Revelation 19-22  My mind gets boggled with all the details of the book of Revelation, and more so when I get to these last few chapters.... Such glory and beauty and wonder as John describes the bride of Christ.. the great city coming down from heaven!  A new heaven and a new earth.  The presence of God Almighty and the Lamb...  No more night.  No more tears.  No more pain.  No more sin.

Hallelujah!!!

The defeat of Satan and all evil beings will be accomplished at that time. Death and hell will be thrown into the lake of fire also.  The final warning comes from Jesus:

 " It is done.  I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.  I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.  He who overcomes shall inherit theses things and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone which is the second death." 

Jesus is coming again.. and when He comes we must be ready, for it will happen quickly.  There will be no opportunity to repent or change our minds at that time.  We need to be alert and prepared, overcoming... living for Him and abiding in Him.

Father in heaven, we have washed our robes... in the blood of the Lamb.  He is our Savior and Lord.  Our hope and trust is in the sacrifice offered on that cross.. where Jesus died so that we might be forgiven and cleansed of all unrighteousness.  May I be found faithfully following Jesus Christ, ready for that glorious day.  Draw me nearer and nearer to Your Presence I pray. Amen,

Revelation 17-18 These two chapters tell of the destruction of "Babylon".   This is a city, depicted here as an immoral woman who calls herself a queen.  She is a place of great wealth, a center of commerce, vital to all the merchants of all the nations.  Yet, she is a place of demons, corrupt and immoral in every way.

Here, we learn of the judgement that God has planned for this great city. Every sin will be punished.  Every evil will be paid back double.  "In one day" the plagues will come.  "In one hour".. all will be destroyed.  All who see this will stand back and weep... for the loss of this wealth... but not because of their own sinfulness and need for repentance.

Even the angel's explanation of these mysteries are mysterious to me.  But, the most important thing that I can know is that Jesus.. "the Lamb will overcome them because He is the Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful." 

When all is said and done, I want to be on the Lord's side..

Father in heaven, hallowed is Your Name.  You are righteous and just and Your purposes and plans for this world will be perfectly completed.  Strengthen us with Your strength that we might stand firm, resisting all evil, clothed in Truth, Righteousness, Peace, and Salvation.  May we daily take up the shield of faith, the Sword of the Spirit.. Your Word.  May we stand steadfast in Your strength and grow deeper in love with You as we abide in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Revelation 16  The seven bowls of God's wrath are finally poured out on the earth.  This is God's righteous and true judgement upon the corrupted and evil of the earth.  They still refuse to repent, even when everything around them is being destroyed.

In between the 6th and 7th bowl there is a little message, " Behold I am coming like a thief.  Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his garments, lest he walk about naked and men see his shame." 

Even in the absolute end of earth's existence , there seems to still be a choice - repent and give God glory, or suffer His wrath.
 We have this choice every day, don't we?  Thinking back to the 7 letters to the churches in chapters 2 and 3, the message is powerfully clear:

Love Christ truly .. or be removed from His presence.
Persevere to the end, even to death... or lose the crown of life.
Stay in His Truth.. or face His sword.
Stay pure and hold fast to Jesus.. for all will be judged according to their deeds.
Obey completely.. for He is coming when we least expect Him.
Be victorious in Christ.. for His reward is worth every effort.
Stay humble and trustworthy.. not lukewarm, lest you are spit out..

Father in heaven, we desire to honor and exalt You always.  We praise the name of the Lord our God and give thanks and praise to the Son of God, the Lamb who was slain for our sins.  Let us move deeper in our love for You.. Let us grasp the height and depth and width of Your love.  May we hold on to Jesus, to His Truth and Righteousness, His love and grace.  May we be pure and humble and obedient, no matter what we are facing.  For nothing else is of worth, as Paul wrote.. we count it all rubbish compared to knowing Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Revelation 14  As the time for the final judgement draws nearer, John sees Jesus standing on Mount Zion, and with Him are the 144,000 faithful, chosen Jews.  On their foreheads, the names of the Father and the Son are written. They are called the "first fruits". and. .."purchased from among men"..  and they begin to sing a new song that only they can sing.   It must have  been an amazing sight to behold.  I hope we will be able to witness it also.

