Gog and Magog

Posted on by korgrocker

“He will go out to deceive the nations—called Gog and Magog—in every corner of the earth. He will gather them together for battle—a mighty army, as numberless as sand along the seashore. And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God’s people and the beloved city. But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them.”
Revelation‬ ‭20:8-9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The devil has been released from prison, the bottomless pit, and he wastes no time. He is the master of deceit and he goes out and convinces the nations, called Gog and Magog, to form a mighty army. 

Firstly, who or what was Gog and Magog? We know that Magog was a grandson of Noah and he is thought to have moved north of Israel, possibly to what is now Europe. And in Ezekiel 38;1-2 we read, “This is another message that came to me from the Lord: “Son of man, turn and face Gog of the land of Magog, the prince who rules over the nations of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him”. But whoever Gog and Magog were, and there has been much conjecture and quite a few suggestions, the facts are that a huge army was put together, comprising people from “every corner of the earth”. Who were these people? They must have been all those alive during the latter stages of the millennium, who were still rebelling against God, and had been deceived by the devil, who had promised them that they could defeat Jesus and His people, thus being able to enjoy their evil and sin-filled lives once again. There were many of them – John, in his vision, saw that they were as “numberless as sand along the seashore”. As John watched, they “surrounded God’s people and the beloved city”, which was of course Jerusalem. But God’s solution to all of this was to burn them all up with fire from Heaven. We read in 2 Thessalonians 1:7b-9, “… He will come with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power”. Hebrews 12:28-29 reads, “Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire”. Fire appears throughout the Bible as the instrument of God’s judgement on those who reject Him and His grace. 

We pilgrims work for God. We build on the foundation, the corner stone, that is Jesus. We hope and pray that the work we do is of value to God, but in 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 we read, “But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames”. ‭‭‭‭God is the master builder. He teaches us all well. But the implication is that we can get involved in much that is of no value and one day it will be destroyed by fire. Only the work that God wants us to do will last. Pilgrims like us can easily get involved in things that don’t fit in with God’s will and purposes for us. And the result can be overload and burnout. I often think about Jesus and the incident in the Pool of Bethesda, where there were many sick people, all waiting for bubbles to appear (they believed that an angel with miraculous healing powers occasional stirred the water and the first one in got healed). Jesus only healed one person that day – a man who had been sick for thirty eight years. But He didn’t heal the rest. Why? Because Jesus only did what His father wanted Him to do. The Amplified version of John 5:19 reads, “So Jesus answered them by saying, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself [of His own accord], unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever things the Father does, the Son [in His turn] also does in the same way.” 

A problem in Christian churches can be that about ninety percent of the work required seems to be accomplished by ten percent of the people. And in many churches, it is the minister who tries to fulfil the five fold ministries described in Ephesians 4:11-12, “Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.” So a question we pilgrims must ask ourselves is this – is the work I am doing for God what He has asked me to do? And, conversely, the second question – is there work that God has asked me to do and I’m being disobedient and not doing it? Questions we must bring under the gaze of the Master Builder. He will enlighten us, I’m sure.

Father God. Thank You that we are part of Your master plan for the human race. Please lead and guide us through our daily lives, helping us do just those tasks You want us to do. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Satan Released from Prison

Posted on by korgrocker

“When the thousand years come to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison.”
Revelation‬ ‭20:7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The thousand years are up. Christ’s millennial reign has come to an end. And, presumably, the angel returns with the key, opens the door to the bottomless pit and releases satan from his chains. Why? 

The last one thousand years have been peaceful. No sin has been allowed to flourish. No financial frauds. No opportunities for gang warfare. No proliferation of drugs. No fighting and wars. Just a wonderful thousand years spent in Jesus’ presence. It can’t get much better than that! But not everyone will have thought so. There would still have been many who refused to bend the knee to Christ. But you would think that even living in such a peaceful time would have been preferable to how it was before.

