Several years ago we took a family trip to Niagara Falls on the border between New York and Canada. Standing on the overlook at the very edge of the falls, we could see the deep water of the Niagara River as it picked up speed and went careening over the edge into a roaring abyss far below. This passage is like standing on an overlook at the end of the world. It describes the incredible, unstoppable power of God sending Satan and evil over the edge into the abyss.
Although there are many curious and intriguing details to this passage, the main point is that, in the end, evil will be defeated (19:11-20:10). It doesn’t always look that way now, especially when we see some of the awful things that happen in our world. At times the devil may seem to have the upper hand. But the Bible assures us that he doesn’t. He lost the decisive battle at the Cross. What a wonderful thing to know that Satan’s doom is guaranteed.
Another reality of the end is judgment (20:11-15). That’s what the Book of Life symbolized. Some people envision the final judgment like a big scale. If your good deeds outweigh your bad deeds, you get a ticket to heaven. But that’s not what the Bible says. Only those who believe in Jesus will be saved (Acts 10:43; Romans 10:9; 1 John 3:13).
For those who are in Christ, the end of the world will be a time of joy and celebration (19:1-10). The image John saw in his vision was that of a magnificent wedding with Jesus (the Lamb) as the groom and the church as his bride (19:7). Imagine what it will be like to stand on that overlook at the end of the world and be taken up to meet Jesus in the air. Hallelujah!
-- Whitney T. Kunihom from his book The Essential Bible Guide (Waterbrook Press, 2003)
Week 20 (Thursday), Reading 99: Hallelujah! -- Revelation, Chapters 19-20
Click here for today’s reading: https://www.biblestudytools.com/revelation/19.html
Several years ago we took a family trip to Niagara Falls on the border between New York and Canada. Standing on the overlook at the very edge of the falls, we could see the deep water of the Niagara River as it picked up speed and went careening over the edge into a roaring abyss far below. This passage is like standing on an overlook at the end of the world. It describes the incredible, unstoppable power of God sending Satan and evil over the edge into the abyss.
Although there are many curious and intriguing details to this passage, the main point is that, in the end, evil will be defeated (19:11-20:10). It doesn’t always look that way now, especially when we see some of the awful things that happen in our world. At times the devil may seem to have the upper hand. But the Bible assures us that he doesn’t. He lost the decisive battle at the Cross. What a wonderful thing to know that Satan’s doom is guaranteed.
Another reality of the end is judgment (20:11-15). That’s what the Book of Life symbolized. Some people envision the final judgment like a big scale. If your good deeds outweigh your bad deeds, you get a ticket to heaven. But that’s not what the Bible says. Only those who believe in Jesus will be saved (Acts 10:43; Romans 10:9; 1 John 3:13).
For those who are in Christ, the end of the world will be a time of joy and celebration (19:1-10). The image John saw in his vision was that of a magnificent wedding with Jesus (the Lamb) as the groom and the church as his bride (19:7). Imagine what it will be like to stand on that overlook at the end of the world and be taken up to meet Jesus in the air. Hallelujah!
-- Whitney T. Kunihom from his book The Essential Bible Guide (Waterbrook Press, 2003)