Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Revelation 20 before reading the devotional below.
The book of Revelation is hauntingly specific, but we have to be careful when we interpret what we read. Is today’s chapter talking about a literal 1,000 years? Will the cities be called Gog and Magog or is that a symbolic reference? No matter how we choose to read it, interpretation is required. If I decide that I believe it is a literal 1,000 years, that is my interpretation. If I decide to read it as symbolism, that is my interpretation. I would encourage you to think for yourself, read a variety of different opinions and scholarly ideas, and hold loosely to your interpretation. We all need a healthy appreciation for the fact that we can get it wrong.
Let’s zoom in on a few details that aren’t focused on the exact timeline of the end times but are interesting nonetheless. My first observation is that an angel is assigned with throwing the great dragon (Satan) into the bottomless pit. If I were God, I might not delegate that one. I continue to find it interesting the various jobs that angels do, both in Revelation and throughout the Bible. We know from chapter 19 that the beast, the false prophet, and their demonic army were all killed with Jesus’ sword and their carcasses eaten by vultures. Now the ultimate ringmaster — Satan himself — will be taken down. We also again see that those who were killed for their faith have a special place in ruling with Christ. Meanwhile, those not in the “Book of Life” are thrown into a lake of fire, along with death itself.
Death is awful. I’ve sat with a lot of grieving people who have been impacted by the deaths of loved ones. We’ve all seen people die too young and we know that life is too short. From an eternal perspective, we have hope that death is not the end of our story and that we have eternal life with Jesus. Jesus is going to kill the very concept of death itself. I don’t know what the “Book of Life” is or how that connects to humanity versus demons, but I know that evil will not remain when Jesus wins the final victory. If my heart is attached to evil and if I participate in systems of death, it seems that I will not have Jesus’ heart. Let’s be careful not to narrow the definition of “life” too much — sometimes American Christians use this argument for the abortion debate but ignore everything else that “pro-life” means. There are so many oppressive, death-filled systems we need to oppose so let’s not just choose the convenient ones that don’t impact our lives. Who makes your clothes, who builds your phones, who’s allowed to seek refuge in your town or city? Are we rising to the top on the backs of modern day slaves and closing our doors to the poor and helpless? These are hard questions that we have to tackle when we sit with just how pro-life Jesus is.