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Thursday February 26 - Be warned!
“If anyone adds anything to the words (of this prophecy), God will add to
that person the plagues described in this scroll.” Revelation 22:18
Wow! This is strong stuff! “If anyone adds... if anyone takes away...” This means there is a high price to pay for tampering with the book of Revelation specifically, and the scriptures in general. What a solemn warning this is to preachers and teachers who use scripture inappropriately, to justify unbiblical personal, political or social theologies! There were those who sought to justify slavery, Nazism and apartheid using scripture. Today there are others who build a theology to justify material prosperity as an inheritance. We are all prone to error in interpretation and understanding, but this is not the same as wilfully using scripture to justify sin. We write off 2000 years of Christianity at our peril by saying that something that was historically wrong is now acceptable because “we live in an enlightened age.” We must ask the question, who is it that is ‘shining the light’?
This solemn warning implies that the Book of Revelation is sufficient – it needs neither addition nor subtraction. This book is the last revelation to be included in the canon of scripture. The word ‘canon’ has Greek origins, meaning ‘rule’ or ‘measuring stick’. A measuring stick is complete; it will lose its precision and value when tampered with. A metre rule remains a metre rule, no matter what anyone may say! So it is with the word of God!
Father, please forgive me for when I have misused or wilfully disobeyed your word and in so doing have led people away from the truth. Amen.
Friday February 27 - Come, Lord Jesus!
He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Revelation 22:20
This is the third time in this one chapter, the final chapter of the Bible, that Jesus declares: “Yes, I am coming soon.” Do you reckon he is trying to tell us something of the utmost importance? Jesus’ overriding desire is that we should be ready; as Christians we do not belong to this world – we are but pilgrims passing through to our eternal home. Hallelujah!
John responds without any hesitation: “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” This has parallels with the word ‘Maranatha’, found in 1 Corinthians 16:22; it carries a double meaning: “Our Lord has come” and “Our Lord, come.” The church lives in this realm – while rejoicing in the completed work of Christ, we eagerly anticipate his promised return. Christ took on human form, died, and rose again. Now we eagerly await his return, the completion of Satan’s downfall, the earth’s restoration, and for the church to be taken to the place Jesus has prepared for her.
The Book of Revelation is just that, a revelation of the things to come; a book in which God graciously parts the curtain. It closes with John longing for the return of Jesus, yearning for the rapture of the church. Will you join with me in crying, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus”? Let’s live this day, and every future day, as if it was the eve of Christ’s return!
Father God, I praise you that Christ’s redemptive work is accomplished and that one day soon he will return in glory. Maranatha! “Our Lord, come.” Amen.
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PRAYER FOR TODAY
PRAYER FOR TODAY