Billy Graham once said, “I’ve read the last page of the Bible. It’s all going to turn out all right.” I’ve read the last page of the Bible, too, and I’d like to add two words to Billy Graham’s quote: “for believers.”

In the last chapter of the book of Revelation, verses 10 and 11 read, “Then he instructed me, ‘Do not seal up the prophetic words you have written, for the time is near. Let the one who is doing wrong continue to do wrong; the one who is vile, continue to be vile; the one who is good, continue to do good; and the one who is holy, continue in holiness.’”

What really struck me about these verses were the study notes that accompanied them. They say, “The angel tells John what to do after his vision is over. Instead of sealing up what he has written, as Daniel was commanded to do (Daniel 12:4-12), the book is to be left open so that all can read and understand. Daniel’s message was sealed because it was not a message for Daniel’s time. But the book of Revelation was a message for John’s time, and it is relevant today. As Christ’s return gets closer, there is a greater polarization between God’s followers and Satan’s followers. We must read the book of Revelation, hear its message, and be prepared for Christ’s imminent return.”

Have you not noticed the polarization that’s taking place in our country and in our world? Right vs. left, Democrat vs. Republican, brother vs. brother. Our society has truly embraced the, “I’m right, you’re wrong” philosophy, and it is hurting us. We are unable to change each other’s minds because we are so entrenched in believing we are right that our hearts harden and our minds close. Or, we are so overwhelmed with the magnitude of the situation, wrongly believing we can’t have an impact for good, we stick our heads in the sand, put on our blinders and live in our own little worlds. We become complacent.

I’m not just talking about politics, either. Maybe we need to look at politics through the lens of the Bible instead of the other way around. The fact is the craziness of politics and of this world has to happen to bring about the events that take place before Jesus’ return. Although we will never know the exact hour of His coming, when we see the events beginning to unfold, we can know the time is coming. “Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.” (Matthew 24:28) We cannot afford to look the other way and pretend it’s not going to happen.
“Be diligent and turn from your indifference.” (Revelation 3:19)

There will be plagues, famines, and suffering. Swine flu, AIDS, starving children, human trafficking, tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes. Does any of this sound familiar?

There will be a one world currency. There will be an antichrist, also referred to as the beast. “He required everyone—great and small, rich and poor, slave and free—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name. Wisdom is needed to understand this. Let the one who has understanding solve the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666.” – Revelation 13:16-18.

This mark is the exact opposite of the one that God gives to his followers in Revelation 7:3, “Wait! Don’t hurt the land or the sea, or the trees until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of his servants.”

These two marks place the people in two distinct categories – those owned by God and those owned by Satan. God or Satan. Black or White. Truth or Lies. No more fence sitting or shades of gray or half truths or watered-down gospel. No more complacency.

Christians are going to be persecuted for their beliefs, and in fact, already are. Revelation 13:10 says, “The people who are destined for prison will be arrested and taken away. Those who are destined for death will be killed. But do not be dismayed, for here is your opportunity to have endurance and faith.”

We are going to have to be able to defend the gospel. Until recently, I never felt like I needed to defend the gospel because it was an assumed truth. We were a Christian nation, and now our Christian beliefs are coming under attack. In fact, we have a duty to do so. Jude 1:3 says, “…But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the truth of the Good News. God gave this unchanging truth once for all time to his holy people.”

There’s that pesky little word again: TRUTH. People try to twist things, taking just enough elements of the truth to make it line up with what they want to believe, not what’s actually true. Here is a warning to truth-twisters, “And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. And if anyone removes any of the words of this prophetic book, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.” (Revelation 22:18-19)

The opposite of truth is deceit. If you choose not to believe the truth, you are choosing to believe the deception of the enemy. If you choose not to choose, guess what you chose? In 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 it says, “He will use every kind of wicked deception to fool those who are on their way to destruction because they refuse to believe the truth that would save them. So God will send great deception upon them, and they will believe all these lies. Then they will be condemned for not believing the truth and for enjoying the evil they do.”

It is this simple: choosing to believe the truth requires something of a person. Some people just aren’t able to make this choice because that mirror of truth shines a reflection on their own sin. They would rather compare themselves and their behavior to others, but other people aren’t the standard. God is the standard. His truth is unchanging. Living in this world of shades of gray and “anything goes”, people who stand for the truth get mocked or are perceived as being intolerant. It would be easier to be complacent, wouldn’t it? But that doesn’t make it right. Maybe that’s why Jesus said, “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose the easy way.” (Matthew 7:13)

God is being patient with us for our sakes, but it seems that many haven’t taken it seriously. They’re too busy to get into God right now. He’ll be there when they get older or on their own time table. But choosing him now makes our lives better now. Choosing, by definition, involves action, not complacency. We cannot be complacent about where we will spend eternity. So, bringing it full circle back to Billy Graham’s quote and the last page of the Bible, Revelation is a book of hope for believers, and everything is going to work out all right. “Come, Lord Jesus.”