Bible League: Living His Word "Together they will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them because he is Lord of all lords and King of all kings. And his called and chosen and faithful ones will be with him."— Revelation 17:14 NLT There is a great war going on between Jesus Christ and Satan. The war has been going on ever since Jesus first appeared on earth and proclaimed the coming of the kingdom of God. The first great battle and great victory of the war happened when Jesus defeated Satan at His resurrection. At that time, Satan lost his firm grip on the earth, and the kingdom of God began to advance and take territory from him. Ever since, he has been angrily and unsuccessfully trying to roll back the victory Jesus obtained. Although the war is ultimately between Jesus and Satan, it is played out in the lives of the people of the earth. No one can maintain a neutral status. Christians are those who have decided to fight on the side of Jesus and the kingdom of God. Therefore, they must put on the full armor of God from Ephesians chapter six, so they can effectively fight against Satan and his henchmen. The first great victory in the war established a beachhead in Jerusalem from which the Kingdom of God could advance throughout Judea, to Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). When the kingdom has advanced far enough, there will be the second great battle of the war. As is clear from our verse for today, the followers of Jesus do not sit on the sidelines of this final battle. His called, chosen, and faithful ones will be with Him. The followers of Jesus have been fighting with Him in the great war from the beginning and it only makes sense that they will still be fighting with Him in the end. Satan and his followers will go to war against the Lamb for one last time. The Lamb, however, will defeat them precisely because He is the "Lord of all lords and King of all kings." Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingGenesis 9, 10, 11 Genesis 9 -- The Covenant of the Rainbow NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Genesis 10 -- Descendants of Shem, Ham and Japheth NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Genesis 11 -- Tower of Babel; Shem's Descendants to Abraham NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Matthew 4 Matthew 4 -- The Temptation of Jesus; Jesus Begins to Preach, Calls First Disciples, Ministers in Galilee NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion “Why are you so angry?” the LORD asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” Insight How do you react when someone suggests you have done something wrong? Do you move to correct the mistake or deny that you need to correct it? After Cain's gift was rejected, God have him the chance to right his wrong and try again. But Cain refused. Challenge The next time someone suggests you are wrong, take an honest look at yourself and choose God's way instead of Cain's. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Genesis 42:8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.This morning our desires went forth for growth in our acquaintance with the Lord Jesus; it may be well tonight to consider a kindred topic, namely, our heavenly Joseph's knowledge of us. This was most blessedly perfect long before we had the slightest knowledge of him. "His eyes beheld our substance, yet being imperfect, and in his book all our members were written, when as yet there was none of them." Before we had a being in the world we had a being in his heart. When we were enemies to him, he knew us, our misery, our madness, and our wickedness. When we wept bitterly in despairing repentance, and viewed him only as a judge and a ruler, he viewed us as his brethren well beloved, and his bowels yearned towards us. He never mistook his chosen, but always beheld them as objects of his infinite affection. "The Lord knoweth them that are his," is as true of the prodigals who are feeding swine as of the children who sit at the table. But, alas! we knew not our royal Brother, and out of this ignorance grew a host of sins. We withheld our hearts from him, and allowed him no entrance to our love. We mistrusted him, and gave no credit to his words. We rebelled against him, and paid him no loving homage. The Sun of Righteousness shone forth, and we could not see him. Heaven came down to earth, and earth perceived it not. Let God be praised, those days are over with us; yet even now it is but little that we know of Jesus compared with what he knows of us. We have but begun to study him, but he knoweth us altogether. It is a blessed circumstance that the ignorance is not on his side, for then it would be a hopeless case for us. He will not say to us, "I never knew you," but he will confess our names in the day of his appearing, and meanwhile will manifest himself to us as he doth not unto the world. Daily Light on the Daily Path 1 Corinthians 15:55 "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?"1 Corinthians 15:56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; Hebrews 9:26-28 Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. • And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, • so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. Hebrews 2:14,15 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, • and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. 2 Timothy 4:6-8 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. • I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; • in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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