A Tale of Two Cities Revelation 14 “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…” Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities. “And who were these people, ‘having his Father’s name written in their foreheads?’ Not Bs for ‘Baptists,’ not Ws for ‘Wesleyens’ not Es for ‘Established Church.’ They had their Father’s name and nobody else’s. What a deal of fuss is made on earth about our distinctions! We think such a deal about belonging to this denomination, and the other. Why, if you were to go to heaven’s gates, and ask if they had any Baptists there, the angel would only look at you, and not answer you, if you were to ask if they had any Wesleyans, or members of the Established Church, he would say, ‘Nothing of the sort;’ but if you were to ask him whether they had any Christians there, ‘Ay,’ he would say, ‘an abundance of them: they are all one now – all called by one name; the old brand has been obliterated, and now they have not the name of this man or the other, they have the name of God, even their Father, stamped on their brow.’” (Spurgeon) “Just as biblical prophets often portrayed Israel as either an unfaithful prostitute or as a pure virgin or bride for God, so Revelation portrays unrepentant humanity as a prostitute (Rev. 17:1–5) and those faithful to Christ as his pure spouse (19:7; 21:2, 9). These 144,000 have refused to commit immorality with Babylon, the prostitute (cf. 18:3). The symbolism thus makes a strong point: Christians must be pure and faithful to Christ if they wish to be prepared for and engage in the Lamb’s holy war. Unlike the world (13:17), believers cannot indulge in divided interests” (C. Keener, Revelation, p. 371). Confronting Three Big Questions: 1. What city best defines your life? The city of Babylon with its worldly pursuits of lust and idolatry or the city of God with its pursuit of righteousness and praise unto God? 2. Every person is born into the citizenship of Babylon with our human sinful natures, but if we are going to obtain citizenship in God’s heavenly Mt. Zion then we must be born-again through faith in Christ. Have you been born-again? 3. We are all headed toward one of two destinies. Heaven or hell. Both are eternal. One is the place of perfection made ready for those who desire God, the other is a place of separation made ready for those who want nothing to do with him. Where are you headed? “Many today avoid trying to “scare” people into the kingdom. In a culture in revolt against authority and skeptical of threats, emphasizing God’s loving invitation may be a more strategic approach. But John had no such scruples against “scaring” people, and as long as we speak the truth and are able to reason with people (Acts 19:9; 24:25), there remain occasions when this approach is appropriate. A young atheist chose to consider the claims of Christ immediately rather than deferring the decision because the doctrine of hell made the stakes too high to ignore. Twenty-four years later that former atheist remains a committed Christian—and is writing this commentary” (Craig Keener, Revelation, p. 382).