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Welcome to day five of Revelation chapter 20. Today I'd like to take a look back
over the last couple of weeks at these events that we've walked through in
Revelation chapter 19 and 20. These events that we talked about give us
perspective for our lives today and give us perspective for what God's going to
do at the end of time.

What God's going to do at the end gives us perspective for today. What God did
at the beginning in Genesis gives us perspective for today and it also gives us
perspective for what God's plan of hope is. Remember the events we've looked at?

We've looked at a wedding supper, wedding supper of a lamb. And we've looked at
the church, the bride of Christ. We've looked at the second coming of Christ.

We've looked at the visible return of Christ where all the world will see. We've
looked at the millennium, the thousand year reign of Christ. And we've looked
yesterday at the great white throne, the judgment place of God.

Now remember the focus of the book of Revelation is on Jesus. So let's just
think about those four events and let's think about who Jesus is in each of
those events. That needs to be our focus if our perspective is going to be
right, if our perspective is going to be encouraged and strengthened for our
lives today.

In the wedding supper of the lamb, Jesus is the groom. In the second coming of
Christ, Jesus is the Lord. Every eye will see.

In the millennium, Jesus is the King. He reigns. And at the great white throne,
Jesus, God, the Trinity, Jesus is the judge.

Jesus is the groom. He is the Lord. He is the King.

He is the judge. Now what does that mean for your life today? In the wedding, in
the groom, what picture do you see?

In the second coming and the Lord, what picture do you see? In the thousand
years in the King, what picture do you see? In the great white throne, what
picture do you see?

Well the wedding is a picture of acceptance. He is the groom. The groom accepts
the bride.

The second coming is a picture of victory. He is the Lord. The Lord has victory
at the end.

The thousand year reign, that's a picture of authority. He will be King. He is
in control.

In the great white throne, Jesus there is the judge. That is a picture of
justice. He will judge with perfect justice.

So let's walk through those. What do you need for your life today? Do you need
that picture of acceptance that comes from a wedding?

To realize that Jesus Christ loves you, that he accepts you. You are part of the
bride of Christ and he has accepted you as his child. He has accepted you as a
part of his body.

Those are amazing pictures of how deeply he loves us. His commitment to you is
almost beyond description. And you may not feel loved by Jesus Christ today, but
you are loved.

You may not see visible circumstances that are indicating to you that you are
loved in your blessings or in your money or in your relationships. In fact, it
may even be the opposite. But the truth is, this is the truth of eternity.

This is the truth of the end of time that I have to read back into my life
today. I am accepted because of what he has done for me. You need to hold on to
that today.

He loves me and accepts me. That's why he gave us this picture. Not just to give
us hope then, but to give us hope today.

Maybe you need the picture of victory. The Lord who is going to come at the end
of time and have victory over every other power. Maybe you need today to
remember that no matter what happens, no matter what's been done to you this
week, Jesus is going to be victorious in the end.

There is no doubt that many times in this world we feel powerless. We feel
powerless to change our circumstances. We feel powerless to change the direction
of somebody else's life.

We feel powerless sometimes even to change the direction of our own lives. Like
events have swept us up and we have no control. Well, the reason we feel that
way is because it's often true.

We often don't have control over the events of our lives. But that's not the
point. The point isn't am I in control?

If you were in control, all you'd get is what you could get out of you being in
control. And it's not much, let me tell you. The point is Jesus is in control.

He's going to be at the end. And I read that back into my life today and I
realize I am trusting, not in my ability to control the minor circumstances of
my life, I am trusting in the fact that he is in control no matter what. He is
in control.

That's what you hold on to. Maybe you need that picture of victory, his victory
in your life today. Or maybe you need the picture that comes from the
millennium, the thousand year reign of Christ, a picture of authority, a picture
that he is the king.

He is the one who guides those thousand years. And I can rely on him as the
king. I can rely on him as the one who guides the events of my day.

God is in control. And God is also in leadership. If God is in control, and I
know that he's in control from now to the end, the question here is am I
allowing his authority to play itself out in my life today?

Am I doing what he's asked me to do? Am I following his direction and guidance?
I know sometimes it's confusing.

God, what are you asking me to do? I'm not quite sure. But other times it's not
confusing at all.

I know I need to let go of that. I know I need to go in that direction. I know I
need to stop talking about that person that way.

I know I need to start talking about that person in this kind of way. I know
what God's asking me to do. But I don't really want to do it.

And so I don't really say no to God. I just try to ignore God. Well, you can't
ignore God.

He's the King. You can't ignore the King. Are you recognizing his authority in
your life today?

To not recognize his authority, and I've done it, you've done it, we all do it.
That is sin. To recognize his authority is to simply pray, "Our Father who art
in heaven, your will be done.

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. " Pray that prayer today.
Recognize his authority in your life today.

Maybe that's what you need to remind yourself of from Revelation 19 and 20. Or
maybe you need to be reminded of the picture that's in the great white throne,
the picture of justice. As evil as this world is, and as much as it looks
sometimes like evil people are getting away with evil, and not only getting away
with it, but prospering through their evil, that is not true.

Oh, it might look true for a few milliseconds in light of eternity, but there
will be a day at this great white throne where everything is made right and God
will have the last word. You may be facing an injustice in your life today,
something that someone is saying about you, something that someone has done to
you. That tears your heart out.

That keeps you awake at night. And you wonder, "How can I make it right? How can
I set it right?

" Well, the Bible tells us that inasmuch as we have the power to do it, we
should be at peace with all people. The Bible tells us that every time we have
the opportunity to do it, we should forgive and not hold a bitterness. There are
things that we can do, but you cannot control another person's words.

You can do what's right, but they may still continue to do what's wrong. You
cannot control another person's actions. You may forgive them, but they may
choose to try to keep hurting you.

What do you do when that happens? Has God let you down? No, he has not.

The story is not over. It's not even begun, barely. And at this great white
throne, all is going to be made right for all eternity.

You hold on to that, even in life today. There have been believers who it's not
been some bad word that's been said about them or some business deal that hasn't
come their way. It's that their entire family has been taken from them, the
entire family martyred for their faith.

And they've had to learn, how do I deal with that in a world where there is
evil? How do you deal with an evil world? You realize it's not going to last.

God's going to have the last word. As we think about acceptance and victory and
authority and justice, let's take a minute to pray together. And in this moment
of prayer, you might need to say to Jesus, I accept, I accept your love for me
right now as I never have before, whether I feel it or not.

Your prayer might be, I see your victory by faith, even though I don't see it in
my circumstances. Your prayer might be, I choose your authority to follow you
instead of what I think is right. I trust you.

Give me the strength to do what you've told me is right. Or your prayer might
need to be, God, I am grateful for your justice. And at the end of time, all is
going to be made right.

And I know that I can trust you as the judge. And so I trust you right now. Help
me not to become bitter.

Help me not to become overwhelmed by evil, but instead help me to overcome evil
with good. Jesus, we pray this together in your name. Amen.

20. Next week is Revelation 21. You're going to love this chapter.

Don't miss next week.