Ok . . . so, if we’re honest with ourselves, who doesn’t like to check themselves out in a picture or a home video? Yeah, it’s a group photo . . . or a family gathering caught on tape (aargh, I date myself . . . caught on a digital recording device) . . . and although we know we aren’t the focus of attention, we can’t help but notice ourselves and check out how we’re lookin’. I confess I did a bit of that this morning in my reading in Revelation 16 and 17.

Now . . . I know this passage is so not about me. It’s about bowls of wrath . . . the judgment of God upon those who refuse to bow the knee. It’s about the identification of “the great harlot”, the one “with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication” (Rev. 17:1-2). And it’s about the Lamb who makes war against the harlot and the peoples of earth who have gathered together at Armageddon in opposition to God Himself.

“So,” you might ask, “Where are you in this picture, Pete?” Glad you asked . . . check this out . . .

“These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.” (Rev. 17:14)

There I am! “Those who are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” Ok, so maybe it’s not me specifically (or maybe it will be, I don’t know), but at the very least those are my people. Four things to note about them . . . First, they are “the called”. They were invited . . . even wooed . . . by the Lamb to come to Him . . . to drink of His living water . . . to feast at His table . . . to become part of His family . . . to be counted a joint-heir of His glories and the inheritance that is His. That’s me! Oh, that He would invite me, when I really wanted nothing to do with Him. That He would patiently seek and eventually save this lost sheep. Invited by the Lamb . . . the invitation written in red, with His own precious blood . . . and by the grace of God, I RSVP’d, “O Lamb of God, I come.”

Second, they are” the chosen” . . . the elect . . . the “picked out” . . . the appointed. Oh, what a mystery . . . oh, how beyond reconciliation with the truth of the free will of man . . . yet, how true as well! Yes, by grace, I believed and received . . . but true also, that I am part of that company known as the “elect according to the foreknowledge of God” (1Peter 1:1) . . . a member of those God chose “in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will” (Eph. 1:4-5). That’s me as well! To Him be all glory!

And too, they are “the faithful”. They have rested on His promises . . . and they can be counted upon. They have kept on keepin’ on. On the mountain top and in the valley, by the grace of God, they have continued to hold fast that which they have been convinced is true and have held fast to Him who is the hope of salvation. Though they may have stumbled from time to time, at the end of the day, they are considered “the faithful.” By His sustaining and enabling grace, I see them as my company . . . God having kept His promise that the work He has begun in me, He will complete until the day of Jesus Christ (Php. 1:6).

And finally, the fourth thing I see in this group which I so identify with, is that “they are with Him.” The One who is Lord of lords and King of kings is in the company of those He has redeemed through His blood. They are with Him . . . He is in their midst. He leads . . . they follow. He triumphs . . . they are victors. He serves up the great marriage supper . . . they feast at the table. With Him . . . what wonder that will be. That’s me! I’m in that picture! With Him! Praise God!

Father, once again I am filled with awe and wonder at the position I occupy and the hope I possess because I am “in Christ”. Thank you for the invitation . . . to You be all praise for determining in Sovereign grace to graft me into Your family . . . and, by Your grace, I desire to be faithful . . . and some day soon, I look forward to being with Him . . . Your Son . . . the Lamb . . . the King. To You be all the glory . . . amen!