WE ARE SURROUNDED! -- Monday:
"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses . . . " (Hebrews 12:1)
We "ARE" compassed or surrounded by these witnesses. The imagery is that of a great amphitheater, with the arena of the runners, and the tiers upon tiers of seats rising up like a cloud. Unlike those attending a mere game, however, these witnesses, or testifiers, remain. They are like a boundary around us. They form a circumference, and are among a gallery of witnesses that even include the holy angels, who themselves camp round those fearing the Lord (Psa 34:7).
While the angels protect and minister to believers (Psa 91:11; Heb 1:13-14), the faithful who have gone before us, and testify to us. They do not do so person-to-person, but through the record of their faith. Their lives provide a resounding confirmation of the effectiveness of faith. It is as though they were shouting to those struggling in the good fight of faith, "You can make it! Run! Fight! Don't give up! God is with you! Consider us! Consider us! We went through fire and water, and made it to the other side! We did the impossible! Divine power was given to us because we willed to believe God! Do not look at the circumstance, but to the Lord!" O, we need to hear them!
Some object to this, saying that it is simply the record that is in reference, not the witnesses themselves. But this is not the case. We are not surrounded by a document, but by witnesses; not by a record, but by personalities. That is what the Spirit says! They are called a "cloud of witnesses" because of the vast number of them. Even if there had only been very few such witnesses, they should have aroused our slumbering spirits and fired our souls for the "good fight of faith" (1 Tim 6:12). But this is a vast and prestigious assembly that surrounds us. Millions kept the Passover, came out of Egypt, passed through the Red Sea, and drank from a rock in a wilderness! From Abel through the period of the Judges and the Kings, there have been people who lived by faith. In Elijah's day, there were "seven thousand" who, by faith, refused to bow their knees to Baal (1 Kings 19:18; Rom 11:4). Every age has had its "remnant" (Isa 10:20; Ezek 6:8; Amos 5:15; Micah 2:12; Zech 8:12; Rom 11:5), and God has never left Himself "without witness" (Acts 14:17). Now, they ALL surround us.
Do not doubt the possibility of this! Jesus affirmed the present existence of those who died in the faith. "But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken" (Mark 12:26-27). God will not raise those who are inactive or do not exist, but the living. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have left this world, but they have not ceased to be! We know this is the case because of an extensive dialog the "rich man" had with Abraham from the very regions of hell (Luke 16:23-30). Abraham also "comforted" Lazarus, who suffered in this world (Luke 16:25). Peter, James, and John saw "Moses and Elijah" speaking with Jesus on the "holy mount" (Matt 17:3; Luke 9:30). There is a vast unseen world, teeming with personalities–people who have passed through the fire and the water, and have been sustained by God Almighty! We do well to ponder them!
We are told of martyrs who presently are conscious, active, observant, asking questions, and receiving answers. "I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?' Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed" (Rev 6:9-11).
The "rich man" who died and lifted up his eyes in torment knew about his brothers upon the earth. From the region of the damned, he requested they be warned of hell. Do you remember his words? "Then he said [to Abraham], 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, 'for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.'" (Luke 16:27-28). Abraham himself had some awareness of things upon the earth. He answered the rich man. "'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.' And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead'" (Luke 16:29-31). Think! Both Moses and the prophets lived a considerable time AFTER Abraham. He knew nothing of either when he was in the world. Yet, he was fully aware of them on the other side.
No person, therefore should think it strange that we could be surrounded with a "great cloud of witnesses" who are intensely interested in the race to glory we are running. If the rich man could be interested in his brothers in the world, why could not departed saints have a vital interest in the warfare of fellow believers in the world? Are we not told that we have come into fellowship with a family that has representatives in "heaven" as well as the "earth" (Eph 3:15)? Is it not written that we are "COME . . . to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven . . . and to the spirits of just men made perfect" (Heb 12:22-23)?
This cloud, or vast assembly of witnesses, is very real, and their observation of us is very real. In a very substantial sense, they lived out their lives for us – as a testimony to us of the unwavering effectiveness of faith. A specific journey was laid out for each of them, and they traversed treacherous and threatening surroundings to complete it. You are in the same situation, and are called upon to hear their testimony!
Listen to their confession, and doubt not the ability of your faith to carry you through. "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive" (Joseph, Gen 50:20). "There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass" (Joshua, Josh 21:45). "Thus far the LORD has helped us" (Samuel, 1 Sam 7:12). "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread" (David, Psa 37:25). "There hath not failed one word of all his good promise" (Solomon, 1 Kgs 8:56). Hear them, child of God! Hear them! Their record has been written to give you the advantage. As you reflect upon these saints of old, your heart will become more conscious of them. They still cry out to us, urging us to finish the race that has been set before us. "Run," they cry!
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank you for the consistent and encouraging testimony of those who have lived by faith.