Revelation was given by the Good Shepherd to His flock to show them what is coming during the final years of this present age. “The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave Him to show His servants— things which must shortly take place,” (Revelation 1:1). This book is intended by an all-merciful and loving God to prepare His church for what lies ahead.
If you turn to Revelation 20:7-10, there is an account of another rebellion taking place on earth at the end of Christ’s millennial rule:
“Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
God only used four verses to describe the dramatic rebellion taking place at the end of Christ’s millennial reign. Yet, He uses roughly 15 chapters in Revelation in order to give us a highly-detailed account of end times. And this does not include all the other Old and New Testament prophetic passages & chapters on the same subject! Clearly, God has a purpose for all the detail.
So, here is something to ask yourself: Why did God give so much detail to His church about the end times and yet, so little detail about the chapter 20 rebellion?
Believers will be present for the brief rebellion of Revelation 20. But by then, we will be clothed in our immortal bodies. There will be no danger to us, and God will quickly dispatch Satan to his eternal abode in the Lake of Fire.
But, there is a danger to us in this present age as we enter end times in our mortal state. Jesus said deception would be rampant.
In Revelation 1:3 John writes: “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.” The meaning of “keep” is to watch carefully. God gave us enormous detailing in Revelation so that we can carefully watch, stay awake, be vigilant.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6, Paul writes that the day of the Lord “so comes as a thief in the night.” Then, Paul hastens to reassure the saints, “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.”
What is it that gives believers light, so that they are not in darkness concerning Christ’s return? “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants— things which must shortly take place.”
Remember God’s word? It is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. It is the light given to us in order that we recognize when His Day is approaching.
God has laid out end times in enormous detail. The rise of Antichrist, wars, famines, pestilences, persecutions. Man’s increasing crimes. These are given as the first 5 seals. But at the 6th seal, Divinity enters. There is an unprecedented darkening of the cosmos, followed by the most intensive light flashing from east to west. Then, a startled world will behold the coming of the Son of Man.
Jesus disavowed any reports of His coming in any secretive manner. “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms! do not believe it.”
Instead, Jesus said His coming would be brilliant and public: “For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
The quality of Jesus’ next coming to earth will be brilliant & very public. It will catch a drunken, corrupt world totally by surprise “as a thief in the night.” But, not us. We have been given the light of Revelation in all its glorious detail. Revelation was meant to keep us awake, alert, informed, and ready for His Coming. Hallelujah!
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