Thoughts in Worship

Message Magazine's Online Devotional for Thursday, August 27 2015

Today’s Scripture:

“And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:5–8).

Question for Deep Consideration:

Is something big about to happen? If so, what?

Today’s Observation:

The book of Revelation is unique in many ways. One such way is that while the entire Bible was inspired by God and is largely about Jesus, the Revelation is given in the voice of Jesus (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Luke 24:27). He is speaking through His faithful angel, the things that will shortly come to pass. So, the Revelation is of Jesus, by Jesus. This does not make it more inspired than any other portion of Scripture; it just makes it unique.

There are a great many treasures buried in our theme text; however, our mining expedition can only go but so deep, considering the short time we have together. One thing that immediately bursts to the surface, and is worthy of our notice, is that Jesus Christ, the Faithful Witness loves us and washed our sins away through His own death. Not only that; Jesus has elevated us to the level of royalty, because He is royal. Not only that; Jesus is coming soon to take those who have continued to have faith in Him, to heaven for a 1,000 years of bliss, enjoyment, further revelation, etc. And, when the 1,000 years are finished, we will finally inherit the earth, which God promised to Abraham, and Jesus reiterated in Matthew chapter five. I feel like an excited TV announcer trying to sell you something here. But wait; there’s more: Our Jesus, who is the preeminent One who was raised from the dead after He laid down His earthly life for us (for Divinity cannot die), will come at His Second Coming, in a miraculous way, where every living person will see Him come. This will not be a secret. The event will be so incredible that a fire will devour before Him; the mountains will move out of their places; a mighty trumpet will sound; it will be like the lightning shining from east to west; the righteous dead will all be raised; those who actually crucified Him will be raised for just enough time to see Him come; all the righteous will be caught up together to meet Him in the air, having been miraculously changed into immortal beings; the elements will melt with fervent heat; the wicked living will be destroyed by His effulgent brightness, and so on. It will be a glorious event! And, all of this was promised to us by Jesus, the Alpha and Omega, who created us (If you need all of the verses for evidence of this, be sure to contact us through our Facebook page).

Concluding Thoughts:

We have said a lot! Now, let’s tie a bow on it. We are in for a wild ride, just before these and other events take place. The world will sink into further turmoil and society will change as we know it. The religious and political landscape will take a drastic turn for the worse (more on that another time). There will be strife that many have never bargained for. However, we need not fear these things, because Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:1–3). If we simply rest our trust in God fully, and yield our...