Tag: books opened
Day 5–Supreme Judge Over All
Scripture reading for May 8: 2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” Revelation 20:11-14 “Then I saw a great white throne and Him Who was seated on it. From His presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. . . .” vs. 15 “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.“
Whether we are a believer in Jesus or have not chosen to follow Jesus, God’s Word declares that all will appear before the Supreme Judge, Jesus Christ. There, at the judgment seat of Christ, believers will be judged for how they used what God had provided to do the good works He had prepared for them. They will give an account of using the time allotted to them. Some will receive rewards for faithfulness and others for soul winning or stewardship of time and resources. Others will suffer loss and enter the kingdom with few, if any rewards.
The great white throne is the place of judgment for the unbelievers of the world. We note that whether considered ‘great’ or ‘small’ in the world’s eyes, all are judged equally and individually. They all receive ‘justice’ because God keeps good records. There are ‘books’ where every sin and evil deed is recorded for each person throughout their life. Every time they rejected God’s grace is recorded and noted. Another book, the book of life, is where those who have repented of sin and asked for mercy through Jesus Christ are recorded by name. If a name is recorded in the book of life, there will be no record of sins or failures in the other books. God’s grace removes sin and guilt because Jesus willing paid the price of death on the cross.
Prayer: Father God, Thank You for justice and judgment for all without partiality by our Righteous Judge, Jesus Christ. As we serve You, we humbly ask for mercy each day and empowerment by Your Spirit to do Your will and complete the works You prepare for us. Amen.
Thankful God knows our name!
Scripture reading for April 14th: 2nd Kings 25, 1st Chronicles 1-4
Key Scriptures: 1st Chronicles 1:1-4 “Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah. The sons of Noah; Shem, Ham and Japheth.”
Chronicles 1:1-4 opens with a list of names beginning with Adam and going through the sons of Noah, which began the history of the world after the flood. God uses each person’s unique name and records them in His books! Some are written down here in the Bible and referred to in other passages according to their stories. Others are written in the Book of Life as they put their faith in God’s Son, Jesus Christ! He knows each name and each name has a story known by God!
Thankful that God knows our name: Our name may or may not be recorded in the Bible, God’s holy book. But we can be sure that He records all those who are His children in the Book of Life! “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. . . .If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:12, 15)
Justice is served!
Scripture reading for December 29th: Revelation 20
“And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.” (Revelation 20:1-3) The Abyss is the jail for Satan during the millennial reign. The “jailer” is an angel with a special chain that is able to bind a spirit being!
“I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:4) The faithful and martyred saints are rewarded with resurrection and the kingdom that was promised them! They rule with Christ for a thousand years!
Satan is released for a short time and a final battle after the thousand years. Fire comes from heaven and devours those opposing Jesus! “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10) God is just and true in all His judgments!
Finally, the wicked dead are raised to life and stand before the great white throne with Jesus seated on it. Books are opened and the Book of Life is checked. Each person is judged for their deeds as recorded in God’s perfect books. None written in the Book of Life will be judged here. “Then Death and Hades were thrown into the Lake of Fire.” Revelation 20:14) The final and eternal sentence is passed on those who have died in their sins! This is a warning!
