Author: emmanuelpcgateshead

WEDNESDAY September 18^th

 

‘Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.’

 

I have written this devotion at least six weeks before it will have been sent out and you in receiving it today because I had spent some days preparing to be well ahead with the devotions before Elaine and I went on holiday. The evening before I wrote this devotion, I had watched about 1 hour of a funeral or it was called the homecoming service of the family who had lost their lives in a tragic air accident, the Nelon Family. The next day as I was preparing devotions, I had playing in the background the rest of the service which led me to write this devotion.

 

Of course, I never knew nor had never met any of the Nelon family, but having heard of the tragedy, I realised, I had listened many times to some of their music, one in particular, ‘Glory to the Lamb, whose throne forever reigns’, yet even not knowing them personally, it was difficult not to feel emotional as the service progressed, and to feel moved with compassion toward the one daughter who had lost her parents and sister in a moment of time. Seven were killed in the accident, as they were making their way by plane to eventually join a cruise that was to be a Gaither gathering.

 

Why have I mentioned this, well, because as I listened and watched, I was reminded of the fact that even though we will all walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we do not need to fear any evil, for the Lord our Shepherd is with us, but secondly, a song was sung that we know very well, but more importantly need to learn to take on board, ‘Because he lives, I can face tomorrow’.

 

Not one of us knows what tomorrow will hold for us, so it is important that we get to personally know the one who knows all about our tomorrows, however many of them there may be.

 

Psalm 139:16 says, ‘Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.’

 

Psalm 90:12 ‘So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.’

 

As you read this, as I have said a few weeks after I have prepared it, be encouraged in whatever your circumstances are, that God knows and as your heavenly Father he is watching over you. Proverbs 3:5-6 ‘Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.’

TUESDAY September 17^th

 

Revelation 22:14

‘Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.’

 

‘Blessed are those who wash there robes’. The only ones who will have the right to enter the city will be those who have washed their robes. This is symbolic of those who have come by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ and known what it is to be washed, cleansed by his precious blood.

 

Way back in the opening chapters of the Bible, in the book of Genesis we see how the entrance of sin, caused Adam and Eve to be banished from the garden of Eden, the place where the tree of life stood. And ever since men and women have been banished. But God sent his Son into the world so that he might die at Calvary, and in dying, shed his precious blood which was to be the only blood that could make a sinner clean again. And here in the last chapter, in the final book of the Bible we see that access is now available to the tree of life.

 

In John 1:12 we read ‘But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God’. And as the children of God, we have the right to the tree of life, and we can, we will enter the city by the gates.

 

Imagine the shame, the feeling of despondency, the feeling even of guilt and sorrow that must have overwhelmed Adam and Eve as they were firstly banished from the garden, and then as they walked further away, maybe with a backward glance, thinking to themselves, maybe even saying to themselves, ‘What have we done’.

 

Well, Jesus has made it possible for us to enter the city and the right to the tree of life, surely in comparison to how Adam and Eve must have felt, we should have an overwhelming sense of joy in our lives. The sin washed away, our guilt taken away, the curse undone, the gate opened and seated on the throne is the Lamb who had been slain waiting to welcome us in.

 

What an incredible revelation this is that John had received of the Lord Jesus Christ! I can only say thank you God for sending Jesus, thank you Jesus that you came, thank you that I am blessed now, and I will be eternally blessed as I and as each one of us keep close to you.

MONDAY September 16^th

 

Revelation 22:14

‘Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.’

 

We have arrived at the seventh and final ‘blessed’ statement in the book of Revelation. Before I turn to it, (which will be the next devotion) I was thinking to myself about this chapter, and some of the incredible statements that are in it.

 

Verses 1-5 speak about the river of the water of life, it also speaks about the throne of God and of the Lamb and the very presence of God which means that there will no longer be the need for any light of lamp or the sun. Imagine that! No more being moaned at for leaving a light on and wasting electricity, and no more moaning as to where is the sun, we won’t need it, we will be in the presence of the one who is the true light. Heaven will be far better than net-zero, even the pollution of sin will be gone.

 

Verses 6-7, we touched on seven yesterday, but I deliberately missed these words out, ‘behold, I am coming soon’. Yes, Jesus is coming again, and what a wonderful day that is going to be for all of us who have washed our robes and had them made clean by the precious blood of Jesus, who is the Lamb that was slain and yet lives forever!

