o “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name” (v9-11).

§ We addressed this last Sunday, but it’s worth reiterating here… that the “worship” of the “beast” and the “mark” of “its name” is not referring to a blemish on the skin or to some mass idolatry ceremony.

§ No, to “worship” the “beast” and to have the “mark” of “its name” is to live and speak and actin rebellion against God… rebellion against God’s commands… rejecting God’s truth and remaining in unbelief.

· This is also true of those who worship God and bear His name… these are those who liveand speak and act out of love for and allegiance toChrist… They trust God’s word, they aim to obey His commands, and they order their lives around the conviction that Christ is King and Savior.

In short, what we have here in this second vision is the three-fold announcement of the good news that God will actually bring judgment upon this sinful world, He will destroy the worldly and devilish kingdom that seems to dominate at present, and He will make all sinners to drink the cup of His wrath.

Justice will be served in full, and the cup will be bitter indeed… but this will be a spectacular display of God’s righteousness… and all will look upon the distribution of God’s wrath with approval and even praisefor God’s justice in it.

The imagery of the “cup” here is worth taking a moment to unpack.

Throughout the Bible, the “cup” is a neutral thing; it can be full of blessing and salvation, or it can be full of condemnationand judgment. The Psalmist said, “The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup” (Ps. 16:5). And again, “I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD” (Ps. 116:13). In both of these cases, the “cup” is full of good things, a blessing and even salvation to the one who drinks it.

But the “cup” can also be a symbol of condemnation and judgment. The Psalmist says, “for in the hand of the LORD there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs” (Ps. 75:8). And when God sent the prophet Jeremiah to speak words of judgment upon OT Israel, God said to him, “Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all… to whom I send you drink it” (Jer. 25:15). In both of these cases, the “cup” is full of terrible things, condemnation and even God’s own wrath and judgment to the one who drinks it.

So too, the NT picks up on this symbol of the “cup” as both wonderful and terrible(and some of you will already know where I’m going). When Jesus prayed in the garden before His arrest and crucifixion, He prayed “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matt. 26:39). And on the cross, the Prince of glory (Christ Himself) drank the cup of God’s wrath in full, until He finally cried out, “It is finished” (Jn. 19:30).

At that moment, Christ made it so that all who would believe and trust Him might drink the “cup” of the “new covenant,” which is a cup of immeasurable blessing… representing the sacrifice He has made in order to grant a seat at the King’s table for those who were once His enemies (Lk. 22:20).

Jesus even gave His people an ordinance to be enjoyed among all true churches (the eating of bread and the drinking of the cup), which is both a remembrance of what Christ has done and a present hope that one day we will drink the cup of blessing with Him in glory (1 Cor. 11:25).

Friends, this second vision of John (in Revelation 14) reminds us that all those who remain in their sin will drink the cup of God’s wrath on the last day.

For Christians, this is a call for endurance (to be faithful), because Christ has already drunk the cup of God’s wrath on our behalf… and we shall bear witness of God’s righteous judgment being poured out on sinners… We shall see justice done.

But for those who are not believing Christ, those who are not turning from their sin, those who are living on with indifferencetoward the message of the gospel today (which is a message of hope and salvation for those who believe it)… On the last day, the gospel youwill hear is a message of only judgment… And dread the thought of what it will be like to drink the cup of God’s wrath.

Christian, be faithful… for Christ has already drained the cup for you.

Everyone else, be faithful… believe the gospel… take on faith and repentance… or prepare to drain the cup of God’s wrath yourself.

3. Endurance and Blessing (v12-13)

Verses 12 and 13 (almost in the middle of our passage today) are the primary call or imperative or takeaway for this whole chapter. One might say that these two verses are the repeated summary of what the whole book of Revelation is trying to do. This whole apocalyptic book is (for Christians) both a call for endurance and a promise of blessing… despite all the tribulation that is common for Christians on the pilgrim path through this world.

Remember, brothers and sisters, we are exiles here. This world is not our home, and it will often be inhospitable to us. But Christ has already told us, and He has encouraged us to persevere. Jesus said, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33).

