Devotionary

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Ep 513 – Revelation 14:14-20 May 13, 2018

Show notes

As Christians, we long for the return of Christ. We eagerly anticipate His eventual return for His bride, the church, when He will take us to be with Him. But we also know that there is another day coming when He will return to the earth as King of kings and Lord of lords. This is what is referred to as His second coming, and we will accompany Him when it happens. It will be a day of joy for all those who have placed their faith in Christ, because it will be the beginning of His vindication of God and His Kingdom. Those who are on the earth when this day happens, who have been redeemed by God, including the 144,000 Jews and countless tribulation saints, will also rejoice at His coming. But there will be countless millions, if not billions, of individuals, who see His return as anything but good news. Because He will come in judgment. In Revelation 14:14-20, John sees Jesus coming to earth with a scythe or sickle in His hands, and He is given a command to harvest from among the unbelieving people of the earth. He is the Son of Man, the God-Man, who gave His life so that men be restored to a right relationship with God. But for all those who reject His offer of salvation, He will one day bring the judgment they deserve.

Ep 511 – Revelation 14:1-16 May 11, 2018

Show notes

With the opening lines of Revelation 14:1-6, a new vision is revealed to John that is far more bright and cheerful than most he has received thus far. This time, he gets a good dose of good news. He is given the privilege of hearing a new song, a song of deliverance, joy, and celebration regarding the mighty work that Jesus Christ is going to do on behalf of the people of God who are alive on the earth during the closing days of the tribulation. John will once again see the 144,000 Jews who have been called by God, but this time they will be standing side-by-side with Jesus. They will bear the seal on their foreheads, marking them as belonging to Him. And these 144,000 will be the only ones who are able to understand the words of the song being sung from heaven. It will be for their benefit, but ultimately to the glory of God. In this passage, we are given a wonderful reminder that God's plan for His people is unwavering and unstoppable. He will do what He has promised to do. He is going to send His Son. He is going to bring an end to Satan and his forces. He will judge all rebellious mankind. And best of all, He will keep every promise He has made to the people of Israel and restore His creation to its former glory.

Ep 510 – Revelation 13:11-18 May 10, 2018

Show notes

In the gospels, Jesus refers to Satan as the father of lies. He is a deceiver and deluder, the angel of light who can only attempt to mirror the power of God. And as we will see in Revelation 13:11-18, one of the things he does is in the closing days of the tribulation is create a false, unholy trinity, seemingly intended to replicate the relationship between God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Satan enlists the aid of the Antichrist and his false prophet, turning these two individuals into poor counterfeits for Jesus and the Spirit. Satan has always aspired to be god and, in an attempt to deceive the nations, he presents himself and his two companions as a kind of mirror image of the real Trinity. These three will wreak havoc on the world and bring a tremendous amount of pain and suffering on all those who refuse to bow down and worship the Antichrist or bear his mark. Their decision to reject his mark will prevent them from buying and selling, causing them great suffering as a result. While many have tried to speculate the identity of the Antichrist, the Bible does not provide us with any real insight into who this individual will be. But we do know that, because of his relationship with Satan, he will prove to be a formidable force during the days of the tribulation.

Ep 509 – Revelation 13:1-10 May 09, 2018

Show notes

As we open up chapter 13 in the book of Revelation, the first ten verses introduce us to yet another strange creature, this one having ten horns and seven heads. According to John's rather bizarre description of this beast, it had the features of a bear, a lion and a leopard. And John's vision only gets stranger from there. But one of the worst part of these first ten verses is their portrayal of this beast's dealings with those who have any association with God. This will include those who have come to faith in Christ during the days of the tribulation, as well as the Jews who are alive during those days. This beast will be given great power and authority by Satan, and he will rule over every tribe and people and language and nation. And all who dwell on the earth will bow down and worship this beast. And for all those who choose not to do so, he will make their lives a literal hell on earth, with many of them suffering death as a result. And strangely, in the midst of it all, John hears a call for the saints who are alive in those days to endure and maintain their faith. They must keep their trust in God and not allow the circumstances surrounding them to distract or dissuade them from their belief in God's promise to right all wrongs, restore His creation, and return His Son to earth as the conquering King of kings and Lord of lords.

Ep 508 – Revelation 12:7-17 May 08, 2018

Show notes

The tribulation period is permeated with the presence of Satan. Even when he is not visible, his influence is tangible and measurable. He deceives and distorts. He misleads and misinforms. He is the source of power behind Antichrist's rise to prominence. He subtly and slyly uses mortal men to accomplish his immoral plans to overthrow the power of God and make himself the one and only god of this world. But God Almighty has plans for Satan. It is God who allows Satan the freedom to do the things he does. But God keeps Satan on a very short leash, always maintain complete control over all that he does. Satan can accomplish nothing apart from the sovereign will of God. Like Pharaoh in Egypt and Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, God will use Satan as a tool to accomplish His divine plan for the final judgment of the world and its inhabitants. Satan will lead many in open rebellion against God, but it is God who will one day punish all those who have stood opposed to His will, His Son, and His people. And Satan will one day receive the full justice he deserves from a righteous and Holy God, who has allowed him to exist for all these years. But in Revelation 12:7-12, we see one of the first indications that Satan's days are numbered, and God's plan for his ultimate demise is coming together according to the divine timeline. He will remain defiant to the end, but his efforts to stand opposed to and in the place of God will ultimately fail.

