1-15-14. Revelation 20:1-15.  THE FINAL VICTORY AND JUDGMENT-my devotional

Key Verse: 20:15                                                                                                                                                                          Kevin E. Jesmer

“And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (ESV)

Dear Father in Heaven, thank you for your fatherly love for us. Thank you for concerning about our welfare and providing all we need for life, love, peace, meaning and hope. Thank you for calling us home to be with you, our Creator and our Father. There are so many children who are fatherless; so many orphans; so many kids who have not made an emotional connection to their earthly fathers. They suffer in a world which wants us to live like lone ships, bobbing in the sea of life without an anchor. I pray that all the young people in our land, who need a father, or who need the love and emotional connection of a father, may draw near to you, their heavenly father. Please raise up Christians, who can mentor such young people with fatherly love, showing them the way to have a personal relationship with their Father God. I pray, Lord, that you come to my heart today and teach me many spiritual lessons. Please guide my heart through your spirit and your word. I pray all these things in the loving name of Jesus Christ. Amen!

Part 1: The Thousand Years (1-6).

Verses 1-6, “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. 2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 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. 4 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 worshiped 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. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 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.”(ESV)

There are many symbolic expressions here. Essentially, God will hold back the devil until his time is completed. (Some have said that 1000 symbolizes completeness.) Those who are resurrected in the first resurrection were those who had authority to judge and the martyrs who gave up their lives because of their testimony of Jesus and those who did not give in during the tribulation. Look at verse 4, “4 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 worshiped 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.” My question is, are only the “heavy duty” Christians, the elite Christians, who have sacrificed their all and undergone lots of suffering for Jesus’ name’s sake, are they the only ones who are going to be part of the first resurrection? What about the one’s who have simply been faithful to live a simple and faithful Christian life? Just asking. Maybe the Christians who have been faithful before the Second Coming of Jesus are included in the group of those who have been given authority to judge. Even though we have not gone through horrible physical suffering, it is still not easy to be a Christian. We do have to overcome many temptations inner struggles. We have to stand firm on the truth and we will be excluded and rejected for our faith.  There are Christians who are radical “goer’s” and also radical “senders.”  There are Christians that deny themselves daily in order to come to God and serve the Lord. Some people think that Christians in the West have grown soft. But I challenge Christians from the third or second world, to come to America and not get caught up in materialism and pleasure seeking and working to build up their own security in this world. There are a lot of idols to keep our hearts from in America. We don’t have it that easy.  I like to believe that all believers today, are in the group of those who have been given authority to judge.

Look at the martyrs. Some Christians were martyred, looked like the victims in this world, but they are resurrected with Christ and are the true victors. We need to have the right value system of who are the victims and who are the victors. Though Christians are called to sacrifice and take the way of the cross, they are not to be pitied. They are the ones who are the victors. Though we are not as rich as others and though we spend a lot of our time in church activities and Christian mission, we are not to be pitied by anyone. We are actually living a very victorious life in Christ. I have a sense that God is making history through us and what we are doing has eternal meaning. God is producing lasting fruit in our lives. We are truly victorious.

One of my favorite hymns is, “Victory in Jesus”. I sang this hymn as I walked to work every day at the pasta factory I worked at in Winnipeg. The verses are as follows…

“ I heard an old, old story. How a Savior came from glory. How He gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me. I heard about His groaning, of His precious blood’s atoning. Then I repented of my sins and won the victory. O victory in Jesus. My Savior, forever. He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood. He loved me ere I knew Him. And all my love is due Him. He plunged me to victory, beneath the cleansing flood. I heard about His healing. Of His cleansing pow’r revealing. How He made the lame to walk again and caused the blind to see. And then I cried, “Dear Jesus,  come and heal my broken spirit,” And somehow Jesus came and brought to me the victory. O victory in Jesus. My Savior, forever. He sought me and bought me, with His redeeming blood. He loved me ere I knew Him. And all my love is due Him. He plunged me to victory. Beneath the cleansing flood. I heard about a mansion. He has built for me in glory. And I heard about the streets of gold, beyond the crystal sea. About the angels singing. And the old redemption story. And some sweet day I’ll sing up there, the song of victory. O victory in Jesus. My Savior, forever. He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood. He loved me ere I knew Him. And all my love is due Him. He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood.”

In Jesus is complete victory. I want to share my favorite hymn sung by a man after my own heart. Victory in Jesus!

Part 2: Satan’s Doom (7-10).

Verses 7-10, “7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, 10 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.” (ESV)

In God’s time, there will be a final showdown with the devil. He will deceive as many people as possible and wage war against God’s people. God will use his mighty power to destroy Satan’s army and finally him throw the devil into eternal judgment.

This shows us many things about Christ. Think about it…mankind had 1,000 years under Christ’s rule. They were directly exposed to Jesus himself and to the leadership and governance of sincere Christians and no influence from the devil. But still, when Satan was released, he still was able to deceive so many of the people, that huge armies could be raised in order to fight against Jesus and the people of God. What does this show? It shows that Satan is very powerful and able to deceive people. It shows the sinfulness of humanity, that we just don’t want to repent of our sins and submit to Christ, even if Jesus is ruling right before their eyes. It shows the patience of Jesus, that he tried his best to reveal himself to the nations of the world and minister to them. It also shows how fair and just Jesus is. Who can say that Jesus never gave the world a chance? Jesus gives all of us a chance. We have 80 or so years to accept Jesus before we die. He is waiting thousands of years before his Second Coming, in hopes that more people will be saved. And in the book of Revelation, he actually rules for 1,000 years trying to get people to come to him and be saved. That is patience. Jesus is also just. He actually did all he could do to help people to come to him and be saved. And it is documented. Ultimately he laid down his life on the cross to draw all people to himself. I thank God for being so patient and just and working with us the best that he can. If I am going to have a King and Lord over me, I want it to be Jesus.

Part 3: The Book Of Life (11-15).

Verses 11-15, “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 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 in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (ESV)

On Judgment Day the living and the dead will stand before the throne of God. The books will be opened and every man will be judged according to his deeds. Another book is opened, and those whose names are not written in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire.

Where would I be if it were not for Jesus and the Gospel?  I would not be in the Book of Life, for faith in Jesus means that your name is in the book. I would have many sins that are worthy of judgment, but because of Christ’s sacrifice and faith in that that sacrifice, I can stand before God’s judgment seat and be considered forgiven. I am part of God’s family. I have eternal life. We are saved by grace of Jesus alone.

All those people who are depending on the goodness of their lives, thinking that they are good people and should be let into heaven based on their own merits, this passage has something to say about that. Look at verses 12-13, “12 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 in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.”  No one is without sin, no one. Even if we live good lives compared to the rest of the population, there are things in our lives, in the past that will rise up to condemn us on the Day of Judgment. We can not just wish that away or try to forget it or deny it. The only hope anyone has is to enter into the right relationship with God, through Jesus Christ our Lord and hold onto his Gospel…the gospel of God’s grace.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your grace given through the blood of the Lamb that put my name in the book of life. Help me not to be deceived by the devil but stand firm in Jesus.

One Word: Is your name written there?