Devotionary

The return of Christ. If we had to boil down the message of the book of Revelation to one single point, that would be it. The entire book, up to this point, has been like the opening act for the star attraction. All that John has witnessed and written down for our benefit has been nothing more than a lead-up to the main event: The long-awaited and eagerly anticipated return of Jesus to earth. The second coming of Christ has been talked about for generations. Countless sermons have been preached, thousands of books have been written, and endless debates have been waged concerning this day. But contrary to what we may think about His return, there are a variety of things that must happen once He comes back, before the curtain finally falls on this era called the age of the Gentiles. His return will set in motion a series of predetermined, God-ordained events that will help usher in the close of the tribulation and the beginning of His Kingdom on earth. And Revelation 19:11-16 provides us with an exciting glimps

While the book of Revelation is full of images of judgment, it is also filled with songs of praise and celebration. And no other place do we see this truth evidenced like Revelation 19:1-10. In these ten verses alone there are five different songs of praise recorded. And they provide a stark contrast to all the misery, devastation and destruction taking place on the planet. While God is judging mankind for its rebellion and rejection of Him, there is reason for rejoicing because God is accomplishing His divine will and bringing the day of His Son’s earthly reign to its long-awaited fruition. It’s sometimes difficult to resolve the seeming contradiction of joy in the midst of judgment, but it is an acknowledgment of God’s goodness and grace. He is doing what He has long promised to do. He is bringing an end to sin and ushering in the righteousness of His Son’s Kingdom on earth. God is going to resolve the irresolvable. He is going to recreate what has been marred by sin and restore His creation to its former g

Verses 21-24 of Revelation chapter 18 provide us with one more glimpse of Babylon’s fall. This great city, the headquarters and capital of the Antichrist during the days of the tribulation, and the symbol of all that is immoral and godless during those days, will be destroyed by God. And its destruction will be so complete, that no one will ever inhabit it again. Its pride and prosperity will be devastated. Its reputation as a mighty city and as the home of the Antichrist’s godless government will be wiped out. The entire city will simply cease to be. In many ways, this is reminiscent of the scene that happened during the Old Testament, when God stopped the people of Babel from building their tall tower. They were attempting to make a name for themselves by building a great tower that would reach into the heavens. But that building project was brought to an abrupt end by God. And the city of Babylon, rebuilt and restored to power and prominence during the tribulation, will also have its days of glory cut shor

It is not a minor thing to be judged by God. Whether you are an individual, a nation, a king or a false religion, as the author of Hebrews states, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Throughout the book of Revelation, we have seen what the judgment of God looks like, and it is not a pretty picture. God is holy, righteous and just, and He cannot and will not tolerate the rebellion of mankind forever. He has been patient. He has endured their ridicule and rejection of His rightful place as the God of the universe. He even allowed them to crucify His own Son. In fact, it was His plan that His Son die so that sinful men might have a means of being restored to a right relationship with Him through faith in His Son’s sacrificial death. But for all those who refuse His gracious offer of salvation, He will bring judgment. Their crimes against His sovereign rule will demand it. And as we will see in Revelation 18:9-20, the city of Babylon, capital of the Antichrist’s kingdom during the tr

There is only one God. While that point may sound quite plausible and acceptable to us, there are many who live as if it is anything but truth. And Satan himself has made a career of establishing himself as what he believes to be a competitive alternative to God. He sees himself as a god, on equal terms with God Almighty, and won’t be satisfied until he replaces God as the only god. But as we will see in Revelation 18:1-8, Satan’s plan for world and cosmic domination is going to fall short – far short. His plans to supplant God will end in defeat. And all those who choose to associate themselves with his false kingdom, false messiah and false prophet, will find themselves facing the truth of God’s judgment and the coming reality of Christ’s Kingdom. Babylon, the earthly kingdom of the Antichrist during the tribulation period, will find itself destroyed and its former power and prominence lying in rubble. While the world deceives itself into thinking it can stand opposed to God and live to tell about it, the b

