Bible League: Living His Word And they will reign for ever and ever.— Revelation 22:5 NIV Revelation 22 begins with a brief description of life after the second coming of Jesus Christ, of life after the New Jerusalem has come down from heaven: “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light” (Revelation 22:1-5). Tacked on to the end of this description is a significant fact concerning the servants of God and the Lamb. It is our verse for today: “And they will reign for ever and ever.” When we acknowledge the Kingdom of God, when we become believers in the gospel of Jesus Christ, we step into a situation that will last for ever and ever. Since the Kingdom of God has already broken into the world at the first coming of Jesus Christ (Mark 1:15), we are already seeing the first manifestations of this situation, the first manifestations of the description in Revelation 22. We see spiritual restoration, physical healings, curses being lifted, and much more. According to Revelation 22, the New Jerusalem will also be a situation where the servants of God reign. We will reign with God and the Lamb. Indeed, we will reign for ever and ever. Here again, however, we are already seeing the first manifestations of this situation. In this life, we have already begun to reign. The Apostle Paul said that we “reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17)! We reign in life wherever we have authority and responsibility, and our reign consists of bringing the life of the Kingdom to bear in those areas. Today, then, get used to reigning, get used to bringing the life of the Kingdom into reality, for you will be doing it for a very long time. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingEzra 3, 4, 5 Ezra 3 -- Altar and Sacrifices Restored; Temple Work Begun NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Ezra 4 -- Adversaries Hinder Work; Artaxerxes Orders Work Stopped NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Ezra 5 -- Tattenai's Letter to Darius NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading John 20 John 20 -- The Empty Tomb; Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene, His Disciples and Thomas NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief.Insight Jesus did few miracles in his hometown “because of their unbelief.” Unbelief blinds people to the truth and robs them of hope. These people missed the Messiah. Challenge How does your faith measure up? If you can't see God's work, perhaps it is because of your unbelief. Believe, ask God for a mighty work in your life, and expect him to act. Look with the eyes of faith. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Proverbs 30:8 Remove far from me vanity and lies."O my God, be not far from me." #NAME? Here we have two great lessons--what to deprecate and what to supplicate. The happiest state of a Christian is the holiest state. As there is the most heat nearest to the sun, so there is the most happiness nearest to Christ. No Christian enjoys comfort when his eyes are fixed on vanity--he finds no satisfaction unless his soul is quickened in the ways of God. The world may win happiness elsewhere, but he cannot. I do not blame ungodly men for rushing to their pleasures. Why should I? Let them have their fill. That is all they have to enjoy. A converted wife who despaired of her husband was always very kind to him, for she said, "I fear that this is the only world in which he will be happy, and therefore I have made up my mind to make him as happy as I can in it." Christians must seek their delights in a higher sphere than the insipid frivolities or sinful enjoyments of the world. Vain pursuits are dangerous to renewed souls. We have heard of a philosopher who, while he looked up to the stars, fell into a pit; but how deeply do they fall who look down. Their fall is fatal. No Christian is safe when his soul is slothful, and his God is far from him. Every Christian is always safe as to the great matter of his standing in Christ, but he is not safe as regards his experience in holiness, and communion with Jesus in this life. Satan does not often attack a Christian who is living near to God. It is when the Christian departs from his God, becomes spiritually starved, and endeavours to feed on vanities, that the devil discovers his vantage hour. He may sometimes stand foot to foot with the child of God who is active in his Master's service, but the battle is generally short: he who slips as he goes down into the Valley of Humiliation, every time he takes a false step invites Apollyon to assail him. O for grace to walk humbly with our God! Daily Light on the Daily Path John 9:35 Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"John 9:36 He answered, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?" Hebrews 1:3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 1 Timothy 6:15,16 which He will bring about at the proper time-- He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, • who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen. Revelation 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." John 9:38 And he said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped Him. 2 Timothy 1:12 For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. 1 Peter 2:6,7 For this is contained in Scripture: "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." • This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, "THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone," 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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