The Security of Believing the Bible
Revelation 20:4-6
“And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”
Twice in this brief passage we read, “And they reigned with Christ for a thousand years” (vv. 4, 6). It is so clear to me that this is a literal time period that fulfills hundreds of promises and prophesies of both the Old and New Testaments!
The people of this world today that refuse to believe in God, and the Bible as the Word of God, have no clue what the future holds. They have no real security or peace in their lives and are full of worry and fear about almost everything. They must seek out mediums, horoscopes, fortune tellers, crystal balls, and astrologers to find some sort of hope about a better future. And about the only thing they know for sure, is that the future for them is old age, disease, sickness and death.
People without the God of the Bible, live in fear and worry constantly about global warming, nuclear war or some meteorite striking the earth and destroying it. They have no security in their daily lives because of crime, violence, corruption and they get the sense that no one really cares about them! They constantly try to drown out their fears, worry and guilt with addictions that include alcohol, drugs, sexual pleasure, video games or by staying busy trying to climb the ladder of success with education, money, fame, material possessions, and personal attainments.
Even religious people, without the God of the Bible, can only hope that their religion is the right one. Millions believe in Karma, incarnation, and hope if they live a good enough life that they might come back to a better life in the next one. And I guess millions of people simply believe that they will die and that will end it all, and they have nothing to hope for in the future.
The believer in God and the Bible can know the future. The Bible reveals it very clearly and specifically. When you believe in the God of the Bible and His Son Jesus Christ, you have an anchor of hope for your soul that is steadfast and sure! Hebrews 6:17-20: “Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
I can live in peace with tremendous security about the future as I believe in the prophecies and promises of the Bible. The Book of Revelation is about the future! John was told to write about the “things which you have seen, the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter” (Revelation 1:19). And now in Revelation 20, as the Bible comes to a close, we again are assured about one of the greatest prophesies and promises of God that is about the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ.
From this passage we learn that both the Tribulation saints, who are martyred, and the saints of the church age, who will rule and reign with Christ for this one-thousand-year period! Over the next few days, we will describe from the Scriptures more details about this time period. We will learn about the purpose of it and the wonderful characteristics of it.
Yes my friend, today you can have this same hope, security and peace when you put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and look into His Word and believe it!
God bless!
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