The gospel is preached by an angel.
The decree against Babylon is issued.
The condemnation of those who take the mark of the beast is declared.
And then the reapers are instructed to reap... " the harvest of the earth is ripe". 

Two sickles are used. The first to reap this great harvest.  The second to gather the "clusters from the vine" which are then thrown in the "wine press of the wrath of God. "

Chapter 15 introduces the 7 vials or bowls of God's wrath.  These will be the final judgements.  The time is marked by "the song of Moses"..

"Great and marvelous are Thy works

O Lord God the Almighty;

Righteous and true are Thy ways, 

Thou King of nations.

Who will not fear,

O Lord and glorify Thy name?

For Thou alone are holy;

For all the nations will come and worship

before Thee, 

For Thy righteous acts have been revealed." 

Father in heaven, You are great and marvelous.  You are righteous and true.  You are the Holy One and You alone are worthy of all worship.   You say, "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!"  May that be our truth also:  To live and to die in Christ Jesus the Lord.  To sing the songs of the redeemed. To give glory to You always.  May we be alert and ready for the day that is coming, that we may be found faithful and blameless before Your throne. Amen. 

Revelation 13  I have to admit, I don't like this chapter...  the beasts.. the blasphemy.. the idol... and  the mark given to all people in order to just survive...   Plus there is that  whole mystery about the number 666..

Again I am just thankful that God has this all under His control.  He is commanding these events.  He is giving the dragon and the beasts the ability to do what they are going to do.  And, in the middle of this, He reminds us to persevere.. to have faith.. to concentrate on the Lamb and to make sure that our names are written in His book!


Father in heaven,  You are Sovereign and Your will is perfect.. All these things that will occur in the future are things that You have ordained and You will allow for Your purposes.  We do not need to understand, but we need to keep trusting and abiding.  Help us to do so, we pray.  In Jesus' name , amen.

Revelation 12  

The woman - Israel? 

The Red Dragon - Satan

The male child - Jesus

The Angel - Michael

These all play a part in this great drama of God's creation, redemption, and completion of life on planet earth.  There is a war coming.. one that we cannot fathom.  A war that will truly end all wars, for in the end, the earth will be completely destroyed. 

To me the most important message from this passage is that God already knows.. to the day.. all that is about to happen.  He has put His plans into effect and it will accomplish His good and perfect will. 

Satan has no power to stop God's plan. 

Mankind has no power to change what God has willed. 

Our only hope is to "overcome.. because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of [our] testimony."   We also must be willing to not love our lives.. "even to death".. for the sake of our Lord. 

Father in heaven, strengthen us by Your strength that we might stand firm and resist evil. We are weak but You are strong. Your promises are sure.  You will keep us and protect us when we hide ourselves in Christ. We cling to Your Word that we might abide in You. We desire Your will and Your  kingdom and Your glory.  Thank You for loving us and for showing us such mercy through Jesus Christ who died for us.  Thank You that we have a King and High Priest who is holy and pure,  and who is coming again soon.  Fill us once again with Your Spirit that we might be sanctified through and through.. preserved complete without blame at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. 

Revelation 10-11
Mysteries and more mysteries!  A little book, seven peals of thunder, two witnesses, and the seventh angel sounding his trumpet..

The glory and power and greatness of God.. hidden to mankind, will finally be revealed to all.  His reign is "forever and ever".  The time is coming.. soon.


The thing that hits me most in these passages, is how important, how absolutely vital it is that we are prepared for that day.  He is coming! May we persevere.  May we remain faithful.  May we be sanctified fully, blameless to stand before Him...

Father in heaven, search our hearts and renew our minds.  May we be fully surrendered and fully Yours.  Let us hold nothing back from  yielding to Your will for us.  May Your Kingdom come.
We lay ourselves at Your feet and cling to Jesus, our Gracious Lord. Amen.