FBC Daily Devotions

Read Revelation 20:4-6.

If the rapture of God’s children occurs before the great tribulation period described in this book, when will those who die during the great tribulation period be resurrected? When will they rise with a new body to be with the Lord? The answer is found in today’s passage. According to the revelation, John sees those who had been martyred, those who had not worshipped the beast or his image or had not received the mark of the beast. At the end of the tribulation period, these saints of God will come to life and reign with Christ for a thousand years.

The angel of the prophecy goes on to say “blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection.” This “first resurrection” – what is it? Was not the rapture that occurred some 7 years earlier the first resurrection? The question is a valid one. The answer is in understanding the meaning of the term “first”. The first resurrection refers to those who will be raised to eternal life as opposed to eternal death. It is first in quality not necessarily in order. It is first in preeminence and supremacy. Indeed, the resurrection of God’s people occurs first in order, and we must see that both resurrections at the beginning of the tribulation period and after the tribulation period are part of the first resurrection because they are both preeminent and first in the order of resurrections (a second resurrection will occur later in this chapter).

I am reminded of Jesus’ words that in His kingdom, the last shall be first and the first last. We may be “last” in this life, but God promises that in our humble courage and faithful service here, we will be first in the kingdom of God. Those same words apply to our resurrection as well when we will be raised first.

I find it interesting that in reward ceremonies, almost always the runner-ups are announced first followed by the winner. That will not be the case in the final judgments. God’s people will be raised first and rewarded new life with Him in eternity. Those who fall short will be announced last. Truly, the last shall be first in every respect. Keep that in mind when you are feeling last in this life. When people treat you with disrespect, when people reject your faith, when the sacrifices of living for God are severe, remember that a day is coming when we will rise from the bottom and be crowned in the first resurrection. “Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection.” 

-Mike

Read Revelation 20:1-3.

This chapter introduces a lot of activity in a relatively short passage. The bounding of Satan on earth, a thousand years of Christ’s ruling kingdom followed by the release of Satan, the final war of the worlds in the battle of Gog and Magog, the final judgment of Satan, the resurrection of the wicked and their final judgment into the lake of fire.

After all of this, I have always wondered, “why?” Why this 1,000 years of Christ’s kingdom (a.k.a. the Millennium)?  Why couldn’t God simply have ended everything at the battle of Armageddon in chapter 16 rather than wait another 1,000 years, lock up Satan, and then endure another terrible battle? The way God works is often a mystery. Of course, He has His reasons, and I may not ever know them. But still, I wonder…

As I pondered an answer to this question, I noticed something in the millennial years. These 1,000 years of Christ’s rule will be a time when Satan’s influence and deception will be absent. He’ll be bound “to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore” (v. 3). But I noticed that when He is released after the thousand years, there will be a great army gathered from around the world to battle against Christ and His army. Where did Satan get this army? Where did these evil people come from? The answer is that during the 1,000 years, the world will be filled with mortals who will still have the freewill to choose for themselves Christ’s kingdom rule or someone else’s. The earth will continue to have nations opposed to God. The earth will still be inhabited by people opposed to God. I noticed that back in chapter 19, only the beast and the false prophet (the Antichrist and his right hand man) were cast into the lake of fire (19:20-21). The rest of the inhabitants of the earth were either killed (armies of the Antichrist) or left to live. What I gather from all of this is that there will be a time in man’s history when the influence of Satan will be completely removed from man’s presence. The Antichrist will be gone. Satan will be removed. The only thing remaining will be man in his fallenness. And what I see is that man all by himself will still choose to follow his own ways. “The devil made me do it” will no longer be an excuse. Man will fall on his own accord. If anything, this period of 1,000 years will reveal the true power of sin in man. Even apart from Satan’s influence, man is incredibly wicked and self-serving. Mankind does not need an evil influence to bring his downfall. His fallen, sinful nature is enough.  

In this day and age when people want to blame society or evil influences on their poor decisions and bad behavior, our passage reveals just how responsible and how bad we are all by ourselves. When God’s final judgment comes, there will be no one to blame but ourselves. It is for that reason, Christ died for us. His righteousness is ours when we come to put our faith and trust in Him… because obviously, we could not do it on our own.

Give thanks to God today for His great grace to make us and give us what we could not become nor gain apart from Christ. We are indeed such wretched creatures without Christ. Praise God for his amazing grace!

Read Revelation 19:17-21.

Our passage today reveals the gathering of forces for a battle to the near finish (I say “near finish” because the final battle will occur in ch. 20.). Christ and his forces versus the Antichrist (i.e. beast) and his forces. You know the outcome.

The beasts of chapter 13 – the beast of the sea and the beast of the land, the Antichrist and his right hand man, respectively – are defeated along with their armies. Their final destiny: the lake of fire.  What is this lake of fire? For most of us, we are more familiar with the term “hell”, but the book of Revelation describes it as a fiery lake of burning sulfur. It is a place described in 20:10 as a place of torment “day and night for ever and ever.”