Perhaps satan was released to show the contrast between his kingdom and God’s Kingdom. Between good and evil. He would have tried to reassert himself as the “god of this age”, once again waving his rebellious fist in God’s face. And encouraging those sinful and evil people on earth to join him once more. Perhaps, in his arrogance, he thought he had learnt enough this time to properly defeat God. After all, he’d had a thousand years to plot and scheme. Or perhaps the devil was released to test the population, who may have become complacent after a long period of stable and euphoric rule. Perhaps he had been released to stand trial before God on the day of judgement, and had been given one last opportunity to bow his knee before God, unlikely though that was. But in any case, deep in thought, in his incorrigible wickedness, the devil heard the scraping of the key in the lock. He rushed to the door as it opened, hurried the angel to undo the chains, and then burst into the sunlight. Desperate to wreak his evil mischief on mankind once again.

The devil would have struck fear into the hearts of many on earth at that time, as he does today. But Christians have nothing to fear from him. They have God on their side, and His instructions about how to deal with the devil were there in God’s Word, the Bible. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armour so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm“. (Ephesians‬ ‭6:13). But we have to be careful when the devil is around. He is the master of deceit, and his whisperings can sound so plausible sometimes. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 5:8, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour“.

We pilgrims might be thinking that this is all a bit academic. After all, we’re not going to be alive in a thousand years’ time. But hang on a minute – we will be, because we will have been resurrected at the start of the millennium and will be ruling and reigning with Christ for a thousand years, resplendent in our new bodies. So we have been forewarned. We’ll get to see what the devil is going to do in the next blog.

Father God, we praise and worship You today. We pray, as taught by Jesus, that You will deliver us from evil. Thank You Lord. Amen.

Satan in Chains

Posted on by korgrocker

“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand. He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years. The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while.”
Revelation‬ ‭20:1-3‬ ‭NLT

The memories from Armageddon were just fading from John’s vision, when another angel appeared. He came down from Heaven carrying a key and a substantial chain. This angel was obviously no wimp, because he was able to overpower satan and chain him up. Satan was to be imprisoned for a thousand years – quite a few human life sentences there – and his jail was to be “the bottomless pit”. He wasn’t handled too gently either because he was thrown in there – no “would you mind”? on this occasion. And then the angel shut the door and locked it. 

As a reminder, who was and is satan? Some scriptures describe him as Lucifer, the senior angel in charge of worship in Heaven, but he becomes proud and wanted to take over Heaven through a coup. Needless to say, it was unsuccessful and he was cast down to earth. In a conversation with the religious leaders of His day, Jesus described the devil as being a murderer and liar. we read in John 8:44, “For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies“. The Apostle Peter warned us about him. We read in 1 Peter 5:8, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour“. But we can resist him, as we read in James 4:7, “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

But what is, or was, the bottomless pit? The commentators and translators think it was a holding area for the extremely wicked, an abyss to hold them until their time of judgement could be scheduled. The best explanation comes from 2 Peter 2:4, “For God did not spare even the angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, in gloomy pits of darkness, where they are being held until the day of judgment”. The word Peter used in his epistle was “hell”, which may give some indication that it is a terrible place. In C S Lewis’s fictional book, The Great Divorce, hell was a dismal place that never ended, so “bottomless” might be a good description of where the devil ended up, at least for a millennia. And, of course, once there, the devil’s ability to deceive mankind ended.

It would be difficult to imagine what Planet Earth would be like without the devil. However, these verses in Revelation say nothing about sin and evil being locked up with satan, so we can only assume that mankind remained infected with sin during Jesus’s thousand year reign. But more of that in the next blog. One thing for sure – the excuse “the devil made me do it” wouldn’t be valid anymore!

Dear Lord. Our enemy, the devil, has caused terrible things to happen here on earth. I thank You that You have defeated the devil, and his power has been curtailed for all believers everywhere. I thank You that through You we can stand firm and resist his attacks. Amen.

Number 666

Posted on by korgrocker

“And with all the miracles he was allowed to perform on behalf of the first beast, he deceived all the people who belong to this world. He ordered the people to make a great statue of the first beast, who was fatally wounded and then came back to life. He was then permitted to give life to this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue of the beast commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die. He required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name. Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666.”
Revelation‬ ‭13:14-18‬ ‭NLT

In John’s vision he saw a horrifying attack on the liberty of mankind. Everyone had to be registered. There were no exceptions. Of course, in the UK, registration, in one form or another, is already in place. We have National Insurance numbers. NHS references. Entries on the Voter’s Roll. My banking is defined by a sort code and account number. My driving Licence has its own unique number. We have passports. A young person sometimes has to have an ID card detailing their age, so that certain age-limited purchases can be made, or entry allowed into some premises. In many respects, personal identification details are essential in UK, and other Western, societies so that the lives we lead can be as smooth as possible. But what the devil had in mind was much more insidious than this. The identification mark was to be visible to all. And this mark was necessary to allow life to be lived the devil’s way. Without the ID, “no one could buy or sell anything”. But how could personal freedom deteriorate to become like this? And why would the “beast” require such a universal action?