The further we make it into John’s book, the more confusing it can become. There are so many images and visions flying at us, that it requires great effort to keep up. And much of the terminology or descriptors that John uses seem to do double duty, being used on more than one occasion to refer to more than one person or place. We have already seen that John uses the name Babylon in a variety of ways and in reference to a number of different things. The same is true of the designation, “The Beast.” So, as we move into Revelation 17:7-18, we have to watch carefully and cross-reference each use of these various terms by John. In the end, part of what we are seeing is the integral and interrelated nature of Satan, the Antichrist and the earthly kingdom over which he rules. It is difficult to separate these three things because they are so closely related and interdependent. But suffice it to say, that God has plans for all three, and John is getting a play-by-play description of their demise, complete with color

False religions. They have been around since the very beginning. From the moment sin entered into the world, mankind developed a fascination with and fixation on coming up with their own gods. The journey away from the garden took them into dark places where false gods were available around every corner. Paul describes the downward trajectory of humanity as they found themselves alienated from God, cast out of His presence, and left with the option of making their own gods. So, Paul says that they “exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things” (Romans 1:23). And we know that during the period of the tribulation, the Antichrist will see to it that he becomes the next, and only object of worship on earth. Or at least, he’ll try. And his personal assistant, the false prophet, will play a major role in establishing an apostate church that worships Antichrist, instead of God Almighty. In Revelation 17:1-6, John is given a glimpse of this false r

On the cross, Jesus uttered the words, “It is finished.” In Revelation 16:17-21, we get to hear His heavenly Father say, “It is done!” Events associated with the tribulation are rapidly coming to a conclusion. God is getting ready to bring the judgments to an end and send His Son back to the earth in order to bring the great tribulation to a dramatic close. The Lamb of God is coming back like a roaring lion, ready to devour and destroy all those who stand against God. They can oppose His Kingdom, but they will find that they are out of their league when it comes to opposing His power. They will stand no chance against the King of kings and Lord of lords. And Babylon, the great city that becomes home to the Antichrist during the tribulation, will find that it incurs a special measure of God’s wrath as His judgments come to a close. The final days of the tribulation will be marked by cosmic changes and catastrophic events. Islands and mountains will literally disappear. The topography of the earth will be radic

With the outpouring of the seven bowl judgments, the intensity of the tribulation period picks up dramatically. These judgments come in waves upon the inhabitants of the earth, bring ever-more terrible pain and suffering on all those who have chosen to follow and worship the Antichrist. The sixth bowl will plunge the kingdom of the Antichrist into darkness, a fitting representation of the true spiritual condition of the people of their leader. But throughout all these horrific trials, the people on earth will remain stubbornly unrepentant. The unrelenting nature of God’s judgments make no impact on them. They would prefer to bow the knee to Antichrist and suffer greatly for it, than bow the knee to God and receive forgiveness and mercy. And so, God is forced to continue the outpouring of His wrath, until He has dried up the Euphrates River, in preparation for the great day of God the Almighty. There is clearly going to be no repentance on the part of the people. Antichrist is not going to surrender, and Satan

I can’t imagine what it was like for John to see vision after vision of God’s coming judgment. It must have been overwhelming. But in Revelation 15:1-8, John receives yet another vision, this one described as great and amazing. The intensity of God’s judgments increase over time. The closer the end of the tribulation period comes, the magnitude of His wrath grows greater. But there will be an end to it all. The judgments of God have a point of climax, when the full wrath of God will be expended upon rebellious mankind, by the hand of God’s own Son, Jesus Christ. One of the things that we must understand when reading this passage is that mankind has been storing up wrath for itself. This has been going on for generations, ever since the fall. The rebellion of mankind against God has been relentless and their determination to resist His will and reject His offer of salvation through His Son has never lessened. God’s wrath is not arbitrary in nature. It is the result of man’s stubborn refusal to acknowledge Him

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.

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 i

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 ha

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 saint

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

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 o

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 ea

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

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

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 pr