Ep 507 – Revelation 12:1-6 May 07, 2018

Show notes

In Revelation 12:1-6, John is introduced to three characters who will play significant roles in the end time story as it continues to be unveiled. One is described as a woman in childbirth. Second, is the child who will be born to her. And finally, there is the dragon, who will attempt to destroy the child. As we will see, the woman represents Israel and the child is Jesus, the Messiah, who was born into the lineage of David and was of the house of Judah. The dragon is none other than Satan himself. Israel, Jesus and Satan. All three of these characters are primary players in the tribulation narrative. Everything John has been shown and that he has recorded in his book involves these three. Just prior to the start of the tribulation, the church was raptured. Christ returned for His bride and took her to be with Him in heaven. But the people of God, the nation of Israel, were left on the earth and they would become primary participants in the tribulation period. And Satan would eventually make them the focus of his wrath, allowing his servant, the Antichrist, to persecute them and put them to death. But as John sees in his vision, God would also protect a remnant of His people during the darkest days of the tribulation, because He is not done with them. At one time, Satan had tried to eliminate the Son of God, but had failed. And during the tribulation, he will try to eliminate the people of God. But he will fail yet again. Because God must keep the covenant He made with His people.

Ep 506 – Revelation 11:15-19 May 06, 2018

Show notes

One of the reasons Christians long for the second coming of Jesus Christ is because it is what has to happen before His Kingdom if fully and finally established on earth. While we, as believers in Christ, worship Him as our King and Lord, He is not recognized as such by the majority of the people on this planet, and never has been. Even when He came the first time, His own people, the Jews, refused to accept Him as their Messiah and Savior. Instead, when offered the choice between releasing Jesus or a common criminal, they chose Barabbas. And then they demanded that Pilate put Jesus to death. Since His initial arrival on this earth, Jesus has been rejected by mankind. For the most part, the rulers of this earth have consistently refused to acknowledge Him as King. And the vast majority of human beings have preferred to set themselves up as gods or have turned to something other than God as their deity of choice. But as we will see in Revelation 11:15-19, there is a day coming when Christ will reign over an earthly Kingdom. He will return to earth for a second and final time, in order to establish His Kingdom – a real, physical, earthly-bound Kingdom – in Jerusalem, where He will sit on the throne of His ancestor, David. All in keeping with the promise God made to David thousands of years ago. God told David, "I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever" (2 Samuel 7:12-13). And John provides us with a welcome reminder that God's promise will one day be fulfilled.

Ep 505 – Revelation 11:1-14 May 05, 2018

Show notes

In Revelation 11:1-14, John is introduced to the two witnesses. These two unnamed individuals will appear on the scene during the waning days of the tribulation. They are revealed to John in a vision and he describes them as two olive trees or lampstands. They are sent by God and assigned the duty to prophesy for a period of 1,260 days or 3-1/2 years. We are not given the content of the prophecy, but like all prophets of God, they will encounter strong resistance from all those on earth. Their words will fall on deaf ears and when the Antichrist finally murders them, the world will rejoice over their deaths, exchanging gifts with one another in a macabre sort of holiday celebration. All of the events found in this chapter are fantastic in nature and have caused many to question their reality and even their validity. It is tempting to take what we see here and simply make it allegorical in nature. Men with the capacity to pour fire from their mouths us just too much for our human reason to accept. And then, to read that God somehow resurrects these two men, restoring them to life and then transporting them to heaven, is not only out of the ordinary, but out of the question. Or is it? We have to remember that we are dealing with the God of the universe. Nothing is too difficult for Him. And while we may find ourselves unable to explain what we read on the pages of Revelation, that doesn't mean that what we read is not only possible, but highly probable, because our God is all-powerful.

Ep 504 – Revelation 10:8-11 May 04, 2018

Show notes

So far, John has had to stand back and watch some rather bizarre and difficult-to-fathom visions take place before his eyes. And he has had to write down each and everything he has seen. But in Revelation 10:8-11, John is going to become an active participant in the vision taking place, no longer free to act as a spectator and passive chronicler of the divine description of the last days. John is going to be commanded to eat a small scroll, a book containing a message that he is then to prophesy over the nations of the earth. And the rather unique thing about this little book is that it will be sweet to the taste, but hard on the stomach. John will enjoy taking it in, but its content, whatever it is, will leave him feeling sick to his stomach. The message contained in this book, obviously from the throne of God Himself, will be pleasant to John. But to those who hear it proclaimed from John's lips, it will be anything but good news. And the command that John communicate the message contained on the scroll to the people and nations and languages and kings, will prove to be difficult for the messenger and those to whom the message is directed. Even in these last days of the tribulation, God is still speaking. He has not gone silent. He has not shut off the people on earth, but continues to communicate to them regarding His will and their future.

Ep 503 – Revelation 10:1-7 May 03, 2018

Show notes

We're all familiar with the cartoon image of the man in the flowing robe with a long grey beard and carrying the sign that reads, "The end is near!" He is the proverbial prophet of doom, warning mankind about the coming day of the Lord. It is a caricature, a tongue-in-cheek image that is meant to lampoon all those who believe that there is a final day of judgment for the world. Many refuse to accept that reality. They see it as little more than the superstitious speculations of the religiously ignorant. But in Revelation 10:1-7, John is going to receive a difficult-to-ignore reminder that the end of the world is not a figment of man's imagination or the fodder for cartoons and stand-up comedians. There is much about the last days that remain a mystery to us. Even when we take into account the vast array of Old and New Testament Scriptures that predict the end times, there is much about that day that will remain undisclosed and unknown to us. John has been shown a great deal up to this point. He has had the privilege of seeing things no man has ever seen before. There has been divulged to him a great number of once-hidden mysteries that are now clearly discernible. But God has not and will not tell all. He will keep some things hidden from our view until the day they actually take place. But while we may not know all that will happen, we can know one thing for sure. When God determines the time for the end to come, there will be no more delay.

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