First of all we already have the technology to give people a “mark” or ID. Think of bar codes, QR codes or the semiconductor chips contained within bank cards. Dogs in the UK are legally required to have a “chip” inserted in the loose skin around their necks. A few years ago, a media report disclosed that thousands of Swedes were having microchips inserted under their skin, to make life easier when faced with login requirements. So technology is not the problem. The world today has reached the stage where ID requirements have become ubiquitous.

So as populations increasingly become familiar with presenting their ID, perhaps a universal and unique code, visible to all, sounds like a good idea. No more fragmented login requirements. And if a universal login is used for good, I don’t think anyone would complain – it would make their lives easier. But what the devil is up to is more insidious. Once he has the world population marked in this way, he will be able to exert total control over them. And that is really the problem – God created mankind to be able to think for itself, but our enemy the devil wants to control us, thoughts and all. And those who refuse to be “marked” will be effectively outcasts and unable to function within society.

I believe the mark the devil wants to apply will ultimately be capable of being remotely monitored and controlled. Where God created human beings with the ability to make their own choices, the devil’s world wants automatons. John’s vision described a scary world. If the population behaved in a way that suited the devil, the people would be able to live their lives without too much hassle. But the lack of individual freedoms would increase as the rules governing and controlling the population start to be ratcheted up. If we allow our thoughts to extrapolate what technology might be able to achieve, think of how the devil could control and even prevent what he disapproves of, such as going to church. Or something else that doesn’t fit within the devil’s world view.

These verses today from Revelation 13 end with a reference to the number “666”. What is all that about? Over the millennia there have been numerous attempts to decode what this means but no definitive solution has been found. So I’m not going to add my tuppence worth to the debate. Suffice to say, that the number refers to something we don’t yet understand, something in the future, technology or a process. However, with the scientific advances being made, the required technology is probably not far away over the horizon of human understanding.

So we pilgrims plod on through life. Grateful for the revelation and support of the Bible and the warnings of what is to come from John’s vision. Forewarned is forearmed. We know what the devil is up to, so we pray. And keep on praying. For our countries, our political leaders, our communities and families, and finally, for ourselves, that we will stand firm through all these troubles, affirming our faith. God is our loving Heavenly Father and He will lead and guide us through the devil’s schemes. The Apostle Paul helpfully set out some practical ways in which we can live in a devil-influenced world. In Ephesians 6:11 we read, “Put on all of God’s armour so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil“. God’s armour indeed has the capability of preventing the devil from overwhelming us. And Paul finished his armour verses with Ephesians 6:18, “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere“. So that is what we pilgrims will do.

Dear God. I thank You for John’s faithfulness in recording his vision. I pray for us all, that we will stand firm in the face of the devil’s attacks, looking to the One who defeated the devil at Calvary. Amen.

Another Beast

Posted on by korgrocker

“Then I saw another beast come up out of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke with the voice of a dragon. He exercised all the authority of the first beast. And he required all the earth and its people to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. He did astounding miracles, even making fire flash down to earth from the sky while everyone was watching.”
Revelation 13:11-13 NLT

As if one beast wasn’t enough, another one pops up. This one is perhaps the devil himself, because “he spoke with the voice of a dragon“, but what can we glean from these verses?

Firstly, the new beast came “up out of the earth”. Now we know that after the war in Heaven, the devil was cast out down to the earth. So that would be where he would be expected to appear from. And now we have an interesting few words – “He had two horns like those of a lamb”. One thing the devil is good at is how he counterfeits the things of God. There is a good chance he appeared as a lamb, mimicking the Lamb of God. And by so doing he would deceive many people, even Christians, in the process committing one of the biggest scams this earth has ever seen. As Christians we must be very, very careful and discerning. The Apostle Peter warned us. He wrote in 1 Peter 5:8, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” Watch out we must.

In my pilgrimage, I have encountered some Christians who talk a good story but, on closer examination, what they say or do troubles me. They sound very plausible and spiritual but issues start to emerge that undermine them. There’s not so much a problem with what some Christians say, if it can be checked out against the Bible.  The Bible is the final arbiter of what we say, what we believe. One danger that can trap Christians is when someone builds a doctrine around a Bible verse taken out of context. As an example, I can remember some years ago that a church was established around Mark 16:18, “they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on people who are ill, and they will get well.” So they started to bring poisonous snakes to their meetings. However, it is the marginal sayings and actions that don’t have a direct Biblical parallel that can be a problem. I have met people who start a conversation with “I believe God has told me to …” and they then launch into how they are undertaking a set of actions in accordance with what they believe God has said to them. They might be perfectly correct in what they have heard and are now doing, but the danger is that the devil has planted an evil thought in their minds. Remember the devil’s conversation with Eve in Genesis 3:1? “The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”” Often the enemy will try and plant doubts about God in our minds and in the process sound very plausible and logical.

It is sometimes very difficult to discern if the still small voice we are hearing is God or someone else. The old Apostle John wrote some words of wisdom in his first epistle, “Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world“. (1 John 4:1).

Often what we are hearing can be our sinful natures trying to reassert themselves. There are some checks and balances that need to be followed to avoid us falling into a trap set by the forces of evil, whatever their source.
Firstly, is there Scriptural support for what “I believe God has told me to …”. If what we think God is asking us to do is at variance with what it says in Scripture then it is probably not Him speaking.
Secondly, if necessary, it is worth checking out what we think God is saying with a trusted Christian friend or our pastor. Their counsel will be priceless. I like what Proverbs 12:15 says, “The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.”
Thirdly, and particularly if what we believe God has said may lead to a decision that is life changing, we pray and ask God for confirmation. He is our loving Heavenly Father and He won’t want us to succumb to the devil’s ways. And if we don’t get an answer straight away, leave what we think God said on the “back-burner” until confirmation arrives.

Dear Heavenly Father, we know the devil wants to lead us into paths that aren’t right. Please help us and protect us in our pilgrimage through life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Book of Life

Posted on by korgrocker

“And the beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation. And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand. Anyone who is destined for prison will be taken to prison. Anyone destined to die by the sword will die by the sword. This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently and remain faithful.” 
Revelation 13:7-10 NLT

We are spending a second day considering these verses from Revelation 13. “God’s holy people” were having a hard time, with the devil and his minions waging war against them, conquering them, imprisoning them and murdering them. But the scriptures describing John’s vision continue with a reference to those who weren’t Christians. John described them as being those “who belong to this world”. But surely that applies to everyone who lives on Planet Earth, whether Christian or not. Well, actually, it doesn’t. Because the word “world”describes the societal secular values with their anti-God bias.

A person of the world in the context of these verses is someone who is not one of “God’s holy people”. And we know exactly who these people are because their “names were not written in the Book of Life”.  So what is this Book? There are references throughout the Bible to a register kept in Heaven. Every one of God’s children has his or her name recorded in it. Jesus once said to His disciples, as recorded in Luke 10:20, “But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.” Moses was recorded as having a conversation with God about the Israelites’ bad and sinful behaviour. This is how the conversation went, “But now, if you will only forgive their sin—but if not, erase my name from the record you have written!” But the Lord replied to Moses, “No, I will erase the name of everyone who has sinned against me.” (Exodus 31:32-33 NLT). In the Book of Revelation, the register is referred to as the “Lamb’s Book of Life”. (Revelation 21:27). So it is fair to assume that all of God’s holy people, Christians in the true sense, will have their names recorded in this register in Heaven. 

But those people whose names are absent from the “Book of Life” are not off the hook. Everything they do is recorded, also in a book. And there will come a day when these books are opened in God’s presence, but more about that when we get to Revelation 20. By default, those people who are not God’s people will be considered to be worshipping the beast. Though that does not necessarily mean that they set up an idol representing the devil and run a pseudo-religious service of worship to it, it does mean that they accept and endorse the world governmental system of which they are a part. A system a.k.a. the beast. It is a black and white scenario. Mankind is allocated into one of two kingdoms – God’s or the devil’s. There are no other options. And the gulf between these two kingdoms is getting wider and wider. Our verses today from Revelation 13 describe the ultimate position where the gulf between the two is almost impossible to bridge.

Once again, we face into the situation that we must pray without ceasing for our loved ones and those in our communities, for our leaders and our society. We pray that God’s grace will continue and that His love will touch them and draw them away from the kingdom of the devil, the kingdom of darkness, into God’s kingdom, the Kingdom of Light. We remember how we made that transition and share our testimony of grace with those whose ears are open to hear our message. 1 Peter 2:9-10 – “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.” 

Dear Father God. We thank You once again for Your love and grace, for we are now Your very own possession. Help us to share our messages of hope with those around us. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Patient Endurance

Posted on by korgrocker

“And the beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation. And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand. Anyone who is destined for prison will be taken to prison. Anyone destined to die by the sword will die by the sword. This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently and remain faithful.” 
Revelation 13:7-10 NLT

These last days will be an uncomfortable place for Christians to be in. In John’s vision he saw that the “beast“, the global governmental system, was “allowed to wage war” against “God’s holy people”. And, worse, Christians everywhere were to be “conquered”. What does all this look like?

First of all, God has to provide His permission to allow the devil to do any of his malevolent acts.  We see that from the story of Job. In Job 1:9-12 we read, “‘Does Job fear God for nothing?’ Satan replied. ‘Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has’? ….  The Lord said to Satan, ‘Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger’ …” In John 16:33 we read that Jesus said, “‘I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.’” When Jesus had been arrested and was standing before Pilate, this incredible conversation took place, “‘Do you refuse to speak to me?’ Pilate said. ‘Don’t you realise I have power either to free you or to crucify you?’ Jesus answered, ‘You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.’” (John 19:10-11, emphasis mine). Throughout history Christians have suffered for their faith. We pilgrims were never promised an easy ride by choosing to follow Jesus. In fact being counter-cultural in a secular society will be difficult. I think there is a hint about why this should be in James 1:2-3, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”

The world system was given permission to overcome Christians everywhere. And I have no doubts in my mind that this is something happening today, with increasing severity. Even in Western societies, supposedly more focused on equality and diversity, societal animosity against religions often emerges. Laws can be passed that outlaw attacks on minority groups but that does not stop the violence, verbal or otherwise, from happening. And the availability of social media provides an apparently anonymous platform for abusers to exploit. Attacks against some religious groups invokes a violent backlash, making many wary of exposing their vitriol and hatred towards them, but Christians have always been a soft target, because they adhere to a policy of non-violence and forgiveness. But in other parts of the world, persecution against Christians is extreme, to the extent that anyone professing a faith in God has to be eliminated. 

So whether we like it or not, on 21st Century Planet Earth, there is a partial global governmental system in place that is waging war on Christians. It is not yet total, but it seems as though each year sees an increase in the reach of the authorities into the lives of Christians, with increasing persecution. One day, as John saw in his vision, it will be complete. Total anti-Christian mayhem.

But what does Revelation 13:10 mean? It says, “Anyone who is destined for prison will be taken to prison. Anyone destined to die by the sword will die by the sword. This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently and remain faithful.” To me, this verse seems to be saying that there is a predetermined destiny for every human being, beyond their abilities to choose. In absolute terms this is true, because mankind will one day come to the end of their lives. We cannot choose not to die. But on our journeys to the tomb we do have choices, very limited for some, but less restrictive for others. The ultimate choice we make is whether or not we wish to follow God, but this will by itself bring about consequences we might not like. In the End Times, the resulting persecution of Christians may well lead to imprisonment and death, but we are reminded in John’s vision that patience and faithfulness will result in the right conclusion – eternal life with our wonderful Heavenly Father.

Dear Lord and Father, we thank You that You are always there for us. You see what we suffer and are always there to help us and strengthen us for the journey through difficult times. We praise and thank You today. Amen.

The Pursuit

Posted on by korgrocker

“When the dragon realised that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. But she was given two wings like those of a great eagle so she could fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness. There she would be cared for and protected from the dragon for a time, times, and half a time. Then the dragon tried to drown the woman with a flood of water that flowed from his mouth. But the earth helped her by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that gushed out from the mouth of the dragon. And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children—all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus.” 
Revelation 12:13-17

John’s vision of the woman and her journey clarifies a bit and more information emerges. The dragon, or the devil as we assume, is after her. But with divine protection, he had no chance of reaching her. He did his best to drown her with “a flood of water that flowed from his mouth”. As an aside, what a strange weapon. In John’s vision, would we not have expected him to see the devil using more conventional weapons of the time? Arrows or swords perhaps? 

But according to the commentaries, the flood represents an overwhelming disaster. Think about a tsunami hitting a coastline and the resulting destruction, as we have seen in recent years. The Old Testament refers in several places to a fear of a flood, such as in Psalm 69:15, “Don’t let the floods overwhelm me, or the deep waters swallow me, or the pit of death devour me.”

As we considered recently, the woman represents the Church, or the Jewish nation, or a combination of both. Some of the old saints have suggested that the flood represents public opinion, expressing hostility to the Church as a whole. A scenario where the governments and politicians make public declarations, or pass laws, that are hostile to Christian Churches and all who worship within them. And we have seen the establishment of clandestine churches in some countries, driven underground by the actions of the country’s leadership, with the general population implementing their evil sentiments on any Christians they can find. In 21st Century Planet Earth, we see such a scenario well established in countries such as Afghanistan, North Korea, China, India and others. In these places being a follower of Christ is not a safe life choice.

In his vision, John saw the earth swallow up the flood of water, thus helping and saving the woman. Perhaps this means that the Christian Church established in countries where Christians are persecuted receives protection from God. And it is true that in some countries, Christianity, even though officially oppressed, has flourished in underground churches. China is such a country, where it has been estimated that there are ninety six million Christians, just under seven per cent of the population. Churches there are regularly shut down by the authorities and their leaders arrested, but they continue and grow anyway. 

Our verses today conclude that a very angry devil makes war on all God’s children everywhere. He fights against “all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus”. Sadly, that is so true, with persecution against Christians so prevalent all over the world. The UK charity “Open Doors” estimates that 360 million Christians worldwide are suffering persecution of one kind or another. 

So what do we pilgrims make of all this? We of course stand firm in our faith, confident that by doing so we will one day receive the reward awaiting us in Heaven. In Matthew 24 Jesus warned His disciples about what was going to happen in the End Times, and taught what they should do. We read, “Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:9-13 – emphasis mine). Our salvation is assured but the narrow road we follow will not be easy. And we read in today’s verses from Revelation, that Christians who hold the line of their faith will be constantly hassled and attacked by the devil. So we pray for our Heavenly Father’s protection, as we continue to do His will. We pray that His love and grace covers us as we live in His shadow, day by day, step by step.

Dear Lord. We praise and thank You today. Only You have the words of eternal life, there to sustain us. Please lead and guide us through the minefields of life, hedging us around with Your love and protection. Amen.

Salvation At Last

Posted on by korgrocker

“Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has come at last— salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth— the one who accuses them before our God day and night. And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time.””
Revelation‬ ‭12:10-12 NLT

The time has finally arrived. With the ejection of the devil from Heaven, the Kingdom of God can finally be established. With it comes those attributes of His Kingdom, salvation and power. And, to fulfil the prophetic Scriptures, Christ Himself will rule and reign.

John saw in his vision that the devil was adopting the role of accuser, and recorded that fact in his writings. But accusing God’s people of what? Having been ejected from Heaven because of his sin, the last thing the devil wanted when he arrived on earth, was to find out that God had some of His children living there, covered by His love and grace. But to the devil’s “great anger” he did indeed find out that God’s grace through His Son, Jesus, had provided a remedy for sin even outside of Heaven. And so at every opportunity, he searched out, and continues to search out, God’s people, those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Once he has found a Christian, he waits, he tempts, and tries to get them to commit sin. If they fall he can then accuse them of being sinful like himself.

The story of Job gives us a fascinating insight into what the devil gets up to. We see in Job 1 that a conversation developed between God and satan about this Godly man, Job. We read in Job 1:7, ““Where have you come from?” the Lord asked Satan. Satan answered the Lord, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.”” The plot pans out with Job afflicted by loss of family and fortune, and finally with boils. But through it all, the devil finds nothing in which to accuse Job of. We read in Job 1:22, “In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.” Job defeated the devil through his testimony. We Christians have an even greater opportunity to defeat the devil because we are covered “by the blood of the Lamb”. 