 

And verse 12 re-echoes the truth ‘Behold, I am coming soon’, this time with a warning to all who have failed to believe, ‘bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done’. Although this brings sadness to my heart, to realise that many of whom I have cared about and do care about, family, friends etc. who have failed to accept Jesus will get what is coming for all who like them have failed to believe, it also helps me when I think of those who have done no good, but have caused a lot of great harm through their evil deeds, that it is not my responsibility to bring them the punishment they deserve, it is God who recompenses, and the more so if they fail to repent and believe.

 

Then there is verse 13 ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end’. The Triune God bookends everything!  He has always been, that is eternally in the past and he always will be, that is eternally in the future—and the sphere of time which is fitted in between is but a span in which God created all things well and will end all things well. But the wonder is that in the sphere of time he came down to beckon us, welcome us to come into his eternal presence.

 

And then jumping to the final verses and verse 20 ‘” Surely I am coming soon.” Amen, Come Lord Jesus’. The words of a song come to mind:

 

He’s coming soon,

He’s coming soon,

With joy, I welcome his returning,

It may be morn, it may be night or noon,

I know he’s coming soon.

 

Amen, Come Lord Jesus.

FRIDAY September 13^th

 

Revelation 22:7 “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

 

Well, we have come to the sixth of the ‘blessed’ statements in Revelation, and this one and the seventh are found in the final chapter of the holy, inspired word of God. The revelation of Jesus Christ which John had received while exiled on the Isle of Patmos has almost come to its completion, and with it the completion of the canon of scripture, 66 books, 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. Together they comprise the most sacred, holy, special, and beautiful book that a man or woman can ever hold in their hands and to open and read. God’s revelation of himself to mankind, God’s instructions for mankind, and the details of God’s perfect plan of redemption.

 

The ’blessed’ statement today is dependent upon those who on reading the words of prophecy of this book in keeping them, that is to be obedient to them.

 

I think that directly, the reference to ‘the words of the prophecy of this book’ are to this particular book, Revelation, as it is a book of revelation or prophecy, so although it may be one of the least read or least understood, it is a book that we should desire to read, to learn from and to keep, after all, reminding ourselves that it is all a part of God’s bigger plan concerning salvation. Yes, he sent his Son to save us, yes, he sent his Son to redeem us, yes, he is preparing heaven for us, which if you look at what it says in Revelation 21 is going to be an incredible place, as I often say it is going to be out of this world, but at the same time, God’s redemptive plan and purpose also has to deal with evil and all who refuse to come to a knowledge of the truth, and so we see something of how this will be realised or brought about in this book.

 

But indirectly, I think that we can and should apply the phrase ‘Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.’  to the whole of the word of God. For to remind us of some other verses of scripture related to the word of God, we see:

 

‘All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.’

 

‘For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.’

 

‘Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.’

 

(2 Timothy 3:16–17, Hebrews 4:12-13, 2 Timothy 2:15)

 

I don’t know about you, but I feel that I need to pray for God to help me to not only keep the truth, but to keep hold of the truth, allowing it to be my daily light to help me navigate through this dark world in which we are living in. For as we keep his word, we will be blessed.

THURSDAY September 12^th

 

Revelation 20:6

‘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.’

 

What a joy for me to be able to come to one of my favourite doctrinal truths again today, that of the resurrection! Here the statement is ‘Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection!’

 

In 1 Corinthians 15 we read ‘For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ’ (verses 22-23).

 

Those who have been found to be ‘in Christ’ will share in his resurrection, and in our verse today it is called the first resurrection, to define it from the second. And it is only those who are involved in the first resurrection who will be blessed and holy.

 

The word ‘first’ before the word resurrection infers that there will be another resurrection and the sad news is for those involved in this other resurrection is that they will not be blessed nor holy, but rather unholy and doomed for eternity.

 

For just as those who have died with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will be raised, so also will be those who have died without having placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and sadly, they will be raised to face the judgement of the Great White Throne which we read of in the same chapter of Revelation, 20:11-15, with the final verdict or action being that they will be thrown into the lake of fire, along with the devil, the beast and the false prophet as we also see in Revelation 20 and verses 7-10.