In these two verses (Rev. 14:12-13) there is a clear third reason to be faithful, and it is listed among the promise of blessing. The third reason to be faithful is because even death cannot take away God’s blessing for those who “keep” His “commandments” and “their faith in Jesus” (v12).

Among all the “voices” and announcements from “heaven” in our passage, this one in v13 may well be the strongest affirmation of hope for Christians. Death was the penalty God warned about when He told Adam not to eat of the tree in the Garden. Death was the repeated tragedy of all the generations that followed after Adam’s sin (see Genesis 5; “and he died”… “and he died”…“and he died”). And deathis that constant reminder that God’s judgment and curse remains upon all creation.

But Christ has conquered death, that invincible enemy of all mankind. On the third day, He rose from the grave! Christ has faced death at its full strength, and He has turned the cup of God’s wrath into a cup of blessing for all those who are in Him. See it there in v13. “‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ Blessed indeed,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!’” (v13).

Friends, death is not good; death is bad. Mortal death is that abrupt and sobering picture of God’s judgment that will come for all sinners everywhere. On the last day, we will be exposed… we are weak, we are frail, and we are utterly dependent upon God for everything, including life itself. And death teaches us that all the health and power and influence and money in the world cannot stop God’s judgment from falling upon us.

But, brothers and sisters, for those in Christ (for those who believe Him, for those who trust Him, for those who follow Him)… for us, even death has no claim upon us or fear with which to threaten us.

The Scripture invites us to consider: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” (Rom. 8:35). “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 37-39).

For Christians, the third reason here to be faithful (to persevere, to “keep the commandments of God” and to “keep… faith in Jesus”)… is because even in death we remain “blessed” (v13). This does not mean that death is a blessing, but that death cannot steal or take away our blessing in the Lord Jesus Christ.

But, for those who are not presently believing in Christ or clinging to Himor keeping the commandments of God… this too is another reason for you to turn from sin and trust in Jesus. Death is coming, and death is a final and ultimate withdraw of any hope for blessing.

On the last day of your mortal life, when death finally comes for you… if you have remained in sin and unbelief… then there is nothing for you but the promise of the opposite of blessing… there is only God’s curse and wrath.

And the last section of our passage today makes this abundantly clear.

4. Two Harvests (v14-20)

In the chapters ahead, there will be more detail about the fall of Babylon, the plagues of God’s judgment, and the destructionof this world as we know it. But chapter 14 concludes with a picture of two harvests… one harvest to rescue the saints and another harvest to gather up the sinners for their destruction.

The fourth reason in our passage today that we ought to be faithful is because there will be two harvests on the last day – one for blessing and the other for wrath. Jesus said, in John’s Gospel, “25 Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live… 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment” (John 5:25-29).

Here, in our passage this morning, we have a symbolic picture of that very moment when all will be “resurrected”(just as Jesus said), some to eternal life and others to eternal damnation.

· The first harvest will be made by “one like a son of man” who is “seated on the cloud” with “a golden crown on his head” and “a sharp sickle in his hand” (v14).

o This is a picture of the true King, the “Son of Man” and “Son of God” who already reigns victorious, coming to claim His people as His own.

· The second harvest will be made by “another angel” who also has “a sharp sickle” in his hand (v17-18).

o This is a picture of the heavenly messenger coming to reap the harvest of those who are destined for destruction.

o These will be thrown “into the great wine press of the wrath of God,” and (based on what we will read later in Revelation) Christ Himself will tread them underfoot (v19; cf. Rev. 19:15).

Friends, this is both a wonderful and a gruesome picture of what will happen on the last day. When Christ returns, He will gather His people, and He will take them into the fullness of the blessings He has promised to those who are faithful.

But, when Christ returns, He will also gather all those who have opposed Him… all those who have disobeyed His laws, denied His authority, and disregarded His claim as Lord over all… And these Christ Himself will destroy.

For this reason… and for the others I’ve highlighted today… may God make us all faithful. May God make Christians faithful to the end, and may God make those who are not believers this moment to be faithful ones… so that they too may enjoy the blessings of God on the last day… and avoid His wrath.