WEEK 44, Day 1, Monday, 28 October 2024

https://esv.literalword.com/?q=revelation+20

Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Monday, 28 October 2024:

Revelation 20:4-6 — Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

Some will be rewarded with the opportunity to reign with Christ on earth for 1,000 years. These are they who remained faithfully obedient to Jesus and did not compromise to the world but endured through the trials that Jesus said would definitely come – “if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us.” (2 Timothy 2:12) Like the story of Gideon, many will be worthy to be in the ‘army’ (saved and heavenly bound) but will have to stay home for the big mission (to reign with Jesus). Paul, who was beheaded for Christ, was certainly not ‘disqualified for the prize.’

Who among us today will reign on the new earth with Christ for 1000 years? Who will faithfully serve the Kingdom on earth today? In Zechariah, God condemns the leaders of the ‘church’ because they failed to lead His people: “Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. My anger is hot against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders.” So, God gave His people The Good Shepherd – “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” (John 10:11-16)

The Kingdom on earth today is called to be a “kingdom of priests” and a nation among the nations (now!) united under one KING, “No king but KING Jesus.” Zechariah says, “The Lord of hosts cares for his flock… and will make them like his majestic steeds in battle. From him shall come the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler—all of them together. They shall be like mighty men in battle, trampling the foe in the mud of the streets; they shall fight because the Lord is with them, and they shall put to shame the riders on horses.” He is the Cornerstone, and we are to be the stones of the Temple of God. All authority has been given to Jesus, and He has already given us the mission of ‘making disciples of all nations, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey all that the KING has commanded, not through our power but through his.” We are not called for comfort; we are called to commitment to Christ, to deny self, pick up our cross daily (the identity of the KING as his Ambassadors), and follow him (to listen ONLY to his voice).

Church, Assemble! The Kingdom of God is near. Be faithful with what little you have been given now, and you might hear from the master, “Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.”

Revelation 20:11-15 — Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it…. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

• Zechariah 9:9-12 — Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey [see John 12:14]. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth [see Matthew 28:18-20]. As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you [see Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; and 1 Corinthians 11:25], I will set your prisoners free [see Galatians 5:1] from the waterless pit [see John 7:38; and Revelation 7:17]. Return to your stronghold [see Psalm 27:1], O prisoners of hope [see Ephesians 3:1 and 4:1].
• Zechariah 9:16, 17 — On that day the Lord their God will save them, as the flock of his people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land. For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!

During the Christmas season, we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of so many prophecies of the Old Testament such as Zechariah’s prophecy referenced above and written around 520 B.C. It is also a day to proclaim our hope (complete confidence), as “prisoners of hope” in our salvation and in Christ’s eventual return when He will make all things new and reign over a new heaven and earth.

Today and every day, rejoice in the salvation you have in Christ alone, and give thanks that on Judgment Day, there is another book, the book of life, which trumps the book of rights and wrongs (upon which no one can stand).

• Romans 6:23 — For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
• Ephesians 2:8-9 – For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
• Romans 3:21 — But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it….
• Romans 3:28 — For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
• Romans 1:16-17 — For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
• Romans 8:1-4 — There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
• Romans 5:1 — Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 28 October 2024: Today and every day, as you rejoice in the Lord, proclaim the Gospel to as many as you can.