 

The consequences of rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ and the hope that is available to all and preached through the good news of the gospel, is devastating. In Romans 6:23 we read, ‘For the wages of sin is death’, there is no way of getting around this outside of Christ, the verdict of death has been pronounced on all mankind, but God put an incredible plan into operation by sending his Son into this world, so that if we come to believe in him we will have everlasting life, and so the verse in Romans continues, ‘But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’.

 

So, reader or listener to this devotion, where do you stand as far as a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ is concerned. Have you come to accept him by faith or are you still rejecting him and the incredible hope that he offers to you for both this life and for eternity.

 

And to anyone who may stumble across this devotion online, if you are of another ‘faith’ or ‘religion’, I need you to know, I want you to know that there is NO HOPE, NO SALVATION through any other prophet, god, etc. It can only be obtained through the One who God sent into this world to make the way or the entrance into heaven open and to make heaven available to all and his name is Jesus. I cannot and never will apologise for saying this. This is what the holy and inspired word of God, the Holy Bible says.

 

John 14:6 ‘Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

 

Acts 4:12 ‘And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.’

 

And seeing as the subject has been about the first resurrection, John 11:25-27 ‘Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”’

 

Going back to what I have said about the resurrections, those raised in the first resurrection will be raised to eternal life, never to die again, but those who have failed to believe and who will be raised in the other resurrection, will be raised to die again, spiritually, eternally cut off from the eternal presence of God, it is called in Revelation 20:14 the second death.

WEDNESDAY September 11^th

 

Revelation 19:9

‘And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”’

 

Following on from our previous devotion, todays is intended to ask who those are who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

 

When Elaine and I got married, we weren’t the guests, but we invited guests. They were those who could witness our being joined together in holy matrimony and then afterwards could come and celebrate with us at the wedding reception. None of the guests could claim to be the bridegroom and none of the guests could claim to be the bride. They were invited guests.

 

I have done a lot of reading and research for this devotion, because sometimes when preparing devotions, I come to some verses where it needs a lot more time and effort to put them together. And strangely it is difficult to even find harmony with the various interpretations of this verse from various writers.

 

And the conclusion I have drawn is this: The bride is the Church, therefore it cannot be Israel, and it cannot also be the Old Testament saints, for they have not been a part of the Church. But it doesn’t mean that Israel who are God’s chosen people cannot be in heaven, (maybe the 144,000 we read of in Revelation is speaking of those from Israel who will be there) and it also doesn’t mean that the Old Testament saints cannot be in heaven, they will be, but they will have been included through the various covenants that God had put together for them and their obedience toward them. In fact, we read in Scripture that they, that is the Old Testament saints could not be made perfect until after God had fulfilled or brought to completion all he had provided for the Church (Hebrews 11:39-40).

 

So, they will be at the marriage supper, not as the bride but as the guests, looking on in wonder at what God had accomplished through Christ at Calvary! One writer also says that the guests will include those who came to faith during the time of the tribulation.

 

I suggest we cannot be 100% sure of the guest list, but we can be 100% sure of the bride and the bridegroom, and I want to be included, I want you to be included, and I want that if anyone is reading this devotion has not yet come to accept Jesus as Saviour that you do so, before it is too late. The bridegroom wants you to be his bride.

TUESDAY September 10^th

 

Revelation 19:9

‘And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”’

 

One of the most abhorrent things that has taken place over the last decade or so has been the redefining of what a marriage is meant to be, and I clearly state here that I adhere to biblical truth that the only marriage that is acceptable and proper is that which takes place between a man and a woman.

 

In case you haven’t noticed, anything that is presented as God’s ideal has been or is being dismantled by our post-modern society and as a result, we are seeing a breakdown of what marriage is all about and of what a nuclear family should be, and the product is that we have a broken society.

 

Why has marriage been targeted? An obvious answer is to pamper to the perverted world in which we are living in, but I am going to make another statement, because it is an open rebellion against God and the beauty of what a proper marriage should be all about. Marriage in the eyes of God is such a beautiful and special union that it is used as a picture of the relationship of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Church.

 

Now this relationship comes about firstly, because of the sacrifice that Christ made for sinners to be able to redeem them, and then secondly by the sinner coming to accept what Christ has done on their behalf and believing on him and being clothed in the righteousness that comes from him. Therefore, it is a holy activity!

