Jesus is coming soon to settle up. What will He bring for you?
Revelation 22:12-17 (NIV)
12 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward [settlement] is with me, to repay each one for what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.
Listen to passage & devotional:
Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 37: The Last Judgment (Part 1)
Finally we believe,
according to God’s Word,
that when the time appointed by the Lord is come
(which is unknown to all creatures)
and the number of the elect is complete,
our Lord Jesus Christ will come from heaven,
bodily and visibly,
as he ascended,
with great glory and majesty,
to declare himself the judge
of the living and the dead.
He will burn this old world,
in fire and flame,
in order to cleanse it.
Then all human creatures will appear in person
before that great judge—
men, women, and children,
who have lived from the beginning until the end
of the world.
They will be summoned there
by the voice of the archangel
and by the sound of the divine trumpet.
For all those who died before that time
will be raised from the earth,
their spirits being joined and united
with their own bodies
in which they lived.
And as for those who are still alive,
they will not die like the others
but will be changed “in the twinkling of an eye”
from “corruptible to incorruptible.”
Summary
Today's summary and Dig Deeper post are re-posted from January 27, 2023.
Today's passage is from the closing passage of the Bible, and it's packed full of theology that ought to give you hope.
First of all, and most importantly, Jesus announces that He is coming soon! Yes, these words were recorded two millennia ago and we're still waiting, but remember God operates in the Divine Time Zone, which is entirely different than how we experience time in our world. So you ought to be ready at any moment.
Second, Jesus is returning with His settlement. Since as a believer you've been given the perfect righteousness of Jesus, you ought to look forward to this! Jesus expands on what your reward will be in v14: you will have the right to the tree of life, and you may go through the gates into the city (the Kingdom of God)!
But a settlement cuts both ways. Those lacking the perfect righteousness God requires will get what they have coming as well, and it can be summed up in one word: exclusion. They will not be allowed in, and in fact their fate was sealed a few chapters earlier when they were cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 19:11-15).
Dig Deeper
Certainly the average American has a very distorted view of God in which the Father is viewed as an grandfatherly type who forgives sins and simply wants to bestow blessings upon His children, which they deserve for all of the 'good' deeds they have performed in their lifetimes.
So when they read that at the end Jesus will return with His reward, they eagerly anticipate this, not understanding that a positive reward will be reserved only for those individuals possessing perfect righteousness, while all others will be paid back with the eternal wrath which their sins deserve.
It ought to be obvious to you that you don't have the perfect righteous God requires on your own, and if you're not putting your full faith in Jesus Christ, this ought to trouble you greatly! Don't be one of the myriads of people who shortchange themselves by just considering Jesus as their good buddy up in the sky whom they can call on when they get in a jamb.
Christ came so that you might have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10). He did this by putting your sin upon Himself, and in exchange giving you His perfect righteousness, which you so desperately need.
And He's coming... Soon! Be ready for His settlement by making sure that in every aspect of life, you belong to your faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: The Alpha & Omega, the First & the Last, the Beginning & the End (v13)
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will submit every aspect of your life to Christ's Lordship, so that you can eagerly anticipate His settlement.
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Revelation 9
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