Last week, we touched on the differences between living in fear and living by faith. This week, I want to pause our discussion of Revelation to talk about to keep fear from overtaking our faith as we get closer to the end of the age. Below is an excerpt from my book Overcoming Fear.

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       In these last days, the battle raging for the soul of man is intensifying dramatically. This battle is being fought in every individual, every church, every city, and every nation. If we do not understand this conflict, we will be defeated. This...

      Some consider it dangerous to seek revelation from angels, since cults and sects have started that way. That is true, so we need to acknowledge and learn how this has happened to avoid the same mistakes. It is dangerous to receive revelations from angels, but probably not as dangerous as not receiving them.

      Almost everything we do is dangerous, but we don’t stop doing everything because of it. If we are wise, we learn how to do things safely. Driving a car can be one of the most dangerous things we do, but we don’t stop driving...

      We are promised a blessing just for reading the book of Revelation, as stated in Revelation 1:3: “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it.” In Revelation 22:7, we are promised, “Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” So, there is a blessing for reading the book of Revelation and another for heeding it. Our goal must be to read it, to understand it, and to heed it, which is to be changed by it.

      This...

      We are promised a blessing just for reading the book of Revelation. However, throughout history, cults have been started by people who believed they had a special understanding of the book of Revelation no one else did. One of the definitions of a cult is that the people tend to listen to only one leader, teacher, or prophet. That is a pride the Lord will resist. So, let us approach the Word of God with the humility demonstrated by our dependence on the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth. All truth is found in Christ.

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      At the beginning of the book of Revelation, it says the Lord gave John the revelation to give to His bond servants, plural. As we seek to understand it, we first must have the heart, the mentality, of a bond servant of Christ.

      It is rare to find a disciple among the followers of Christ who lives according to the Lord’s own definition of a disciple. If disciples have an uncommon devotion to knowing the Lord and His ways—and they do—then bond servants are even rarer. These people live as true slaves, not doing their own will,...