A false witness will perish,
but the man who listens
to the truth will speak forever.

Proverbs 21:28

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” This is a phrase used by Jesus after explaining the parable of the good seed which is accounted in 3 of the 4 Gospel accounts and also used in two other parable explanations. This phrase is used by John in Revelation as he records his visions of God’s declarations to the seven churches. Using this phrase is similar to Jesus’ use of “Truly, truly” only with a hint of irony. 

In my feeble human mind, I think I can be safe to imagine God using our modern vernacular. “You who have ears and all of you have ears, so no excuses…listen up because this is serious stuff! If you don’t hear this, then it is obvious you have chosen not to listen and will face those consequences. It’s that simple.”

It is the same inference in our key verse for today. If we will listen to The Truth, our testimony…our witness will speak forever. But, if we choose not to listen to The Truth, then our witness will be false and we will ultimately perish; separated from God forever.

‘Hearing’… ‘Listening’ is so much more than just recognizing voices and noises going on around you. It is so much more than multitasking on five voices all at once and not heeding any of them. And it is way more than, in one ear and out the other! This hearing and listening God is asking of us is a laser focus, wisdom driven, paying complete attention to God’s commands and instructions. 

For example, whether you believe these churches in Revelation were real during the time of John’s writing or prophetic to seven types of churches in the end times or both, these seven churches were all in serious life and death; eternal consequence situations. They each had the God of Creation speaking directly to them (and in turn, speaking to us) about serious sin issues, serious faith issues, serious witness issues and serious persecution issues. They were in the middle of choosing between the two choices given in Proverbs 21:28! It was time for them to listen up to The Truth or else!

God pleads with Israel and with us over and over again to listen to Him…to listen for The Truth!

Psalm 81:11-13

But My people did not listen to My voice, and Israel did not obey Me. So, I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own devices. Oh, that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways!

John implores us in his first letter to be careful which voices we are listening to…

1 John 4:4-6

You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.