Devotion 6: Encouragement and Comfort
Pastor Ferdinand Sanders
If I had to guess, I would assume that the book of Revelation elicits one of two responses from people sitting down to read it. I think that there is a group of people out there who chase the intrigue of reading it for its sense of supernatural mystery and overall apocalyptic feel. While others (maybe most), tend to keep Revelation “on the shelf” because of the difficulty of really wrapping our minds around some of the concepts and characters of John’s vision. Regardless of how easy or difficult it may be to wrap our minds around, or how the contents of the book of Revelation make us feel, we only cheat ourselves if we do not view all parts of Scripture as full and complete with something very real to offer us.
In Revelation chapter 20, John depicts an event in which an angel descends from Heaven and locks up “the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan,” in a bottomless pit for 1,000 years. After this event, John then later sees thrones in addition to “the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God.” They are the martyrs of the faith. I will be the first one to acknowledge that these are quite intense topics that are not regularly discussed or presented from the pulpit! It is quite easy to talk about all the positive things we stand to gain from a life devoted to Christ, but we often downplay the two things we see here in these first 6 verses of Revelation chapter 20.
First, there is a very real spiritual warfare around us. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
Second, it discusses the persecution we will face as Christians. John 15:19-20 says, “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.”
So, what do we take from such a heavy topic? When I read these verses a second time, a few words and phrases really stand out and provide a great sense of encouragement and comfort. I am serious! Look at some of the words and phrases used in terms of the authority over the enemy: “seized, bound, threw, shut, sealed.” Then look at these words from the next few verses, “came to life, reigned, blessed and holy, death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” Even within the intense and heavy writing of Revelation, we can find comfort, encouragement, and hope.