 

Therefore, marriage is holy and should not be made anything other than what God has ordained for it to be. And of importance to note is this, that not only should society not be allowed to re-interpret what marriage is all about we who have entered a marriage relationship should not disrespect what the marriage relationship is all about.

 

Now, our text speaks of the marriage supper of the Lamb, that is the after-wedding party, dinner, or reception, or whatever modern title we would give to it.

 

The marriage supper is obviously to celebrate the joining together of two parties, the first being named here, is the Lamb and of course we know that throughout the New Testament the picture is given of Jesus as being the Lamb. The second party is the Church, which has become the bride of Christ. But then, there are obviously those who are invited to the supper, for the scripture says, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb’, so who are the invited guests? Well, we will consider this in our next devotion. But for today some verses indicating the unique relationship that Jesus has for the Church which is to be his bride.

 

Paul illustrates it in his concern for the Corinthians believers in that he is seeking to prepare them spiritually to become as a pure virgin to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2). It is also clearly implied in the verses that Paul has written in Ephesians 5 ‘Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish’ (vv25-27) and also ‘“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church’ (vv31-32).

 

Perhaps we readily recall the Church as the body of Christ, but not enough concerning the church as becoming the bride of Christ, and just as we keep ourselves pure in our earthly wedding covenant, faithful to our husband or wife, so we should in our committal of marriage to the Lord Jesus Christ, keep ourselves pure and unspotted from the world.

MONDAY September 9^th

 

Revelation 16:15

(“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”)

 

Now, the verse before us today which contains the third of the ‘blessed’ statements in the book of Revelation is bracketed in the ESV, but not in the KJV, NIV or NLT, so I have left the brackets in here.

 

By the time we get to this verse, we are getting toward the end of the vision that John has been given concerning the tribulation, and so its application is primarily again for those who somehow have come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ during that time and specifically for the people of Isael who will have suffered so much under the tyranny of those who rule during this period, the anti-Christ, the beast, the dragon, the false prophet. It is relating to the time when the armies of the world will begin to assemble at Armageddon (v16).

 

It is a verse that contains words that will encourage those who are looking for the Lord Jesus Christ to come as I mentioned a few devotions ago to the Mount of Olivet, which is the second aspect of his second coming, the first aspect being when the Church was raptured seven years earlier. Those who will have followed Judaism, that is the practising Jew will know the Old Testament scriptures concerning the coming of Jesus, and although they failed to recognise him when he came as the babe in Bethlehem, they will now be longing for him to come, to establish peace and righteousness upon the earth. And Jesus speaking here, during these awful years of tribulation says, ‘Behold I am coming quickly’ they are words that will remind those waiting that the trouble is nearly over, I am on my way, then Jesus says, ‘Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and exposed’. It is a word of encouragement, hold on, I am coming and if you stay ready and prepared you will be blessed.

 

Now, beside the application that is for the context of these verses, it is also an encouragement to us today, that as we see the state of our nation, and far wider the nations of the world, we need to look up, for our redemption is drawing near. That aspect of his coming that we are waiting for is near, the rapture and resurrection of the saints, in the words of the song:

 

 

Soon the skies will unfold,

Preparing his entrance,

The stars shall applaud him,

With thunders of praise,

The sweet light in his eyes,

Shall enhance those awaiting

And we shall behold him, then face to face.

 

We shall behold him,

We shall behold him,

Face to face in all his glory,

O we shall behold him,

Yes, we shall behold him,

Face to face, our Saviour and Lord.

 

The angels shall sound

The sound of his coming

The sleeping shall rise

From there slumbering place

and those who remain

shall be changed in a moment

and we shall behold him, then face to face.

 

I cannot leave this devotion without the words from the apostle Paul: ‘For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord’ 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

 

But Lord, ‘tis for thee, for thy coming we wait,

The sky, not the grave is our goal:

Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!

Blessed hope! Blessed rest of my soul.

 

It is well. It is well with my soul.

FRIDAY September 6^th

 

Revelation 14:13

‘And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labours, for their deeds follow them!”’

 

I mentioned previously that I would return to these verses again, for although my personal belief is that they are referring to those who die in the Lord during the tribulation, they also hold truth that is applicable to those who die in the Lord prior to the time of the second coming of the lord Jesus. Simply put we will be ‘blessed’ and at rest.

