Deeper Reflection
THIS WEEK WE WILL REFLECT ON REVELATION 1 TO 3 AS we think about Faith Exploit 2 – Disciple Singapore. May the Lord our God lead us in the action steps to be taken as individual Christians, families and a local church in Singapore. Our beloved country is a city-state known for many strengths.²⁸ However, more than 80% of the people have yet to believe in the Gospel.²⁹The Apostle John wrote the book of Revelation to bear witness to all that he saw, as shown by Jesus Christ through an angel (vv.1-2). John probably received this revelation around A.D. 95, in the context of persecution of Christians by the Roman Emperor Domitian.³⁰ John’s message was first given to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia (v.4), but is also meant for all churches.³¹ Jesus Christ is “the ruler of kings on earth” (v.5). Indeed, He is the “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev 19:16)! Jesus has made all His disciples “a kingdom, priests to His God and Father” (v.6). Therefore, we are to tell our fellow Lion City-dwellers (Singapore citizens, permanent residents and foreigners who live here for work or study) about King Jesus who is coming again soon to judge the world in righteousness (“Behold, He is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him,…and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him”, v.7; Psa 96:13). That day is much sooner than when John wrote Revelation.³² So, with love and compassion, let us urgently implore people to repent of their sins and believe in Jesus Christ while there is still time.

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²⁸ E.g. world-class education, healthcare and transport; low crime levels, strong political stability and forward-thinking economic strategy. In 2021, Singapore was the fourth strongest nation brand in the world, scoring particularly high for Global Soft Power Index pillars of Business & Trade, and Governance: https://brandirectory.com/rankings/nationbrands/ ²⁹ According to the Singapore Census of Population 2020, 18.9% of the population 15 years and over in 2020 identify themselves as Christians: https://www.singstat.gov.sg/-/media/files/visualising_data/infographics/c2020/c2020-religion.pdf ³⁰ https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/intro-to-revelation/ ³¹ https://www.esv.org/resources/esv-global-study-bible/introduction-to-revelation/ ³² Cf. “the things that must soon take place” (v.1); “the time is near” (v.3).