In Revelation 1:9, John describes for us exactly what the Christian life is like. Flipsis, “tribulation.”
This is the word for being squashed.
He was doing what he was supposed to do, preaching the word of God like he was called to, and because of that, he was in trouble. Flipsis, squashed, can’t hold up the weight any longer.
John’s readers were going through the exact same thing.
They were meeting in secret to avoid being fed to lions. They were suffering for their faith.
They were constantly surrounded by so much immorality that they faced temptation just walking down the street. , and they, with us, and with John, need what God is about to unwrap for them.
When John uses the word “patience” in verse 9, he’s using it to describe God’s instruction to hold on, even when it hurts.
Paul described the Christian life as sumagonizumai, “with agony.”
Christians are, according to Paul, “with agonizers.”
We struggle together, we are squashed, and God calls us to hold on even when it hurts.
When God gave the book of Revelation to John, He was speaking to people who were suffering.
And when God comes to squashed, agonizing people who are barely holding on, we see His gift to us in one glorious moment, when God Himself rips away the wrapping paper and we get to see the real, present-day Jesus Christ.
The reality of our new life in Christ is that it is a struggle. When Paul wrote to Titus, he had already described himself as a fellow-struggler through this world (Romans 15:30; 1Timothy 6:12; 2 Timothy 4:7). Paul calls born-again believers under the guidance of the Spirit of God sunagonidzomai, or in English, “fellow-strugglers”.
GOD OF HOPE
Romans 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
WNS 2025NY-02 – Living With Hope In A Dark World (250331AM)
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