Revelation 19-20 -- What Awaits Those Who Don't Believe

A lot happens in these chapters.  The Tribulation is past.  It’s time for the marriage of the Lamb.  The church will not be simply His bride any longer, but His wife.

Jesus comes from Heaven riding a white war horse.  He brings His armies with Him, but they never have to fight.  He handles it all Himself.  The saints return to earth with Him.

The beast and the false prophet are captured and hurled alive into the lake of fire burning with sulfur.  Then an angel comes down from heaven, seizes Satan, and locks him in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years.  He cannot go out and deceive the nations.

Once Satan is released, he rebels against God for the last time.  Fire comes down from heaven and consumes his troops.  The devil is cast into the lake of fire, joining the beast and the false prophet, who’ve been there for the thousand years.  (My commentary said this disproves the idea that we are annihilated when we die.)

Those whose names are not listed in the Book of Life are judged, with all of them headed to hell.  The judgment is not to decide heaven or hell – that’s a foregone conclusion.  Instead, it determines the degree of punishment each will receive in hell.

With the unbelievers and Satan – their boss – taken care of, the rest of Revelation can tell about Who wins.

Father, hearing what awaits the unsaved, I am all the more thankful that You reached out and saved me.  It also makes me keenly aware of the importance of telling others about Your Son’s sacrificial death on their behalf, for only through accepting His death for our sins can we have any hope of eternity in heaven with You.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Revelation 17-18 I Don't Know WHAT To Write About This

I don’t know what to write about this.  It’s certainly not Babylon in Iraq that is being addressed.  I don’t really believe it’s a to-become-wealthy-in-the-future city either. 

I believe this entity exists now.  It is worldwide.  It has amassed incredible wealth for itself, yet hoards that wealth rather than using it to help the poor as the Bible commands.  Yet most importantly, it has used its power to trick men into following it rather than following God.  It is guilty of persuading millions to believe something other than what the Bible says, and because of this, untold millions have ended up in hell rather than heaven for accepting what they thought was truth.

Father, I don’t know if I’ve understood You correctly or not.  I’ve always thought this was future, but what You tell me this morning indicates that it represents both the past and the present as well.  Please lift the veil from the spiritual eyes of those entrapped by this belief.  Allow them to come to You in Truth and in Light.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Revelation 14-16 NOT A Good Time

Boy, this describes a time when it would definitely be better to be dead than living on earth!  The last seven disasters of the Great Tribulation are turned loose:

1)       Ugly and painful sores cover everyone’s body.

      2)      The sea turns to blood, killing all life in it.
      3)      The rivers and springs of water turn to blood.  No one will be able to satisfy their thirst.
      4)      The sun flares up, causing severe burns.
      5)      Darkness covers the entire kingdom of the beast
      6)      The Euphrates River dries up, opening the way for land forces from the kings of the east to     head toward Israel.
      7)      Flashes of lightning, noises, thunder, and the worst earthquake ever cause Babylon to split into 3 parts, every island and mountain vanish, and great hailstones weighing about 100 pounds each slam into the earth.

It will be an incredibly miserable time for those still left behind.  Yet those people still left on earth have allowed their hearts to become so hardened that, even in the midst of all this incredible misery, they still sin greatly, and they curse God rather than calling to Him for help!

Father, you have every right to send the judgments upon mankind for our rebellion and sin against You.  Yet in Your mercy You say that You will have removed Your people from all of it, keeping us safe.  I pray that the horrors of this time will so pervade my conscience that I will do everything possible to bring people to You, for I do not want those I love to have to endure that time.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Revelation 13 -- AMAZING What We'll Believe!

“Then the whole world was amazed and followed the beast … It was given power over every tribe, people, language, and nation.  And all who live on earth [as opposed to living for heaven?] will worship the beast – all the people since the beginning of the world whose names are not written in the Lamb’s book of life.” 

My commentary said, “Those who are not true believers … are given over to error.  They would not believe the truth; now they believe a lie.”

