The whole intent of this two-part blog on Revelation is to reveal the prophetic message of hope contained in the following verse of Scripture:
Revelation 2:10 – Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life.
The book of Revelation is prophetic because it’s about the conditions of the world in the end times, which many of us consider to be right now. I know I do. In Revelation 2:10 God is warning the Christians of our time what is coming and how to handle it. The church will have already been raptured but many of those left on earth will turn to God and be saved. It is those Christians left behind who Satan will persecute unto death. Let’s break it down and evaluate what it says. During the coming tribulation Christians are going to suffer “things” which means death but may also include other hardships such as thirst, hunger, beatings and torture. God tells us not to fear what is coming because we are His possession.
God tells us that Satan is ultimately be behind the imprisonment of Christians for a period of ten days during which we will have tribulation and be tested, which is another way of saying we’ll be tortured. The whole point of Christian incarceration is to get them to renounce their faith in Jesus and take the mark of the beast. Those Christians that cannot be broken will be beheaded publicly. God tells us if we bear up and remain faithful unto death He will give us a crown of life in heaven. These are the tribulation saints the Bible mentions as crying out to the Lord to punish the nations for their murder. The conditions in Revelation 2:10, are predicted to happen and Scripture always comes to pass because God cannot lie. It’s clear those conditions have never occurred in the past nor are they happening right now.
Obviously the events can only happen at some future date and since we’re in the book of Revelation that future date is in the end times. To narrow it down further, mentioning the word tribulation in the verse ties it to that seven year period known as the tribulation which covers the last seven years of human history. It is my heartfelt desire that when these evil times do come the people left on the earth after the church has been raptured will turn to God and latch onto the lifeline contained in Revelation 2:10, as they are hunted, tortured and killed for their faith in God. The Holy Spirit will be there to give the saints the faith needed to overcome those evil times.