 

As I think back to everyone I have known that had put their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus and yet have died, the one thing that has helped me, in particular when thinking of those who have been close to me, such as my grand-parents, my parents and others, is the fact that they have now rested from their labours, the struggles of life are over and although their bodies are awaiting the day of the resurrection, their souls have gone into the presence of their Saviour.

 

What a comfort our faith in Jesus is to us. We are not only saved in the here and the now, but as we remain faithful to him, we will be saved for eternity. We truly are a ‘blessed’ people even before we get to see and receive all the wonderful blessings that have been prepared for us in heaven.

 

I am simply going to leave this devotion with a challenge to all. Firstly, to those who have come to faith, where do you stand regarding the living out your life changing relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you really living your Christian life to your full potential. When the time comes to leave this world, will the verdict given be well done or will you (and I challenge myself as well) stand before him ashamed that we failed to live as we truly should have lived.

 

Secondly to any that may never have given your life to the Lord Jesus Christ, first to you, there is no other way by which you can be saved and come to know forgiveness of sins and eternal life, second, in failing to come to faith, you will not be welcomed into the presence of Jesus, you will never know what it is to know what it is to be ‘blessed’ in his eternal home, but instead you will hear the words ‘Depart from me, I never knew you’. The choice is yours, for God has made the way of salvation available to all who believe, by rejecting, you are making your own choice. Today choose Jesus, choose life.

THURSDAY September 5^th

 

Revelation 14:13

‘And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labours, for their deeds follow them!”’

 

As we come to our verses today, because we are looking at the seven ‘blessed’ statements in the book of Revelation, it means that we have jumped very quickly from the first in chapter 1:3 through 13 chapters to arrive at chapter 14. And a lot has happened, or when it all takes place will have happened!

 

Now, I suppose it is important for me to make clear the angle from which I look at the book of Revelation, and to suggest that if you look at it from a different angle, then you agree to disagree with me. I am one who holds to the view of the pre-tribulation rapture of the Church, the moment when Jesus comes to the clouds to call the waiting Church to himself. This involves also the resurrection of the those who have died in Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). Then, sometime after that, it may be very swift, will be the time of the tribulation upon the earth, where much of what we read in the book of Revelation will take place (chapters 6-18). Then after this period of tribulation, about 7 years, Jesus will return to the earth, his arrival being at Mount Olivet where he will destroy the armies of the world at what we call the battle of Armageddon and then he will establish his kingdom on earth for a period of 1000 years, what we call the Millennial Kingdom (Zechariah 14:4-9). After that will be the final judgment (Revelation 20:11-15) and the dissolving of the heavens and the earth and the creating from out of them the new heavens and earth wherein shall eternally dwell righteousness (Revelation 21:1). Now that is in a nutshell.

 

So, in coming to the verses today, they are not specifically speaking about you and me, the believers who are living today, for by the time the prophetic clock reaches this point we will have been delivered from the wrath that is to come, we will be in the presence of our wonderful Saviour (BUT, and I will turn to this again in the next devotion for I also see an application for us today).

 

So, who are these which it is referring to? Notice it says ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on’ that is from this point of time on. It is those who will refuse to take the mark of the beast, possibly, if it happens in the next dozen years or so, those who we know today who have heard the gospel, and yet have refused to believe it, but when the day of God’s wrath is poured out will begin to realise how true the gospel was and will cry out to God for his mercy and for his help, there will be those who will have heard the two witnesses calling out for the nation of Israel to repent, but even though some, maybe many will turn to the Lord, it will not be easy for them, many will be killed, and therefore in this prophetic vision the call is given for them to endure, and to keep their faith in Jesus. Yes, I do believe that there will be those who will come to faith in Jesus during the time of the great tribulation, but if it is hard come to him now and to live for him now, it will be even harder then! And it is those who do endure, those who do persevere, those who maybe lose their lives will be the ones who are referred here as to being ‘blessed’.

 

But why write a devotion on a verse that we may feel doesn’t then matter to us. Well, it does, for it should prompt us to make sure that we are right with Christ now, today! To be ready for the moment when he comes to call the waiting church home, for once the awful time of tribulation comes upon this earth, I suggest that if you have failed to believe now, that there will be an even slighter chance of you coming to believe then, when the time of trouble comes on the world, it will be easier to be drawn with the crowd than it is now, than to choose Jesus.