Month: May 2022

Revelation 20:6b …but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

The promise that the people of God will be priests and kings goes back to Moses when the Lord established the Covenant with the people at Mt. Sinai: ”you shall be a kingdom of priests [Exodus 19:6].” Actually, the promise goes back to when Adam (all people) was created to ”have dominion,” rule over and care for Creation. The promise is repeated until it is restored in Christ and the Church.

God promises that we will be priests and reign forever, and the kingdom starts now. The ”thousand years” covers all the time between the Ascension and the Second Coming. In Christ, and with Christ, and with Christ in us, we live to bless, serve, protect, and care for all created things, including other people.

When we were baptized we became kings to rule over Evil, and priests to pray for others and be ”little Christs” to them. We became the salt of the earth and the light of the world. We don’t even know the impact of our lives on the world around us through prayer, service, love, acts of kindness, forgiveness, resisting the devil, taking authority over sin and evil. We make a difference. Since we don’t see it, we are given the promise that we are priests and kings, so that we may believe it to be so. If we saw what effect we have we would become puffed up and proud, and thus mess up our functions as kings and priests.

Jesus is our High Priest and King of kings, and He exercises priestly and kingly functions through us as a kingdom of priests. Our focus is always to be on Christ and His Gospel, and His promise is that we will be priests of God and we will reign with Christ. Take His word for it and enjoy serving.

Revelation 20:6a Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power.

Blessing and holiness in eternal life forever is promised for believers in Christ. The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is the ”first resurrection.” Jesus is the first and only person ever to rise again from death, and stay alive forever. There have been other resurrections, or ”resuscitations,” but they died again later. He who believes in Christ and is baptized in His name has a part in His resurrection.

Then there will follow the general resurrection (the second) of all human beings: ”All that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth…unto the resurrection of life, and…unto the resurrection of damnation [john 5:28-29].” Everyone will rise, but some to eternal life, and some to eternal damnation, or the “second death.” The second death, eternal damnation, has no hold on those who believe in Christ and have a part in His resurrection. This is the quintessential promise for Christians: eternal life and no eternal death.

There will be a resurrection of the body; the promise is that the resurrection of believers will be blessed and holy. We shall be blessed in every imaginable way, even beyond comprehension. And we can’t even imagine the boundless joy and incredible peace that will come from being holy. And a greater truth is that “resurrection life” is ours today in the midst of the sin, misery, and evil of this life on earth. Faith makes this Hope real and alive and overcomes today’s problems.

Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

The promise here is about the eternal destiny of believers in Christ: they will sit on thrones and be given authority to judge. We shall rule as kings over all sin and evil forever with God-given authority and power. We, as eternal subjects of the Lord, will never sin again and surrender authority to any evil power. We will be absolutely perfect in willing obedience to God, our Father and Creator. In this way we will rule and judge, under Christ, over Sin, Death, and Satan forever, world without end.

The surprising, and little known, aspect of this promise is that we live and reign with Christ now, during this time, even as we speak, for a thousand years. The “thousands years,” the millennium, is the period in which we are living right now, between the Ascension and the Second Coming of Christ. “[God] raised us up with him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus [Ephesians 2:6].” This is the position from which baptized believers now reside and reign.

Of course, we are still contending with the usurper, the prince of the power of the air, for the right to rule the hearts and souls of created and redeemed people. But “the gospel is the power of God.” The just live by faith. We live today and reign with Christ by faith in the Gospel. We live and rule with that promise.

Revelation 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

At the Marriage Supper of the Lamb our Lord gives the Bride of Christ fine linen, clean and white. The promise is that the Bride, the Church, we the believers, are granted a fine, white, beautiful wedding dress. It is somewhat surprising when plain-looking women can be made up and dressed up to look stunning for their wedding day. Brides are always pretty.

That is the picture God wants to paint for us, so that we may see ourselves as God sees us: He sees the beauty of holiness in us. The ”fine linen” is defined as righteousness of saints. Wedding finery can just be outward covering of flaws and blemishes with nothing changed inwardly. However, the outward clothing in this case is caused by, and evidence of, inner beauty. The righteousness of saints (linen) reflects the inner beauty, the holy character, of the person. The person has been cleansed of sin by the blood of Jesus, purified and sanctified by faith.

We are saints now, although we don’t see it since we are still sinners at the same time. But we believe the promise. We will be arrayed in righteousness for all to see later, at the marriage feast. And we believe the promise. It is helpful for us to see by faith what God sees, righteousness of saints.

Revelation 19:7, 9 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready….And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

One depiction of what eternal life with God will be like is this: one perpetual Marriage Supper with the Lamb, Jesus, and His beautiful Bride, the Church. The Bride is all believers in Christ collectively, and each of us individually share in that celebration event. It is not exactly clear how each believer is ”called unto the marriage supper,” both as invited guests and witnesses and as the central participant, the bride herself, the center of attention. But we know it will be an exceedingly joyful time for all.

We on earth experience the joys and excitement of a wedding reception, especially for the bride. It is a blessed event, the experience of which can be transferred into the spiritual and eternal kingdom. The promise of the Supper is the unbridled Joy of the eternal event. We get a foretaste of the ”feast to come” when we partake in the Holy Communion, and also whenever we are in fellowship with Jesus. ”Let us be glad and rejoice.”

Revelation 19:2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the whole earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.

In chapter 18, Babylon is fallen, with a vivid and extended description of God’s judgment of its lust and greed. Babylon is the great whore; it is a symbol of the world. The World is corrupt and under the control of the Evil One. The world’s ways, philosophies, and temptations have corrupted all earth-dwellers. Earth’s people are deceived into “walking by sight,” into thinking ”that’s all there is,” and ”you only go around once.” So God is ignored and His love is spurned. This inattention to God leads to all kinds of sin, evil, filth, corruption, and finally, eternal death, or, ultimate separation from God and Life and all that is Good.

Therefore, the sentence of death has been placed on the world; it’s destruction is certain; it’s judgment is assured. This truth is a promise for the believer: every instrument, like the World, that can only bring hopelessness and despair and that daily steals, kills, and destroys life, well being, and everything good will be gone. The promise is that there is an alternative, another life, a better world, an alternate universe, if you will: it is God. Jesus has judged the world, it is finished, and it will be gone forever. He replaces it with His Eternal Kingdom, the all good and only good world.

The world is a whore, the polar opposite of the faithful and beautiful Bride, adorned for her Eternal Husband. God or Mammon: loving one despises the other 1 John 2:15: ”If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” We have the promise of Love, Life, and Good. All else is judged. Promise!

Revelation 17:14 And these shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

The great whore Babylon (the world), the Beast (the antichrist), and the ten horns of the beast (ten kings) make war with the Lamb. This spiritual warfare is going on all the time inside us and all around us. This war appears grossly overmatched, as these powerful forces attack a lamb. The lamb is the weakest and most defenseless of animals. And not only that, but this Lamb has already been slain.

And yet, the Lamb shall overcome them. This is an incredible promise: He wins for us. We are ”with him.” The sacrificial Lamb is the King of kings and Lord of lords, and we that believe in Him are called by the Gospel, chosen in Christ, and made faithful by the Spirit. We who follow the Lamb cannot lose; we are on the right side. We win the Final Battle, and with that knowledge we shall overcome all the little battles of life on earth.

How does a slain lamb overcome? He overcomes with the strongest force in the universe: Love! The love of God. Song of Songs 8:6: ”Love is strong as death.” Humans know nothing stronger than sin and death, for death relentlessly comes for us all. But the love of God is stronger than death. It defeats the last Enemy. Look at the Cross and the Tomb, where Love is on full display. It conquers all!

Revelation 16:7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.

Three cycles of seven judgments from the wrath of God are recorded in the Book of Revelation: seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls, each set more terrible than the last. Here, after three bowls of the wrath of God have been poured out, we hear a voice from heaven proclaim: ”True and righteous are thy judgments.” As terrible, frightening, and gruesome as these judgments are, they are still true, just, right, and ultimately good.

Believe it or not, these horrific judgments of the wrath of God upon the sins of the world are given as promises. Judgment is a true and righteous promise. Sin is horrible, ugly, dark, and foul, and every one of our sins rightly deserves the righteous wrath of a holy God. Since it is not easy for us to see the horrific nature of our own sin, God reveals His Judgments on Sin as true and righteous so that we might feel our sin and be led to repentance and faith.

We rejoice in God’s just judgment on sin, for that brings salvation to the sinner. We glory in the cross of Christ for there we see our sin being judged. The judgment on the cross forgives our sin and saves us. And Revelation reveals the Final End of the presence of Sin forever. That’s why judgment is a promise. See your sin laid on Jesus and judged forever.

Revelation 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yeah, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them.

John is told by a voice from heaven to write down this promise: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. He had just seen the 144,000 (a symbolic, complete number representing all the redeemed throughout history) rejoicing and singing before the Lamb in heaven. And he had just seen those who worshipped the beast (symbolic of all unbelievers) tormented with fire and brimstone forever. What a great difference! So He promises that the blessing is for all those who die “in the Lord” from now on. The difference maker between blessing and torment is whether one is in the Lord or not. In the Lord = Faith in Christ.

”Blessed are the dead.” Death for believers has been transformed from an enemy that steals and destroys into a gateway into blessing and life. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ guaranteed this Great Change. Our death is changed from being a monster into being a blessing of eternal joy and peace.

Death in the Lord promises rest from the labor of struggling under the Curse. And we have the promise that the good works that the Lord has done through us in this life will remain in eternity. What we do perishes; what Christ does lasts.

Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony; and loved not their lives unto the death.

Seven promises are given to the overcomers in the letters to the seven churches of Revelation. ”To the one who conquers I will give….” Jesus is the One who overcomes, and He gives the victory to us who believe. By faith we become Overcomers according to the promise. The promised truth is that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. We are ”more than conquerors.” He does the work; we just receive the benefits by faith.

In this verse He tells us the who and the how. Who is overcome? Here it is the great dragon and his angels, who have been cast out of heaven to roam and rule the earth by tempting and accusing. But they (the brothers) overcame him (Satan). The Accuser tempts the brothers to sin and then accuses them of the guilt and condemnation of it. But they overcame.

How do we overcome? The promise is that we conquer by the blood of the Lamb. By confession and faith we apply the death of Jesus Christ to our hearts, and the shed blood of Christ forgives and cleanses us from all sin and guilt. The Holy Spirit applies the blood through the gospel, and through that means we overcame. We also speak a word of faith as our testimony to what Christ has done for me. And finally, we overcome by not counting our lives in this world as worth anything, and we are willing to face death rather than give up on our Savior.