The Palm

I love Palm trees. I always have. My parents and family lives in Florida and I live in the frozen Northeast. Each year we come down for a 2 1/2 week excursion to avoid the deep chill sometime between December 25 and March 31. I'm writing this entry from florida now. A palm tree sits just outside their window taunting me of our soon departure. Revelation 7 recounts the great multitude who come out of the great tribulation. Saints who stood opposed to the anti-christ system of the world. They were martyred and stayed strong in faith. This has happened in every generation. From the lion's in the Coliseum of Rome (Revelations's first audience) to Corrie Ten Boom and Dietrich Bonhoeffer under Nazi persecution... to the Bamboo Curtain's Chinese Christians underground suffering for Christ to the Christians in Muslim dominated countries being tortured and killed for their faith, every generation has had those who have stayed strong against Babylon. This is how John sees...