Focus: The Amen

Text: Rev.3:14

"These things saith THE AMEN, the faithful..."

The word AMEN is not just a verb or an adjective but also a divine appellation or title of God. It is a name for God; it reveals the dependable nature or the concrete character of God. God is infallible and trustworthy. It is a name that depicts God as being as solid as a rock. 

Moses and Isaiah describe God as "the God of truth," and the word for truth is amen. God is the Amen or the God of the Amen. He is truth personified. God is the source and the firm foundation for faith. In Hebrew, truth and faith are connected. Our faith is based on God's revealed truth, and more than that, God is truth, and He is consistently and eternally truthful.

John is telling us that the Amen is talking, and His word is final, and there is nothing anyone can do about it. His word cannot be changed or falsified. The psalmist says, "For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven" (Ps.119:89). Whatever God says stands forever. It is sealed and settled. Amen is more than a prayer or an affirmation; it is a revelation of God's character. Amen denotes certainty, solidity and finality, and beyond that, it is the name or title of God and our Christ. The Amen as a name for God means that we can lean or rely on Him. He has the weight that can sufficiently carry our whole weight. 

God has in Himself adequate gravity, stability and solidity. Everything God possesses is eternally durable. God is capable and reliable.

Amen means more than 'so be it,' which is prayer. It is, 'So it is,' or 'it is so,' which is an affirmation. Paul says, "For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us" (2Cor.1:20). All the promises of God are stored and secured in Christ. He is the Amen and the Yes of God. 

Nothing negative can be traced or connected to Him. In Christ God has said His final yes to humanity and to His creation. Isaiah says, "That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth…" (Isa.65:16). Here "the God of truth" can be translated as 'the God of the Amen.' 

By the title of the Amen, we are given a revelation of God's stability, durability, reliability, infallibility and immutability. With God nothing can ever go wrong.

In moments of worship and the hearing of the word of the Lord, the people of God respond with amen. We read, "Blessed be the LORD God of Israel for ever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the LORD" (1Chron.16:36). Under Nehemiah and at the Watergate Revival organized by him, we read, "And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground" (Neh.8:6).

Each time we say amen, we are not only affirming that God's word is true, but we are also throwing our whole weight on God, trusting Him to do as He has said in His Word. We rest ourselves on God and His sure promises. We bank on the truthfulness, faithfulness and integrity of God. Christ is the Amen, ever faithful and true. Amen!!!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter