Tag: conquered

7.w. Seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.

Revelation 15:1   Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.

And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

“Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

We have had the seven seals with the seventh seal bringing on the seven trumpets and the seventh trumpet ushering in the seven bowl judgments. We have read of the seals and power given to man to inflict judgment, the trumpets and power given to Satan to inflict judgment, and now the bowls of God’s judgment are to begin.  These judgments on mankind are the result of God’s wrath and anger against all who have chosen to reject His grace, mercy, and love.  They have chosen the beast, it’s image, it’s mark, and it’s number over God.  They willingly choose to deny God, eternity in heaven, Jesus Christ, and their destiny for this choice.   All of what we have read in Revelation has been given so that we know and future people will know God’s plan, purpose, love, grace, mercy, wrath, anger, and judgment.  It has been both a warning and proclamation to all generations; “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.”

Time is near and urgent.  All are blessed who read and hear what is written.

7.n. But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

Revelation 12:7   Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

The roaring lion, father of lies, deceiver, accuser, tempter, murderer, destroyer, stumbling block, crafty, and schemer all describe Satan.  He is now cast out of heaven and turned loose on earth.  He knows his end is near and comes in great wrath.  Can you imagine what it will be like on earth with the Holy Spirit removed and Satan turned loose?  We will see in later chapters what it will be like for those who are living during this period of the tribulation time.  Everything God had done previously in terms of His anger and wrath was done by His power and might.  Now He has released Satan for a time on earth, and earth will experience his wrath too.

There are many fictional movies that try to give a picture of what life is like at the “end of the world” scenarios.  They show very hard times, murderous times, and strange happening and people in the worst conditions possible.  These will not even come close to revealing what it will be like during the time of God’s wrath and the time of Satan’s wrath.  Just know that these end times come upon mankind for the rejection of  Christ and the intentional choice of self-sufficiency, self-reliance, and self-satisfaction.  The acts of wrath that come on earth and the people of the earth will get more and more intense and severe.  Each progression throughout the tribulation period will be worse than the previous.  Each act of wrath brings the final judgment seat of Christ closer, where those who have been born again will live eternity in heaven and those who have rejected Him (have not sought forgiveness of their sin, redemption, and salvation through Christ, repentance) are cast into the lake of fire that burns forever and ever.  where there is constant torment beyond what we can imagine forever.  Denying that this will happen will not stop it from happening.  Denying Christ into your life will usher in this judgment at your death and there is nothing you can do to change this outcome.  Now is the time of salvation.  Now is the time to seek forgiveness of sin, repent, and trust in, rely on, follow, and obey Jesus Christ.

6.o. “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”

Revelation 5:1  Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

The emphasis is not on the content of the scroll but on its seals and the One who is worthy to take it.  John says that he began to weep when no one in heaven or earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it.  John had just been invited to heaven to see things that must take place, future things.  Now he is allowed to see a scroll that must have something to proclaim about the future and no one is worthy to open it.  In a moment John went from awe-inspired anticipation to hopelessness and discouragement.  He wept at not being able to see and communicate what was to come.

What would our lives be like if we looked at God’s Word with this awe-inspired anticipation?  What impact would it have when we read it?  Would we trust more, follow,  and obey it more?  Would we see what is written as God speaking to us personally?  Would we see things in this world in a different light?

Come to His Word each day with awe-inspired anticipation and see what God reveals to you.  When you come to His word like this God will lead you into a maturity of faith, joy, peace, love, hope, and strength,  which will manifest in your life a thousand different ways each and every day.