“Whoever leads into captivity will himself go into captivity; if anyone slays with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Herein is [the call for] the patience and the faith and fidelity of the saints (God’s people).” Revelation 13:10 ->me: There is some debate on this verse in the commentaries but here are my thoughts. The first part ‘Whoever leads into captivity will himself go into captivity,’ better translates into ‘Whoever God leads into captivity will indeed go into captivity’ (this is very close to the RSV). So, to me this is a statement about the purposes of God perfectly executed -> if it is God’s will that I get abducted while on a missions trip then that is indeed what is going to happen. If I am following God through prayer and His word then I can be at peace in every situation because that is exactly where God has me at that time and place – I should be looking for the opportunities to serve Him in every circumstance, even if it is under adversity. The second part ‘if anyone slays with the sword, with the sword must he be slain’, I believe is about trust. When Peter drew his sword to kill the servant in garden, when Jesus was betrayed, Jesus said ‘Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?’ (Matthew 26:52-53) God calls me to trust Him implicitly; in every situation and circumstance. God forbid I take something into my own hands and create a detour the Lord must take me through that might be 100 times harder than just trusting that God has every aspect of my existence situated in the events of His plan for my life.
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