The Ancient of Days
Scripture reading for September 1st: Daniel 7-9
Daniel saw a vision where the four winds of heaven stirred up a great sea and out of it came four beasts. The first was like a lion and the second looked like a bear. The third beast was like a leopard and the fourth beast was something terrifying. It had iron teeth and ten horns on it’s head and was devouring it’s victims. (Daniel 7:4-7) These beasts correspond to the dream in Daniel 2 and represent the kingdoms that followed in history: Babylon, Persia, Greece and the Roman Empire of Jesus’ day. (Revelation 13:1-4)
Daniel saw another horn, a little horn that came up among the ten horns of the last beast. This horn had eyes like a man and a boastful mouth. (Daniel 7:8) Many commentators think that this horn is the evil ruler of the last days that will be known as Antichrist. (Revelation 13:5-7)(2nd Thessalonians 2:8-10)
In the midst of this vision of world history, Daniel saw thrones that were set in place. One took His seat whose name was the “Ancient of Days”. This Ancient One had clothing that was brilliantly white and hair that was white like wool. His throne was ablaze with fire, and a river of fire was flowing out before Him. There was a host attending Him that could not be numbered. This Ancient One was the judge in a court and there were books that were opened. (Revelation 20:11-12)
As Daniel watched, the boastful horn was still speaking. Then the beast that the horn had come from was slain and thrown into the blazing fire. The other beasts had been stripped of their authority. Then, suddenly, one like a ‘Son of Man’ came on the clouds of heaven. (Mark 13:26) He approached the Ancient of Days and was given glory, authority, and power over all nations. All worshiped Him in a kingdom that would never end! (Daniel 7:11-14)(Revelation 5:11-13)
Daniel’s visions are an amazing panorama of history from his day to the coming of Jesus Christ, the ‘Son of Man’. The prophesy of the 70 weeks detailed how long until this one would come. (Daniel 9:25-27) Daniel also got a glimpse of history from Jesus’ first coming until his second coming soon after the rise of Antichrist, the little horn. The vision ended with the Ancient of Day’s ruling in favor of the saints and destroying the beasts and the little horn! We win!
The Ancient of Days!
Scripture reading for September 3rd: Daniel 7-9
These last 6 chapters of the Book of Daniel are filled with prophetic visions and prophesies of the future that were given to Daniel at various times. Some of these prophesies have ties to King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2 as well as to the New Testament Book of Revelation and some of the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels. The vision in Daniel 7 dates back before the record of Daniel 5 where Belshazzar sees the handwriting on the wall.
Daniel saw the four winds of heaven stirring up a great sea and out of the sea came four great beasts. These beasts were like animals, great and ferocious. The first was like a lion and the second looked like a bear. The third beast was like a leopard and the fourth beast was something terrifying. It had iron teeth and ten horns on it’s head. It was devouring it’s victims and crushing them. (Daniel 7:4-7) These beasts correspond to the dream of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 2 and represent the kingdoms that followed that time, starting with Babylon, the lion, and moving to Persia, represented by the bear. The leopard was Greece and the ferocious beast was the Roman Empire of Jesus’ day. (Revelation 13:1-4)
Daniel saw another horn, a little horn that came up among the ten horns of the last beast. This horn had eyes like a man and a boastful mouth. (Daniel 7:8) Many commentators think that this horn is the evil ruler of the last days that will be known as Antichrist. (Revelation 13:5-7)(2nd Thessalonians 2:8-10)
In the midst of this vision of world history, political power and evil beasts, Daniel’s attention is taken to thrones that were set in place. One came and took His seat whose name was the “Ancient of Days”. This Ancient One had clothing that was brilliantly white and hair that was white like wool. His throne was ablaze with fire and full of wheels of fire, and a river of fire was flowing out before Him. There was a host attending Him that could not be numbered. This Ancient One was the judge in a court and there were books present that were opened. (Revelation 20:11-12)
As Daniel watched, the boastful horn was still speaking. Then the beast that the horn had come from was slain and thrown into the blazing fire. The other beasts had been stripped of their authority. Then, suddenly, before Daniel was one like a ‘Son of Man’ coming on the clouds of heaven. (Mark 13:26) He approached the Ancient of Days and was given glory, authority, and power over all nations and men. All worshiped Him in an everlasting kingdom that would never end! (Daniel 7:11-14)(Revelation 5:11-13)
Daniel’s visions are an amazing panorama of history from his day down to the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of Man. The prophesy of the 70 weeks details how long until this one would come. (Daniel 9:25-27) Daniel also got a good glimpse of history from Jesus’ first coming until his second coming soon after the rise of Antichrist, the little horn. The vision ends with the Ancient of Day’s ruling in favor of the saints and destroying the beasts and the little horn! Be encouraged today that the Ancient of Days is in charge! We win because of His victory!