This is saying that people will become so deluded in their own minds that they will readily follow someone and be unable to discern that he is truly evil.    I believe this is already happening in one form today.  There are those who have bought into the lies about a global consciousness and a global vision for the world – that all people will act in a noble way, desiring the best for everyone and willingly sacrificing their own freedoms and resources to accomplish this.  Yet the heart is basically evil without Christ.  Even Christians struggle to not let selfishness get a handhold.  Our very sin nature will not allow such a condition in the world to exist.  But people become so blinded, believing in a utopia and desiring to be part of it that they’ll believe anything they’re told.

Father, please continue to grant us discernment.  Don’t allow us to be fooled by such trickery.  Keep our eyes on You as the days draw near.  Give us the knowledge we need to not get caught up in the hype.  Instead, keep us focused on the Truth.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Revelation 12 -- Could Be THAT's Why He Knows

This chapter tells about an epic battle in heaven where Satan is kicked out of heaven for good.  My commentary indicates that it is future, not past, and that, as in Job, it describes Stan’s access into heaven, where he accuses us before the Father.  That access will finally be completely cut off and he will be banished to earth as his prison.  Poor us!

I suppose another way of viewing it is that, with God’s timelessness – being able to see the future at the same time as the past and present --  Satan would have been able to see all of our sins before we were ever born by looking into that future.  That would allow him to be able to accuse us before God before the world was created.  Then the epic battle could have taken place in the distant past and Satan cast down from heaven, “ruling” earth for all of human history, to taunt us and tempt us with those very sins he’s already witnessed.  He would actually know our weak spots and the situations we’d be walking into that he could exploit.  He’s certainly not above doing that.

Father, You know my steps.  You also know my weaknesses and where I’m susceptible to sin.  I pray that You will strengthen my faith and my character when You know I’m headed for one of those encounters.  Keep Satan from giving me opportunities to disappoint You.  It’s sure tough having an enemy who knows all about me, but it’s awesome being protected by a God who knows me and still loves me!

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Genesis 10 & 11 -- The End In Sight

“There will be no more waiting!  In the days when the seventh angel is ready to blow his trumpet, God’s secret will be finished.  This secret is the Good News God told to His servants, the prophets.”

The Good News is the Gospel of Christ.  It’s about salvation.  So does this mean that when the seventh angel blows his trumpet, that God will be turning off salvation by faith in Christ?  After that, will it be too late?

In chapter 11, when the seventh angel did blow his trumpet, loud voices in heaven announced that God had taken back rule over the earth.  Satan would no longer flaunt his rule.  The announcement was made that it was time to judge the dead and to destroy those who would destroy the world.

By this point, the hearts of those left behind are certainly hardened.  Otherwise, they would reflect on all these catastrophes and determine that they’d rather be on God’s side!  How blinded they’ve become!

Father, as I look back at my own life, I remember all too well a time when I let pride blind me to Your truth.  Thank You for restoring me before it was too late.  Thank You for undoing much of the damage I’d done to myself and others.  Please keep me ever mindful that time is short and people need to hear Your Good News.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Revelation 8-9 -- Not The Quiet Game

“When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.”

Despite all of the judgment that rained down from heaven onto the earth in these chapters, despite the terrible suffering and pain inflicted upon those who remained on earth and did not believe, this one sentence caught my eye.

For I doubt that Heaven had ever experienced such silence before.  The angels and elders had, for eternity, been bowing before God and worshiping Him.  After all, He is infinitely worthy of worship.  So what would ever cause them to cease worshiping for even a few seconds, much less for 30 minutes??

They know that what is to follow is God’s final offer of salvation.  The Book of Life is about to be closed and locked, and no other names will ever again be added once this period that’s coming is done.  And I believe that fact was breaking God’s heart.

Father, help me to do what I can to make sure that as many as possible are added to Your kingdom before that day ever arrives.  I don’t want anyone I know to have to endure what’s described in these chapters.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford