Category: Revelation

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Revelation 13 before reading the devotional below.

Superstition has no place in Christian theology, and yet the book of Revelation and this chapter in particular have caused some to include it in their thinking. The mark of the beast. 666. I once had a Christian tell me that a certain organization was suspicious and perhaps demonic because they had 666 in their phone number. Whatever the point of this chapter is, I’m sure it’s not that.

There’s a reason that we have so many epic stories of good versus evil. All the way back to the time of David and Goliath, we’ve been glued to stories where the good guy (often the underdog) wins. Revelation has a dragon, a beast, a marvelously brilliant pregnant lady, and a Lamb that is the unlikely hero. What does it all mean? I don’t know, but I notice an ongoing separation of God’s holy people who have remained faithful from the rest of the world. I also notice that status doesn’t matter — all humans are at the mercy of this great heavenly war.

I don’t fear the end times or the mark of the beast. I’m not searching the newspaper for signs. Those who practice superstition are generally wrong, and when they seem right it’s typically a lucky guess. Probability suggests that’s bound to happen. I have my eyes fixed on Jesus, this Lamb, also called the “author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-3). It is only by looking to him that we can truly live in freedom. If we look around for prophetic signs of the end times, we will live in fear and give even greater power to the darkness.

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Revelation 14 before reading the devotional below.

What if the mark of the beast isn’t a microchip inserted under your skin? This is just one of the commonly held theories about what the mark of the beast might look like, and I fear that such notions will have us looking in all the wrong places for Jesus’ return. In today’s chapter we again see the contrast between the faithful people of God who have followed the Lamb “everywhere he goes” and those who have followed the beast into immorality. Various angels are shouting messages from on high: “Give glory to God!” and “Babylon is fallen!” The direction of people’s worship is defining to what will become of them.

There are a lot of references to wine in this passage. Those who follow the beast “drink the wine of passionate immorality.” They will later “drink the wine of God’s anger.” This is described as a strong wine. I do not drink alcohol to stand in solidarity with all those I know who are in recovery from alcohol addiction. So I don’t know what strong wine would taste like, but I have certainly smelled heavily fermented foods. It doesn’t sound great to drink the wine of God’s anger. It’s likely a very bitter aftertaste to the wine of immorality.

At the end of the chapter, the angels are tasked with harvesting the “grapes” of the earth to see what kind of wine they produce. Turns out there are a lot of rotten grapes in the batch. Wine turns to blood that pours out for miles. It’s a shocking contrast to the blood of the Lamb that was poured out as a ransom for many. Bloodshed is the result of sin, and it’s also the only way out of sin. Blood defines the very life inside of you, so the question is what kind of blood flows through your veins? When pressed, what color will you bleed? The spiritual path you are on today will determine the answer. Sweet will become bitter, and bitter will become sweet.

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Revelation 15 before reading the devotional below.

If you ever wondered why there are so many images of angels with harps, today’s chapter gives you the answer. A lot of people have a lot of interesting ideas about what heaven will be like, often pieced together from obscure moments in the Bible that describe one specific scene. Angels have done a lot of things in Revelation, from relaying messages to fighting wars to carrying plagues to playing harps. Angels seem to play important roles both in heaven and on earth.

The focus of today’s chapter is on the song the angels are singing. Again we see the complexity of God as his glory and the Lamb’s glory are shown as one. The concept of the Trinity is not directly explained in Scripture, but there are these moments where God the Father, Jesus the Son (or the Lamb in this case), and the Holy Spirit are spoken of as one being. Here we see this song of worship to God very similarly echo the worship of the Lamb in Revelation 5:12. The Lamb was declared worthy to receive honor and glory, and in today’s song (called the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb) God is declared as the holy one who will be glorified. The angels were singing all these songs to worship God.

I love the complexity of God’s nature that is both beautiful and paradoxical. The Lamb is given the glory which can only belong to God, and his song is also one of worship to God. Is he worshiping himself? Scripture reveals that God is able to have relationship and complete love within himself. He has chosen to share that with humanity, but he does not need us. He is whole and unified. I don’t know what all that means except that I am called to participate in a supernatural kind of love that I don’t have to hold together. My relationship with God does not depend on me making him okay. God’s glory is something to behold and to worship, and it will exist whether or not I choose to participate. And I definitely don’t want to miss out!

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Revelation 16 before reading the devotional below.

A lot of people see God as an angry being that is out to destroy the earth. Today’s chapter certainly reveals his anger on full display. We often think of anger as out of control because when humans are angry we can act impulsively and foolishly. Here we see that God’s anger has been held until a specific time, and that the plagues he orders the angels to carry out are a deliberate, last-chance effort to allow evildoers to repent. Again, this passage reminds me of the plagues in Exodus and the ways in which Pharaoh’s heart remained hard toward God.

Notice in verse 17 there is a shout, “It is finished!” The same thing happens in John 19:30 when Jesus dies on the cross. Both in today’s passage and in some accounts of Jesus’ death on the cross, there is an earthquake. Matthew 28 describes another earthquake when the angel appears to remove the stone from the tomb entrance. The parallels between Jesus’ victory on the cross and this final victory over evil are too strong to overlook.

God is angry at evil. Satan has established a kingdom of evil that has harmed God’s most beloved creatures: humans. Satan has tricked us, led us astray, and usurped the authority God gave us over the earth. God will not sit back and allow Satan to keep what he has stolen. Notice God gives humans who have succumb to evil one last chance to repent. He does not seem to offer that to the dragon (Satan) or the beast (false prophet) at any point. God is waging war for humanity, not against it. His anger is deliberate, calculated, and strategic. Verse 9 reminds us that God was in control of these events for a purpose, and we know that his purposes will be fulfilled.

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Revelation 17 before reading the devotional below.

Today’s chapter shows us some next-level demonic activity that may be vitriolic to some. The central figure is this “Great Prostitute” who rides on the back of a beast and dominates the kings of the world. She is a symbolic figure which stands in contrast to the woman in labor that we saw earlier. This pregnant woman representing God’s people is birthing the salvation of the world, and this demonic woman is seeking to dominate it.

Some find it challenging to process how women are portrayed or treated in the Bible. In part this is because we do not view the men in the Bible with as great scrutiny. All of the other figures in Revelation have been described as male (or non-gendered), and only these two women have been described here. We tend to pay more attention to the female roles, while in reality these two female figures present a very similar symbolism to the Lamb and the dragon. This good versus evil match-up reminds me of Romans 5:17, where we are told that sin entered the world through one man (Adam) and will leave the world through one man (Jesus).

Verse 14 shows us that the evil that dominates the world will only be conquered by the Lamb, who is called the “Lord of lords” and “King of kings.” All of the other kings of the world succumbed to the dragon and the Great Prostitute, but Jesus is able to overcome. Those who are with him will have a way out of the evil world. A lot of people want to be neutral about spirituality, but in reality they often want to avoid difficult questions that require faith. The book of Revelation makes it clear that we are all caught up in this war whether we like it or not. Where you stand determines where you will fall.