Freedom For Today

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Revelation 14 before reading the devotional below.

What if the mark of the beast isn’t a microchip inserted under your skin? This is just one of the commonly held theories about what the mark of the beast might look like, and I fear that such notions will have us looking in all the wrong places for Jesus’ return. In today’s chapter we again see the contrast between the faithful people of God who have followed the Lamb “everywhere he goes” and those who have followed the beast into immorality. Various angels are shouting messages from on high: “Give glory to God!” and “Babylon is fallen!” The direction of people’s worship is defining to what will become of them.

There are a lot of references to wine in this passage. Those who follow the beast “drink the wine of passionate immorality.” They will later “drink the wine of God’s anger.” This is described as a strong wine. I do not drink alcohol to stand in solidarity with all those I know who are in recovery from alcohol addiction. So I don’t know what strong wine would taste like, but I have certainly smelled heavily fermented foods. It doesn’t sound great to drink the wine of God’s anger. It’s likely a very bitter aftertaste to the wine of immorality.

At the end of the chapter, the angels are tasked with harvesting the “grapes” of the earth to see what kind of wine they produce. Turns out there are a lot of rotten grapes in the batch. Wine turns to blood that pours out for miles. It’s a shocking contrast to the blood of the Lamb that was poured out as a ransom for many. Bloodshed is the result of sin, and it’s also the only way out of sin. Blood defines the very life inside of you, so the question is what kind of blood flows through your veins? When pressed, what color will you bleed? The spiritual path you are on today will determine the answer. Sweet will become bitter, and bitter will become sweet.

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Revelation 13 before reading the devotional below.

Superstition has no place in Christian theology, and yet the book of Revelation and this chapter in particular have caused some to include it in their thinking. The mark of the beast. 666. I once had a Christian tell me that a certain organization was suspicious and perhaps demonic because they had 666 in their phone number. Whatever the point of this chapter is, I’m sure it’s not that.

There’s a reason that we have so many epic stories of good versus evil. All the way back to the time of David and Goliath, we’ve been glued to stories where the good guy (often the underdog) wins. Revelation has a dragon, a beast, a marvelously brilliant pregnant lady, and a Lamb that is the unlikely hero. What does it all mean? I don’t know, but I notice an ongoing separation of God’s holy people who have remained faithful from the rest of the world. I also notice that status doesn’t matter — all humans are at the mercy of this great heavenly war.

I don’t fear the end times or the mark of the beast. I’m not searching the newspaper for signs. Those who practice superstition are generally wrong, and when they seem right it’s typically a lucky guess. Probability suggests that’s bound to happen. I have my eyes fixed on Jesus, this Lamb, also called the “author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-3). It is only by looking to him that we can truly live in freedom. If we look around for prophetic signs of the end times, we will live in fear and give even greater power to the darkness.

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Revelation 12 before reading the devotional below.

Today’s chapter is a fascinating retelling of the entire biblical narrative, with the woman (likely a description of the church/God’s chosen people) birthing a “male child” (the Messiah) all while the dragon (Satan) is working to snatch him away. The text directly tells us that the dragon is Satan, so we don’t have to interpret that. We also know that the “rest of the woman’s children” are those who follow Jesus. It’s a dramatic depiction of spiritual battle in a single chapter.

Again we come to the question, “Why would God reveal this? And why would he choose to tell it in this way?” My first thought is that God is declaring himself victorious in the most epic fashion. This Lamb (not exactly the most ferocious creature) was able to defeat a dragon. Of all the dragon stories I have read, not one of them had a Lamb as the hero. There is a distinct gentleness that does not conflict with a fierce and heroic victor. God is revealing himself as the One who rescues in the most unexpected way.

A key takeaway verse for us today is verse 11: “And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.” This is the verse for the church. Satan stands before God accusing us day and night. But when we claim the blood of Jesus our Lamb and testify to his goodness, Satan is defeated. The only way to do this is to not cling to life as defined by earthly treasure. If we are too caught up by what the world has to offer, we will not be able to engage in this supernatural battle. We need to be able to sacrifice anything at any moment to follow Jesus wherever he takes us. What holds you back from following Jesus into deeper spiritual places?

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Revelation 11 before reading the devotional below.

War is chaotic and loud. Supernatural war is chaotic, loud, and bigger than anything we can imagine. Today’s chapter describes two prophet-figures to whom God gives incredible power. Like control-the-weather-and-send-plagues power. Some believe these are references to Moses (through whom God sent plagues to Egypt) and Elijah (who was able to cause a drought and then make it rain again as God commanded). Whether this chapter literally means that Moses and Elijah will be resurrected or whether we will see that type of prophetic power rise again at the end of time is unclear. And perhaps not important. If God wanted us to know he would have made it more obvious.

The seventh trumpet ushers in what the elders have long been waiting for: salvation. It’s interesting that they say God has “begun to reign,” implying that during these periods of terror he was not reigning. The symbolism here is also captured well in The Chronicles of Narnia series, in which Aslan (representing Jesus) overcomes the terrible reign of the White Witch. During her rule, it is “always winter but never Christmas.” That was the most horrific way C.S. Lewis could explain Satan’s terror to children.

The only ones who fear the return and judgment of Christ are the ones who do not fear him now. Those who worship him now are eagerly awaiting his coming. Why? Because God opposes evil. If you engage in evil as your way of life, then God’s judgment will rob you of everything you hold dear. If you seek refuge in God and have been harmed by evil, your day of deliverance will come. Not only that, but when we as Christians oppose evil now we are advancing the spiritual war to overcome Satan’s terror. We don’t have to wait for Jesus to return to work on his mission.

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Revelation 10 before reading the devotional below.

I keep finding myself wondering why God showed John the specific things we read about in the book of Revelation. What was the goal? Was it to reveal Jesus’ divine nature more fully? Was it to show us what the afterlife or the final days of earth will be like? Today I am caught by John’s own personal experience of seeing and writing his vision.

In today’s chapter we see a magnificent angel crying out, to which seven “thunders” reply. These thunders must have sounded like words of some kind, but just as John is about to write down these words the angel stops him. Let that serve as a reminder to us that there is much that God has not chosen to reveal to us. Jumping to conclusions based on limited information is often dangerous. In the end, John is handed a small scroll and asked to eat it, after which he will be able to prophesy about many nations.

In my house, we often talk about being an “includer” instead of an “excluder.” No matter what you think about a task or an activity, your plan is always less important than the people around you. God chose to invite John into this vision and guide him very specifically about what to write down. He further included him in the prophetic work of sharing this with nations and he went so far as to ask him to eat a scroll. Supernatural digestion that will inject supernatural nutrients into John. It’s a hands-on demonstration. If God showed you visions and invited you to come to his kingdom and eat a scroll, what might you think about that? Is there a tension for you between the natural and the supernatural?