THOSE WHO REFUSE THE MARK OF THE BEAST WILL HAVE THE VICTORY!

"They sing the song of Moses, the servant
of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying:
"Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord
God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways,
O King of the saints!" Rev 15:3

I'm amazed! Let me set the scene. John is seeing a
vision of heaven. He sees a glassy sea -- glowing
with the reds and oranges of fire. On that sea stands
the saints from earth who were victorious over the
beast and the number of his name. These are saints
who have refused the mark of the beast and who have
refused to bow down and worship the image of the
antichrist. How did they get there? They were
slaughtered, persecuted, starved to death. That
was the punishment for refusing the mark.

Listen! Those persecuted saints are singing! What
song is that? What are the words? Why such a joyful
sound? "Great and marvelous are Thy works, O Lord
God, the Almighty!" Were they singing of the wonderful
works of God -- though those works caused them to
suffer? Indeed! How could it be? Listen to the next
line: "Righteous and true are Thy ways, Thou King of
the nations." God's ways are righteous? They are true?
Certainly. And in the words of these suffering saints
we can learn the response we should have to suffering.

When things go bad, things turn a bit sour, we have
two choices. We can suffer and complain. Or we can
suffer and rejoice in the privilege. What's the
difference? Remember that time before you were
saved that you hit your finger with a hammer?
Oh how you turned the air blue with your curses.
Did it help you feel better? NO. You suffered
physically and you suffered spiritually. You
grumbled and complained and groaned and muttered.
You suffered and your suffering was compounded.

Now think about the time you hit your thumb with
a hammer and you were saved. Sure it hurt, but you
shouted "Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!" You offered
a short prayer for relief and went about your business.
You suffered, but your heart was rejoicing -- and
you suffering was tolerable. See the difference?
It's all in the attitude. These saints had learned
that all the suffering was worth it when you considered
the end result. THEY WERE IN HEAVEN -- STANDING
BEFORE THE TEMPLE OF GOD! I think I'll rejoice,
too! How about you? Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.