Slices
Prepare
‘Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other’ (Isaiah 45:22). Praise God for his kindness and love in calling people to him.
Bible passage
The judgment of Satan
7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth – Gog and Magog – and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
The judgment of the dead
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 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. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
Explore
Once again Revelation shows how opposition to God is global, instigated by Satan and intent on destroying God’s people (vs 8,9). But before we despair, the reference to Gog (ruler of Magog) is there to reassure us. Ezekiel prophesied that Gog’s coalition of nations ranged against God’s people would suffer numerous judgements including fire and burning sulphur (vs 9,10; Ezekiel 38:4–6,18–23).
Forget any ideas of a cosmic battle between equal forces. When we are hard-pressed, we need to remember that God’s power is unequalled. Satan is tossed like garbage into the fire and consumed completely (v 10).
Pause at verse 11. Contemplate God’s supremacy. His holiness and glory are so ‘awe-ful’ that creation runs away. Nevertheless, God calls every human to face him, with no exceptions (vs 12,13)!
One day, our judge will decide if our lives have reflected his holiness and glory. Romans 3:23–25 sums up our guilt and our hope. The Lamb’s book of life is our only hope for life in God’s new chapter (v 15; 13:8). Your name is there if you have trusted God for the gift of redemption and righteousness won by Jesus.
Respond
Reflect on the verse we started with (Isaiah 45:22). Pray for the nations, for friends, family and colleagues, to believe and trust Jesus.
Deeper Bible study
‘Create in me a pure heart … Then I will teach transgressors your ways … Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.’1
This fifth vision is one of the most debated and obscure in the book. John uses imagery from Ezekiel 38 and 39, reworking it freely. In Ezekiel, Gog rules over Magog, but here they are two nations; there, the scene of birds feasting on flesh follows the battle; here the order is reversed. The ‘camp of God’s people’ (v 9) recalls the Exodus wanderings, even though the saints have just been reigning; the mention of ‘the city he loves’ (v 9) looks ahead to the new Jerusalem of the next chapter. As someone said, ‘If you are not confused, you don’t know what is going on!’
Yet we can still learn from this text. Once more, God’s victory is instantaneous and without human effort; the ‘fire … from heaven’ (v 9) reminds us of Elijah.2 Despite the overwhelming odds – their number is ‘like the sand on the seashore’ (v 8) – there is no doubt about the outcome; God and Satan are not equal powers. The imperial systems that were Satan’s instruments (the beast and the false prophet) have been destroyed; now the power behind the throne of oppression shares their fate.
In the sixth of these seven visions, God takes his throne to enact judgement over all the world. Through the two (sets of) books (the books of the deeds and the Lamb’s book of life) there is a focus on grace amidst judgement, on the free offer of life in the midst of accountability for how we have lived. God is supreme; when the sea, and ‘death’ and ‘Hades’ (v 13), the traditional abodes of the dead, have given up their inhabitants, they too are destroyed in 'the lake of fire’ (v 14). Not just the causes, but the consequences of sin and evil are done away with.
Which am I most aware of – God’s grace to me, or the responsibility that he calls me to in living for him? How do these relate to one another?
1 Ps 51:10,13,15 2 1 Kings 18, alluded to in Rev 11:5
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year:1 Kings 18,19; 1 Corinthians 16
Pray for Scripture Union
The Go Wild holiday is happening this coming weekend. Please pray that the children will settle quickly and have fun as they make new friends and experience the adventure of following Jesus.