I don’t know about you, my readers, but the devil tries to attack me by resurrecting thoughts and scenarios from my life in the past, trying to bring me down with thoughts of shame and guilt. But I have a powerful weapon – through the blood of Jesus I am no longer the person I was. I am a new person, washed in “the blood of the Lamb”.We read in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” There is a picture of the flood of humanity travelling through their life along a road that is unknown to us pilgrims. It’s an easy road to see and follow, and it requires no effort to stay on it. To “go with the flow” is an expression often used today and it applies to most people we are likely to meet. Matthew recorded an illustration Jesus used about life choices, referring to gates and roads. We read in Matthew 7:13-14, “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” But we pilgrims discovered a narrow gate in life. It was difficult to find and open. But through the grace of God, find it we did, and we chose to open it. On the other side was a narrow path that twists and turns into the distance. Today as we journey along that path, we don’t know what is ahead, and we find that the devil does his utmost to get us to return to the “broad” way. From our verses today we read about those pilgrims who have travelled this path before us. Pilgrims so intent on following that path that they have forfeited their lives rather than return to the other way. There will be rejoicing in Heaven as the fast-tracked martyrs arrive, undefeated by their adversary. There is an old song, referred to as a Negro Spiritual, based, in part, on the book of Revelation, and it refers to saints marching into Heaven, and one line the singers belt out is, “I want to be in that number”. I think all us pilgrims can agree on that!

Dear Lord and Father, we thank You that You are preparing a place for us in our Heavenly home. We thank You for Your love and grace, giving us time to complete our journeys. We thank You that in Christ we are new creations, fit to be called the children of God. Amen.

War In Heaven

Posted on by korgrocker

“Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.”
Revelation 12:7-9 NLT

I must say I was perplexed when I read these verses because they don’t seem to fit in with the schedule of events in John’s vision. It is as though John has had a flash back in time. A bit like a film in which historical clips are occasionally shown in order to illustrate the plot, clips perhaps including the leading actor or actress when they were much younger, now being played out years later in front of the audience. The events that led up to the devil being ejected from Heaven are largely unknown though there are hints in Scripture that he was the most senior angel, involved in leading worship in Heaven. John’s vision described in today’s verses gives us some idea of the consequences of the devil’s rebellion. Sin was at the root of the devil’s downfall, as it was when Adam and Eve were ejected from their earthly paradise. We read in Genesis 3:23-24, “So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” There was, and is, no place for sin and sinful behaviour in Heaven, because our wonderful holy God lives there. The Garden of Eden was an extension of God’s domain here on earth – He frequently came to visit Adam and walked and talked with him – so sin couldn’t be tolerated there either.

The sad thing for mankind is that the devil and his angels are now occupying the same space on Planet Earth that we are. Not a problem for most people, because the devil’s malevolent ways fit in with their sinful and wicked inclinations. But for us pilgrims, trying to live and breathe God’s ways, the devil is a problem. Always trying to trip us up. Always trying to get us to fall into sin so that he can destroy our relationships with our loving Heavenly Father and divert us from polluting his sinful domain, Planet Earth, with purity and holiness. Of course, we have read the end of the Book. We know what will happen to him. But in the meantime we have to be on our guard. Thankfully, we have been warned in God’s Word, our Biblical Handbook. A well known verse is in 1 Peter 5:8, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” How does he “devour” pilgrims like us? One way is through temptation to try and get us to sin. He tried that on with Jesus (he failed, of course) but that never stopped him trying with anyone else. He started it in the Garden when he said to Eve, “ …. Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” (Genesis 3:1). Putting doubts in our minds about God is one of the devil’s primary strategies. He will find out our weaknesses and will try and exploit them at every opportunity. 

Thankfully, God knows our weaknesses and doesn’t condemn us when we fail. We read in 1 John 1:9, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” We are living in a season of God’s grace, but as we know from the information contained in  the Book of Revelation, it won’t last for ever.

I am writing this at the start of a glorious day in the West of Scotland. The sea is calm, like glass, and the Isle of Jura is visible through the early morning mist rising off the sea. In such a moment it is easy to forget the devil is still out there. But God has prepared a place of care for us, a place of beauty in the world He created. And we are thankful for His provision, sustaining us in our pilgrimages through life, as, step by step, we trust in His protection.

Dear Father. Once again we thank You for Your love and grace. We reach out to You today secure in the knowledge that You are caring for us. Amen.