If you are like me, the description of this place grips me. It seems like the punishment doesn’t fit the crime. People who seem so nice to us; people who chose to live a life apart from Christ for a relatively short time in this world will experience such terrible torment for eternity. Does that seem fair to you? This is a question that every honest believer probably faces sometime in their life. It is more than a theological discussion, but one that tears at our hearts and emotions.

That this is a deeply emotional issue means it should affect us deeply. Some are moved with disbelief. They cannot believe such a destiny awaits the lost. Some wish to believe that the lost will merely perish with no life beyond the grave. To be honest, I wish that was my conviction, but I do not see the Scriptures teaching such a view. On the contrary, because I believe in the eternal state of hell, it reveals just how serious a matter sin is. I wonder if my discomfort with nice people going to hell is because I have become too casual with sin. Perhaps I have underestimated the dreadful effects and filthiness of sin. Perhaps I have underestimated the beauty and cost of holiness. Christ’s death was no small matter because sin and eternal damnation is no small matter. Make this your prayer today:

Lord, give me a greater understanding of the seriousness of sin. Help me see sin through Your eyes and live a life of holiness. Lord, help me see the destiny of those without Christ and move me to action. And thank You, Lord, for Your victorious and abundant grace in my life!  

-Mike

Read Revelation 19:11-16.

The rider of the white horse is none other than Jesus Christ. He is Faithful and True. Those attributes alone are worthy of worshipful consideration. That He is Faithful and True says that He will always come through without deception or lies or false hopes. He delivers truth that is trustworthy because He is faithful.  Whenever we go through the valley of the shadow of death, we have no reason to fear because Jesus Christ is Faithful and True. He will deliver on His promises. When He says His yoke is easy, His burden light, we can believe it. When He says He will never leave nor forsake us, we can believe it. When He says we will experience nothing beyond what we can handle, we can believe it. When He says He disciplines those He loves, we can believe that He wants us to grow. When He says we experience trials to develop perseverance, we can believe it will happen if we will only endure.  We may be faithless, but the Scriptures tell us that He is forever faithful (2 Tim. 2:13). The ultimate proof of His faithfulness and trustworthiness will be at His coming judgment when He will destroy sin and evil and reign as King of kings and Lord of lords.

As I sit here considering that great and horrible day (for those without Christ), I think of all the things I have endured in life until the present. I think of so many people who have endured so much more. I think of the things that we have yet to endure, and to be honest, I don’t look forward to them! And yet we know that this life is but a second on the clock of eternity. It brings great persevering hope to remember that Jesus Christ will prevail in the end. That day will no doubt bring with it sweet victory in that all we have endured here in this world will be found to be worth the sweat and tears of perseverance. But for now, we live not with merely a future promise, but with the present one as well: Jesus Christ is Faithful and True. That gives us hope to persevere now.

Consider today how you might live with the utter conviction that Jesus Christ is forever faithful and forever trustworthy and true. How can that make a difference in the way you relate to others, in the decisions that you make today, and the strength you might need to get through another day?  

-Mike

Read Revelation 19:9-10.

We hear a lot of good things shared from the Scriptures from many a pulpit, the classroom, a Bible study, and many informal settings. Good teaching, preaching, and encouragement from the Word of God is always refreshing, rejuvenating, and inspiring. That is especially true when we experience “aha” moments or when our hearts are struck with truth that speaks into our lives as if it was meant for only for us. I think John may have been so moved by the truth of the angel’s words (“These are the true words of God.” v. 9), that he fell to the ground to worship the messenger angel. Have you ever experienced that or seen others “worship” the messenger?

The messenger is merely a fellow servant of his hearers. It is a dangerous matter to put our great orators and teachers on pedestals because it puts far too much emphasis on that leader. While their place in the body of Christ is of utmost importance, it is not healthy for the messenger or his or her hearers to raise them to a level of near worship. Sometimes I hear people talk of great teachers with such awe that I am left to wonder how much they really know this person. As someone has said, “we all put our pants on one leg at a time.” No one walks on water but Jesus Christ. If anything, Peter’s failed attempt is a witness of our own inability to rise to the level of Christ, and it certainly speaks of our inability to do anything apart from Him.

Accordingly, our focus is to be on the Word – Jesus Christ, who is the “spirit” or essence of prophecy. Jesus Christ is the centerpiece of God’s message to us. As one commentator has noted:

“In many respects the scene which now follows, namely, the second coming of Christ, is not only the high point of the book of Revelation, but in many respects the high point of all history. Here is the manifestation of the Son of God in glory, the demonstration of the sovereignty of God, and the beginning of the end of human rebellion. How poverty-stricken is any Christian theology which minimizes the second coming of Christ and how limited the Christian hope which does not include this glorious climax to God’s announced program of exalting His Son and putting all creation under His control.”

The message is Jesus Christ. Lord, help us to seek the subject of the message and not the messenger! Help us desire the greater message of Jesus Christ, and may His Word be the essence of the words that proceed from our lips.

-Mike