The ‘great and the small’, and the ‘servants who fear the Lord’, were already mentioned under the seventh ‘trumpet’. At that time John saw the tremendous moment dawning when they were to receive their reward; that the time had come to judge the dead.1 The deceased ‘servants’ who passed away to be with the Lord, the great and the small among the dead, will therefore to be raised in the ‘resurrection of the righteous dead’.2 To receive reward according to works. Not their redemption on the basis of their works, for we receive redemption purely on the basis of the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. And yet: reward for works! Revelation 11:18 reads “And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.” There is reward for works, reward for righteous deeds, for it will shortly be said that the fine linen in which the Lamb’s bride is clothed is the righteous deeds of the saints,3 the great and the small. Is this referring to children and adults? This is certainly the case for whoever does not become like a child will certainly not enter the Kingdom of God.4 This does not mean that believers have to become childish. It does not mean that believers have to switch off their mind, their intelligence and power of reason and look blindly upwards to Heaven. It does mean that believers believe God, trust God, and take Him at His Word, like children who believe what their fathers say. If a father stands at the bottom of the stairs and says to his child: ‘Jump!’ the child jumps. She trusts his father. She knows that her father will not suddenly step aside, so that the child will crash down the stairwell. She knows that she will end up in the arms of her father. Jesus says in Luke 10:21: “At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what You were pleased to do.” This is how believers trust in God, in what their Father says in His Word. We know: our Father is trustworthy and He cannot lie. Refer to Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29; Matthew 5:37; Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18. The Lord Jesus holds up children as examples to teach us – grown-ups – just that. It is absolutely necessary to believe like a child. We never reach the Kingdom otherwise. Adults and children have to deal with different problems, of course. Adults naturally know more intellectually and their questions are not the same as children’s. And it is permitted to ask questions pertaining to everything you do not understand regarding God and His Word, the Bible. About evolution and Creation. About the reason and purpose of suffering in the world and in your own soul. About the past, the present and the future. Bring your questions to the address where real answers are given. Go to God with them. Bring them honestly to Him in prayer. He does reply, maybe not immediately, but the answer will come. If you do, you will start to understand more and more of the Bible. The Holy Spirit starts in a quiet way to enlighten your mind. Unexpected things start to happen with regard to your questions. Fellow Christians give you books that help you to find another piece of your puzzle. You wake up in the morning and apparently ‘the penny has dropped’, Psalm 127:2: “ It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labours; for He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.” The Holy Spirit will guide you into all the truth.5 “By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the Word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.”6 Theologians of old sometimes said: God took reasons from within Himself. He created matter and time from within Himself. ‘Creatio ex nihilo’ – Creation from nothing.
• ‘Faith’ leads to ‘praise and worship’.
• Understanding intellectually, collecting data with your mind, and grasping the meaning of things with your mind and heart are two different things. You can learn a lot of facts, even come to a deep ‘understanding’ – though a lot of things may remain like looking into a ‘poor reflection as in a mirror’.7
• ‘Sensing’, ‘intuitive knowledge’ often precedes ‘logical, rational understanding’ with the mind. The ‘heart’ is deeper than the mind, but the mind can also and should also become enlightened in order that our praises will increase!
Bible References:
1.Revelation 11:18 2.Luke 14:14, 19:17-19; Matthew 25:21-23 3.Revelation 19:8 4.Matthew 18:1–6 5.John 16:13 6.Hebrews 11:1–3 7.1 Corinthians 13:2, 12
