As followers of Jesus we walk by faith and not by sight, i.e. we rely upon our beliefs, our convictions, about God's purpose, his foreknowledge and predestination (2 Cor.5:7; Rom.8:29). We believe that God is working out his purposes in our lives. How do we find out that purpose and seek to cooperate with God's working? This calls for the prayer of faith.

It is obvious that for them to mean what they say they cannot be understood in terms of chronological time. Even in New Testament times scoffers said, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness"(2 Peter 3:1-10). In fact, the whole of the book of Revelation cannot helpfully be interpreted in terms in chronological time.

In Revelation, the dragon, Satan, had stolen from humanity the treasure of the kingdom of God, the pearl of great price, the treasure hidden in a field, the presence and power and reign of God, until the army of heaven, led by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who is called Faithful and True, came and waged war by the Word of God. He won the battle by his perfect life, death on the Cross for our sins, and his resurrection, reversing the condemnation of Adam.

(Rom.11:35,36) "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth...and he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else... For in him we live and move and have our being." (Acts 17:24-28) Billy Graham says that "a spirit of thankfulness is one of the most distinctive marks of a Christian whose heart is attuned to the Lord. Thank God in the midst of trials and persecutions."