Monday,
June 7, 2021
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand. He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years. The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while. Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.) Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years. Revelation 20:1-6
One of the realities about the human soul is a
sense of justice. That perceptive
awareness reveals itself in art, theatre, literature, and everyday life. Watching a movie or reading a book about an
injustice done to the weak by the powerful, who among us doesn’t long for the
moment of retribution? We see the news
stories about oppression of one group by another, actions by the strong, those
in charge, to keep their power at the cost of another’s freedom. And it rankles the hairs on the back of our
necks. We long for justice, that which
sets wrongs right.
The Revelation is placed at the end of
Scripture’s story of our history and future for a reason. It is apocalyptic, displaying what’s prepared
for all of God’s creation. It is here we
see what God has in store for those faithful to Him, and those who reject His
rule. For that second class there is the
second death…an eternal sentence of rejection from the presence of God.
Biblical scholar William Barclay said of this
passage:
Every schoolboy studies his lesson, not in the light of the lamp, but in the light of the coming holiday.
The holiday – that which comes following the
season of study and training, with exams and final grades – is what illuminates
the anticipation of a child’s heart.
Frankly, as a child, I lived for the final bell at the end of the school
year. I could not wait for a summer, a
two-month lifetime of ball games, swimming in Stump Pond, and books gathering
dust in the closet. (These days ball
games and dips in a swamp give way to reading and study – and gladly!)
This Scripture passage about God’s angel binding
Satan with chains for a thousand years is an event that satisfies justice. The serpent who deceived Eve in the garden is
judged for that, and all the other enticing of God’s creatures into sin. But, it is only prologue to the everlasting
torment of final separation from God. As
if a thousand years in solitary confinement were not enough, that is like the
blink of an eye compared to eternity.
And all the judgment that the devil will experience, along with those
who reject Christ, is a second death.
God’s promise to those who choose to accept Christ’s gracious gift of
salvation is no fear; there will only be peace and joy…and the
justice of having every wrong set right, every tear wiped away, and every
sorrow turned to singing!
For You Today
If
you long for a time of complete, righteous justice, you’re longing for the
coming Kingdom. If you sometimes are a
little nervous about what that brings, hear this:
For
those who are born once, there will be a second death.
You
chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!
[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
