Scripture:
v2: “He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan and bound him for a thousand years”
Observation:
John in this chapter accounts for us two fates. We see the defeat and judgement of Satan, and we have the judgement of the dead. Both of these are scary and reassuring at the same time. Scary because of the awesome power of God. God’s power is such that he can take our eternal tormentor and bound and lock him for a thousand years. After a thousand years Satan reappears on earth, and gathers an army against God’s people. Again our powerful God defeats Satan and sentences him to an eternity of suffering in a lake of burning sulfur. Then God judges us, the dead. The same powerful God that judges and defeats Satan will also judge us. That’s scary.
Application:
For me this passage is also reassuring. First no matter how much we struggle with Satan on earth, God will ultimately prevail. No matter how discouraged that we get with our struggles in this world, I know that God prevails. It is also reassuring to me to know that when I am ultimately judged, I know that I am a believer and I know that I am saved. Yes I have sinned and for that I will pay, but a worse fate of the unbeliever is, v15 “Anyone whose name is not written in the book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire.” So while I am awed and fearful of the power of God, I am comforted by the fact that I am a child of God and the in the end I am saved. In the end God wins and I am on the winning team.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for being my savior. During this Christmas season I am reminded that you gave us your son so that we can be saved. The birth of Jesus is the beginning of the story, Revelation 20 is the end of the story. Father I am proud to be part of your family and I look forward to eternity in your kingdom.