December 31 A READ REVELATION 20–22
Making All Things New
OVERVIEW
The consummation of God’s judgment includes the doom of two other enemies of humankind: the devil and death. They are cast into the lake of fire (20:10, 14), which paves the way for the introduction of a new heaven and earth where there is no night . . . no tears . . . no pain . . . no sun . . . no moon; a place where “nothing evil will be allowed to enter” (21:27). Once again, God and his people live in perfect, unbroken fellowship. John’s book ends with the people of God assembled in the presence of God, worshiping him in holiness and reigning together over all he has created, much like Adam and Eve in the Garden many centuries before. John, whose heart yearns for that day, is moved to write—even as millions have been moved to pray—“Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” (22:20).
MY DAILY WALK
Congratulations! If you began reading through the Bible last January (and have stayed on schedule), today you will finish reading the New Living Translation of the Bible.
Perhaps occasionally, as you found yourself swimming through Psalms or jogging through Jeremiah, you were tempted to breathe the prayer that was on John’s lips as he concluded writing down the lengthy book of Revelation: “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” (22:20). But if Jesus tarries, the coming year will bring the exciting challenge of new steps of growth.
WE ARE NOT AT OUR BEST PERCHED AT THE SUMMIT; WE ARE CLIMBERS, AT OUR BEST WHEN THE WAY IS STEEP.
INSIGHT
A Very Holy City | Rev. 21:16
The cube has special significance in the Bible (21:16). In both the Tabernacle and Solomon’s Temple, the Most Holy Place was a perfect cube. In describing the New Jerusalem as a perfect cube (1,400 miles on each side), God is presenting the city as a vast Holy of Holies.
INSIGHT
Sadness in the Old, Gladness in the New | Rev. 22:4
Perhaps the saddest words in the entire Old Testament are these: “So the LORD God banished them from the Garden of Eden” (Genesis 3:23). By contrast, some of the gladdest words in all the New Testament are found in today’s section: “They will see his face” (Revelation 22:4). As one commentator put it, “Sin drove man from one garden. Grace brings man to an eternal Paradise.” Are you ready for that day of gladness and joy?
The Thousand Years
1Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit* and a heavy chain in his hand. 2He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years. 3The 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.
4Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
5This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.) 6Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.
The Defeat of Satan
7When the thousand years come to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison. 8He 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. 9And 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.
10Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
The Final Judgment
11And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. 12I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. 13The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave* gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. 14Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. 15And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.