Focus

Breathe in clear thoughts of peace and reflection as you prepare to hear God speak to you through the scripture and the writer. Put aside all the things the world says you have to accomplish today and use this time to rest in God’s presence.

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Read

Revelation 22:6-9 (NRSV)

“These words are trustworthy and true, for the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”

“See, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me; but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your comrades the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”

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Reflect

Students in Introduction to New Testament classes used to tell me that they wanted to know more about the Book of Revelation. Don’t we all! Revelation has long been a mystery to Christians everywhere. That is the nature of apocalyptic writing—works that attempt to deal with the end times.

Yet perhaps there are only two things we really need to know about Revelation: (1) God is in charge of the end times; (2) it is not for us to know when they will occur. When John received the visions dealing with the end time, he was probably an old man, one who had followed Jesus nearly his entire life. Many believers in the Roman Empire, victims of persecution on all sides, shared his longing for the return of Jesus. Yet in spite of Jesus’ promise, their hope was not to be fulfilled as they envisioned it.

Still we wait for the fulfillment of God’s promises in Christ as revealed in the scriptures. Some look for signs of the end times. Others are satisfied simply to trust that Jesus will return when the time is right—in God’s own good time. Meanwhile, let us worship God and believe in the guarantee that he is “coming soon!”

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Pray

God, you are the Master of all things, past, present, and yet to come. Help us to trust the unknown to you and believe in the promises you make of your eternal care. “Come, Lord Jesus!” Amen.

Go with God.