Focus

Take time to rest in the comfort of the Lord today.

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Read

Revelation 12:1-12 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

A great portent appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.  She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pangs, in the agony of giving birth.  Then another portent appeared in heaven: a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.  His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born.  And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. But her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne;  and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, so that there she can be nourished for one thousand two hundred sixty days.

And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back,  but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.  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.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, proclaiming,
“Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Messiah,
for the accuser of our comrades has been thrown down,
who accuses them day and night before our God.

But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
for they did not cling to life even in the face of death.

Rejoice then, you heavens
and those who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
for the devil has come down to you
with great wrath,
because he knows that his time is short!”

 

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Reflect

“It is generally agreed upon by the most learned expositors that narratives on chapter 12, as well as, the following two chapters, are not predictions of things to come, but recapitulations and representations of things past…”, to be utilized for clarity, as it relates to prophecy and providence. Revelation 12 is considered a remarkable prophecy chapter.
It shows us the tremendous fight (battle) for the genuine remnant of the church, which is always ‘between good and evil, Christ and satan’.
Images, real aspects, and persons of the Bible, and interpretations affirm that we are living in the ‘end times’.

It is important not to panic, and it is vital not to speak out of context, but to face the prophecy in faith. For example, do not fear satan, although he is real, he is not sovereign. If we are genuine children of God, we keep His commandments, and God will be with us. My Daddy used to say, “Keeping God’s commandments is the Christian believers’ business, and everything else is God’s business.”

We, the remnant church of God, will live and die with honor, glorifying Christ who did the same. Christ is coming…we really don’t know when, we do know He will and we must be ready. How must we be ready? By the following, very simple daily:
(1) Get in and stay in the Word of God; (2) Serve God in spirit and truth; (3) Live,
and lead, righteously while looking forward to spending eternity with Christ.

ASK OURSELVES
Are we more concerned with knowing when our time is up as a human race, or getting ready and being ready when Christ returns? Are we closer to the Lord today than we were this same time last year? What image have we cast before the people? What are we going to do differently with this book…continue interesting conversation or to prepare?

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Pray

Father God, our God, thank you for the entire Bible, and thank you for revelation. We need you more and more each day, as we need to prepare for Christ’s coming. In our flesh we become concerned, and so we, Christian believers, commit to staying closer, becoming more steadfast, and emulating your nature, in Jesus’ sweet and perfect name, amen.

Go with God!