Open the pages of the Bible’s prophetic end time missives to discover God’s message for you.
We’re living in a time that is distinctively different than anything we’ve seen or witnessed before. The prophetic words of Jesus that describe the events surrounding His Second Coming are expeditiously coming to fulfillment. “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”1
Jesus has won!
Christ returneth!
Hallelujah!
Hallelujah!
Amen!
Over 2,000 years ago, Christ foretold what our current world would resemble, and truly His words are coming to fruition. We are inundated with the threat of war. The menacing frequency of natural disasters including earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and volcanic activity are commonplace. Terroristic attacks, school shootings, and gun violence plague us everyday. Death, disease, and destruction are rampant. Allegations of sexual assault are on the rise as countless individuals have joined the “#MeToo” Movement” in response to the abuse they’ve received at the hands of others.
And while all of the aforementioned eschatological events must come to pass, God, in the Book of Revelation, has given us assurance that we, His people, will have ultimate victory through Jesus Christ! In fact, Revelation is all about Jesus! When we read the opening words of the book, we’re told that it is the “Revelation of Jesus Christ,”2 and that God gave Revelation to Jesus; Jesus gave it to an angel; an angel gave to John; and John wrote it down and gave it to us!3
Don’t Be Alarmed.
Given its end time emphasis, Revelation is also a prophetic book. It’s our New Testament prophetic book, while Daniel is its prophetic counterpart in the Old Testament. Yet, many people are uncomfortable reading Daniel and the Revelation because either they don’t understand these books, or they get fearful when considering the lions, bears, beasts, and symbols in these books. They say, “I don’t know what all those symbols represent. Daniel and the Revelation make me scared!”
But “God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”4 And when you understand all of the symbols and animals, you will discover that the books of Daniel and the Revelation are books about God’s love revealed in Jesus, and the fact that Jesus wants to save us!5
Revelation then is not a closed or sealed book! God wants us to read it!6 In fact, the very word “Revelation,” by definition, means “to reveal.” To reveal is “to expose. To uncover! To make known. To tell!”7 Revelation reveals Jesus, but it also exposes Satan and his demonic and deceptive nature. Therefore, Satan doesn’t want us to read, hear, or keep Revelation. Hence, in Revelation, we are faced with the question of “Who will we give our loyalty and worship to – God or Satan?” One of the three angels of Revelation 14 admonishes us where to stake our claim, “Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”8
We Win!
Let’s be on the winning side! Jesus’ side! In Him, we win! He is victorious over Satan,9 and will reign forever!10 Satan is defeated and Satan is a failure! He failed in heaven against Jesus! He failed when he tried to kill Jesus in infancy! He failed when he tried to tempt Jesus in adulthood! He failed at the cross against Jesus! And He’s going to fail at the Second Coming of Jesus!
Despite the eschatological overtones of our present day, remember, Jesus has won! Christ returneth! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Amen!11
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CARLTON P. BYRD, D.MIN., is Senior Pastor of the Oakwood University Church in Huntsville, Alabama and the speaker and director for Breath of Life Television Ministries.
*All scriptural texts are taken from the King James Version unless otherwise indicated.
1 Matthew 24:6-8, NKJV
2 Revelation 1:1
3 Revelation 1:1-5
4 2 Timothy 1:7
5 Revelation 22:7, 12
6 Revelation 1:3
7 www.merriam-webster.com
8 Revelation 14:7
9 Revelation 20:10
10 Revelation 21:1-4
11 H.L. Turner, “Christ Returneth,” Hymn, 1878.
This article is part of our 2018 July / August Issue
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