Thoughts From the Bible

Read Revelation 20: 11- 15- This is the part of Revelation so many people today do not want to talk about.  They do not want to talk about the judgment of God.  They only want to talk about God’s love for people. They want to lean on this idea and ignore there will be a day when everyone will be judged according to what they did.  It is clear in verses 11 and 12, “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it.  From His presence earth a nd sky fled away, and no place was found for them.  And I saw the dead, great and small , standing before the throne, and books were opened.  Then another book was opened which is the book of life.  And the dead were judged by what was written int he books, according to what they had done.” Many people want to talk about their good works while alive on this earth at this point.  Some religions even dwell on good works as the only way into heaven.  On e must look at the Bible in its entirety to...

Read Revelation 20: 7- 10 - I enjoy reading and I enjoy reading books without knowing what the story is about at the beginning.  Never, do I ever, read the end of the book first to see how the story ends.  God has provided us with direction for our lives through the Bible. God has also shown us how this whole story of mankind actually ends . In verse 9 we read this, “ and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. ” Satan defied God.  Satan has worked to destroy God’s creation, and all the people God created.  Even after being bound for almost 1000 years, God will still allow men and women a chance to choose God over Satan.  Unbelievably, there will be those who will still side with Satan, even though we know how this story ends. Satan’s end is known. We need to understand Satan has only our destruction in mind. God has his...

Revelation 20: 4- 6- “Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed.  Also, I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.  The rest o f the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended .   This is the first r esurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with Him for a thousand years.”   As Satan reigns in the Tribulation period, it will take great courage for those to deny him and be committed to God.  God’s plan rewards those courageous people by giving them a special place in His Kingdom. God’s great plan for the peo...

Revelation 20: 1- 3- “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain.  And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him , so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.” This is al l part of God’s plan, the destruction of Satan. This is why God is God and I’m not. I would not let Satan loose from the bottomless pit for any reason, but God has infinite wisdom and knows there will be thos e who will still need to make a choice, Satan or Jesus Christ. During the Millenium , there will be those born who will need to make the decision to follow Jesus and Satan will be loosed for a short period to basically make his case to those individuals .  This is why we continue to pray for others who have n...

Read Revelation 19: 17- 21 - Jesus Christ returns but Satan still feels he ha s a chance to rule and reign over Jesus. We see quickly, this will not happen. Verses 20 and 21 tells the story, “And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image.  These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.” Jesus Christ ends it all.  God’s plan is fulfilled, and we see how His love for us has preserved us . That is one of the benefits of reading Revelation and seeing God’s grand plan and knowing through all the love of G od is for us.

Read Revelation 19: 11- 16- This is one of those situations written in the Bible where we need to let our imaginations run wild. Jesus returns.  Jesus returns in the way the early Jewish church has always hoped the Messiah would arrive.  I contend we cannot imagine in our earthly minds the magnificence of this moment. Jesus returns with His throng of believers.  Those He loves and th ose who love Him.  As grand as I think we can imagine that time in history, it will still not be enough to capture that time.   This passage describes Jesus.  Verse 11 says, “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.” We are do want to be part of the throng that arrives with Jesus, but I don’t want to lose sight of loving Jesus Christ now and making sure we love others as Jesus would now.   Yes, there is an awesome future ahead with Jesus Christ but there is als...

Read Revelation 19: 6- 10- This is an exciting passage that again emphasizes the worship of God over all that has happened in the world. The world is beginning to see the return of Jesus Christ to rule and reign supreme . This passage shows us where our priority should be.  We should be focused on God and the person of Jesus Christ above all of the miraculous and heavenly things that exist. Verse s 9 and 10 say, ‘And the angel said to me, “Write this; blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are t he true words of God.” Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. ’   As we should do during each and every day of our lives, we should continue to focus on who Jesus is and praise Him in our work and how we live our lives. As we...

Read Revelation 19: 1- 5- This is a chapter of praise and triumph.  This chapter starts with prais e to God for His hand on the people and the events of this world.  This is a good example of how we should be working to develop a heart of praise that is a persistent state with us, not an event that we assume on Sundays or at time when Christians gather together.   Verses 4 and 5 says, “And the twenty-four elder s and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God who was seated on the throne, saying, ‘Amen, Hallelujah!’ And from the thron e came a voice saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants, you who fear Him small and great.”   Much like this chapter, when we praise and worship God, our lives get better and our minds more focused on the proper things of life.  This chapter gets better as will our lives aft er we worship God.

Read Revelation 18: 1- 24- I do not usually take a long passage because I typically prefer to look at smaller passages of scripture and really dwell on what it says while not losing its context with the greater whole of the chapter or the book itself.  This chapter is somewhat different because there is a healthy amount of description of the destruction that awaits Babylon.  Some believe this will be in Iraq.  Some have t alked about this being New York City.  If you look at this as a literal city, it could be possible.  If one looks at this as a government rather than a city, it could be wherever Satan has established a stronghold in the final days.   What doe s matter is what is announced at the very beginning of the chapter, “After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory.  And he called out with a mighty voice, ‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dw...