Covenant Response

For so many years I have 'just read' the last book, The Revelation, and found the blessing God gives in reading it.  I have never tried to 'understand', but, just read it.  Amazingly, two things began to become clear.  God, moving steadily toward the goal of covenant with man, reaches His goal.  Satan, in opposition to God, moves man toward his goal.  Man, determinedly or unknowingly giving a covenant response, moves in the direction he faces.  In the wisdom of God, covenant is the means by which God governs this realm and how He will achieve His purpose of making "man in Our image".  (Genesis 1:26)  We have the privilege of responding to God in covenant.  All through history God has given a covenant under which mankind could live and respond.  Until the Abrahamic covenant, all mankind was under the covenant of marriage given to Adam.  God established the order by the authority given to the man establishing his family and building his city.  God responded to mankind under the covenant response to the head of the family.  It was how cities were built and teaching, learning and order were established.  Satan's opposition to this was homosexuality, rebellion, murder, and chaos.  Noah was still living and teaching, fulfilling his role as a patriarch under God's blessing, when Abraham was born in Seth's line.   Abraham knew and understood the pattern of life that pleased God and worshipped Him.  To him, God committed the responsibility of establishing God's covenant for a nation.  Abraham believed God and was faithful to the covenant God gave him.  Jesus was not only born under this covenant, but His genealogy is traced to Adam.  All mankind is under the covenant Jesus made with God for us.  All mankind is under covenant.  To ignore or refuse God's covenants is separation from God.  Satan knows this.  As the thief he is, he has robbed people of the understanding of covenant and, in so doing, has robbed the earth of knowing and moving in the glory of giving a covenant response.   But, God has given to His church the gift of the Holy Spirit to teach and guide her into the glory He has ordained to be her portion.

In The Revelation, we see God at work in those who look to Him and give that covenant response of love, obedience and trust.  We see the 'knee-jerk' response of the nations to Satan's hatred of God.  We see the end result of both Satan's and God's purpose.  Through the entire book, it is revealed to us, the privilege we have of giving to God the response of our nature yielding to His nature, and with patience and trust, moving with Him to His triumph.