Daily Thought

The events predicted in today’s reading cover one thousand years. John’s repeated phrase, ‘And I saw’, carries us forward in time throughout it. A literal understanding of this passage, which accepts it at face value, allowing for some figurative description, is the one most consistent with simple faith. Non-literal views of it are fatally flawed. John is seeing the second coming of Christ to the earth through an opened heaven to defeat all His foes at Armageddon and establish His millennial kingdom with His saints resurrected at the first resurrection.

John’s vision of Christ is awe-inspiring. He comes as the divine Warrior-King on a white war-horse and bears four significant names. He was Faithful and True in His earthly life to God His Father. His secret name may relate to His deity. As the Word of God He reveals God to man perfectly. As King of kings and Lord of lords He alone has the right to rule the world for God. His many diadems signify His sovereignty. The sharp sword in His mouth is His breath, which is sufficient to destroy all his foes. The armies of heaven, the angels and glorified church saints,will follow him, as he treads the wine press of God’s wrath and rules the nations with a rod of iron. Verses 17 to 21 describe the ensuing carnage. With the greatest of ease the ringleaders of man’s rebellion, the Beast and the False Prophet, will be seized and despatched to the Lake of Fire. Although God could have crushed our rebellion against Him long ago, He will delay final judgement until all hope of repentance is gone. What grace! But God will ultimately intervene. Be warned!

Chapter 20 predicts the aftermath of Armageddon. Verses 1 to 6 refer to a future literal thousand-year kingdom of Christ on earth, not to the present age. Then, not now, Satan will be bound and imprisoned in the abyss. Then, not now, the resurrected tribulation martyrs and the Old Testament saints will reign with Christ and the church saints, Dan. 12. 2. Non-literal interpretations of these verses confuse our understanding of scripture. Christ ‘must reign’, 1Cor. 15. 25! We rejoice that the Lamb rejected and crucified by those whose sins He bore will be vindicated and rule His own creation, acknowledged by all!