21:1-35 - In
verses 5-9, there is an illustration of God’s salvation (John 3:14-15).
There is sin and death (Romans 5-6; 3:23, 6:23). Christ prays for our
forgiveness (7; Luke 23:34). Lifted up on the Cross, He dies that we
might have eternal life. In love, He appeals to us, ‘Look to me and be
saved’ (John 12:32; Isaiah 45:22). Enter, Destroy Possess (21-24,
33-35): Let Christ enter your heart, destroying Satan’s strongholds and
taking possession of your life (2 Corinthians 10: 3-5). If we are to be
victorious to the ‘praise and glory and honour... of Jesus Christ’ (1
Peter 1:6-8), we must ‘go by the King’s Highway, not turning aside to
the right hand or the left’(22; 20:17). For the Christian, ‘the King’s
Highway is ‘the Way of Holiness’: ‘This is the way, walk in it’ (Isaiah
35:8; 30:21).
22:1-41 - Learn
from the past. In 2 Peter 2:15-16, Jude 11 and Revelation 2:14, we are
encouraged to learn from the events of this chapter. Each passage
contains a warning. (a) 2 Peter 2:15-16 - Don’t leave ‘the straight way’ and follow the crooked way! (b) Jude 11 - Don’t let making a profit become more important than being a prophet! (c) Revelation 2:14
- Make sure you don’t get drawn away from God into sin! What is God
saying to us here? - ‘these things happened... as a warning... they were
written down for our instruction... let anyone who thinks that he
stands take heed lest he fall’. With the warning, there is also the
promise: ‘...God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond
your strength, but with the temptation will also provide a way of
escape...’ (1 Corinthians 10:11-13).
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