The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Revelation 17:12-14,
"The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers."
"Team Cain", represented by the beast and these ten kings who give their power and authority to the beast, wage war against the Lamb. The Lamb, of course, is Jesus Christ.
I love how the angel characterizes the outcome of this war waged against the Lamb by these kings, "the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings", verse 14. It is as if the angel said, "What else would you expect? Of course the Lamb triumphs in this war waged against him! After all, he IS Lord of lords and King of kings!"
Perhaps I'm reading this into the text just a bit, but one of the astounding realities of the great cosmic war between the spiritual forces of darkness against the spiritual forces of light - is that the spiritual forces of darkness lose, they have absolutely no expectation or hope of winning this war. There may be a battle here or there where they gain an upper hand, but it is always due to the Lord's use of them to bring about the accomplishment of his agenda in one way or another. They are simply pawns used by God for his purposes.
I am reminded of Proverbs 16:4, "The Lord works out everything to its proper end— even the wicked for a day of disaster."
Another passage that observes the King of kings and Lord of lords engaged in battle against Team Cain is Revelation 19:11-16, "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. 'He will rule them with an iron scepter.' He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: King of kings and Lord of lords."
The outcome of this battle spells the end to Team Cain, "And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, 'Come, gather together for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and small.' Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh." Revelation 19:17-21.
Take heart and celebrate! We own the victory- it is ours - brought to us by Jesus Christ! As members of those who have embraced him in faith, we are on the winning team! We are of those who ride with him as he defeats the forces of darkness for all eternity!
A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
"The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers."
"Team Cain", represented by the beast and these ten kings who give their power and authority to the beast, wage war against the Lamb. The Lamb, of course, is Jesus Christ.
I love how the angel characterizes the outcome of this war waged against the Lamb by these kings, "the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings", verse 14. It is as if the angel said, "What else would you expect? Of course the Lamb triumphs in this war waged against him! After all, he IS Lord of lords and King of kings!"
Perhaps I'm reading this into the text just a bit, but one of the astounding realities of the great cosmic war between the spiritual forces of darkness against the spiritual forces of light - is that the spiritual forces of darkness lose, they have absolutely no expectation or hope of winning this war. There may be a battle here or there where they gain an upper hand, but it is always due to the Lord's use of them to bring about the accomplishment of his agenda in one way or another. They are simply pawns used by God for his purposes.
I am reminded of Proverbs 16:4, "The Lord works out everything to its proper end— even the wicked for a day of disaster."
Another passage that observes the King of kings and Lord of lords engaged in battle against Team Cain is Revelation 19:11-16, "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. 'He will rule them with an iron scepter.' He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: King of kings and Lord of lords."
The outcome of this battle spells the end to Team Cain, "And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, 'Come, gather together for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and small.' Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh." Revelation 19:17-21.
Take heart and celebrate! We own the victory- it is ours - brought to us by Jesus Christ! As members of those who have embraced him in faith, we are on the winning team! We are of those who ride with him as he defeats the forces of darkness for all eternity!
A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
No comments:
Post a Comment