The Source of Life
Open Your Bible
Revelation 22:1-21, Psalm 12:6, Ezekiel 47:1-12
BY Guest Writer
Revelation 21 and 22 paint a lovely picture of the promised end of our story, but we are not home yet. Our destination is certain and secure, but friend, we have not arrived. There is still work to be done.
Believers living on this side of the cross live in a tenuous “now” and “not yet.” Because of the resurrection of Jesus and the indwelling of His Holy Spirit, we can experience some of the kingdom now. The fruit of the Spirit is a present promise for those of us who surrender to His Lordship. We can enjoy and display love, joy, peace, patience, and kindness today.
We can grieve in a unique and gospel-centered way. We do not grieve as those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). We mourn, but we are comforted by the hope of heaven. We can live in a fallen and fractured world without succumbing to fear or a fatalistic perspective that nothing can redeem the brokenness around us.
The call to persevere is the command for us to live as sojourners who are passing through to our eternal Promised Land. But we don’t fix our eyes on Jesus, the author, source, and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), to the exclusion of others. We cannot ignore those around us. Not at all. I believe this is why Christ commanded John to write instructions for God’s people before He unfolded what was coming. Revelation opens with a clarion call to the Church, and the letters to the seven churches (Revelation 2–3) should still be the filter through which we view this “end.” We have a job to do, and Jesus expects us to do it well.
We must persevere in the face of crushing secularism and punishing persecution, passionately clinging to the gospel. When we persevere, we live with the same kind of urgency that moved Jesus to say, “I am coming soon!” (Revelation 22:7). We stay mindful that none of us—not our lost neighbor, sinful co-worker, or rebellious family member—is promised tomorrow. We and the strangers all around us are walking toward a sure judgment. One day grief will be no more, but that day is not today. However, grief does serve a purpose. It arrests our hearts with compassion and compels us to action. We ought to grieve what is coming and then live a life that proclaims the hope that Jesus’s death and resurrection secured.
Yes, the kingdom is both now and not yet for you and me. We can experience it now, and we must proclaim it to those who have not yet received it. And whether they persist in doing evil, as Jesus says in Revelation 22, we stay the course in faithfully preaching of the gospel in word and deed. We preach it now because His return is not yet. There is still time, and we must steward it well.
Whitney Capps is a national speaker for Proverbs 31 Ministries. Her first book, Sick of Me (B&H Publishers) and bible study, We Over Me (LifeWay) both release in March 2019. Whitney is the founder of Simple Seminary, a place for the everyday gal to learn theology. She and her husband, Chad, are raising their four boys just outside Atlanta, Ga. You can connect with her at whitneycapps.com or on Instagram, @whitneycapps.
24 thoughts on "The Source of Life"
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It has been so good to study and walk through Revelation with all who gather here. The insights and challenges by the SRT contributors and the comments posted here by sisters around the world are so very much appreciated. My heart, mind and spirit have been touched by you all. I’m looking forward to the day when all our questions are answered by the One Who wrote this book. I’m looking forward to meeting all the She’s face to face on that day also. That is then. This is now. I have today and I will use it to pray – for steadfast perseverance in sharing the Truth regardless of opposition. For confident hope in all of God’s promises. For unwavering faith that there are still many who will turn to Him for salvation. Let us boldly speak the Truth in love now so that we may all rejoice together then. Imagine – all eternity, all together, all perfect, all praise and all glory!!
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Do you pray for your pastors and staff or do you talk about them when they fail in their ministries?
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This is my first study with this App and I am honored to be doing this. It’s very exciting and makes alot of sense too. Hooray. Wgat a great way to make sure we read the bible too everyday. Well pleased. ♡♡
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What a perfect perspective in which to view this time in which we live: ” Now, and not yet.” Thank you Whitney for sharing that useful insight and SRT for this Revelations devotion. I also get the devotional book to go along with our online discussions, and I have really appreciated the “extra” details, charts, and worksheets in this study. Revelations can be daunting and having this study has been truly beneficial.
EHH & Shawn: Thank you for capturing my thoughts as well. I am certainly agreeing with you in prayer today, dear Sisters.
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Shawn Parks and EHH…well said. Shawn Parks I continue to pray for a strong finish for your year today and a wonderful retirement party – tomorrow I believe.
I love the now and not yet mentality. We live loved by God as his children now. The Holy Spirit dwells within us but, the battle is not over yet. There are lost and hurting people all around us. We cannot afford to waste these opportunities. My sister is visiting from out of state. We spent Wednesday night with her very angry and unbelieving son. I wanted to write lost son but it seemed so strong but, it is true. Anyone without Jesus is lost. Seeing his pain, changes me, my prayers and my actions. Another family member will visit with her children tonight. She is searching.
Meanwhile the now and not yet continues for Mary. We love and care for her now, it is not yet time for the transition to heaven, but she is close.
“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with everyone. Amen.”
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EGG your comment is my prayer as well…keeping focus on God and His promises to us while we are here. Thank you.
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Fantastic website you have here but I was wanting to know if you knew of any user discussion forums that cover
the same topics discussed in this article? I’d really like to be a part of
group where I can get feed-back from other knowledgeable people that share the same interest.
If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Bless you! -
Persevere. Focused and purposeful during the”in between”. Filled with God’s love, strengthened by Christ’s example, and guided by the Holy Spirit, we work, worship, play, pray, and witness to the great glory of God’s truth with mercy, compassion, and grace. Be joyful, sisters, our Lord is coming soon!
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On Day 1, I prayed not to understand everything I read, but to understand God more, His mission for me more, and renew my desire to live a life on that mission. God thank you for your compassion. You gently guided me through a book I have historically avoided through this SRT study. It was slow enough to let me ponder Your Word but fast enough to not let me get bogged down into details that can lead me away from the point of this prophesy.
God thank you for this Revelation. You remind me in this text to persevere. You remind me that when I see injustice – even if not dealt with in my lifetime – it WILL be dealt with. Evil never wins. You remind me that my labor is not in vain. You remind me no matter what I endure here on earth, it is just a vapor of time compared to an eternity with you as my lamp and sun. You remind me that while I am weary now, and I grieve now, a day is coming when you will look me in the eye and wipe away all of the pain and grief.
Lord give me the strength and stamina to run on the mission You have given me. Help me to keep my eyes laser focused on You – not looking to the left or right to compare my mission to someone else’s. Help me to bring about your Kingdom purposes in this already but not yet time. May my life smell of the aroma of your Garden and call people home to You.
Thank you SRT for walking with me through this book. I am so grateful.
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Amen!
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Yes Lord, please help me to stay focused on you!
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Amen!
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Yes and amen!
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