Revelation 22:8-9 (NIV) 8  I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things.

Revelation 22:12-17 (NIV) 12 “Look, I am coming soon! Today: Revelation 9

Revelation 12 (NIV) CONTEXT: This fantastic (in every sense of the word) chapter begins the second half of the book of Revelation. seven letters of the other apostles— one of James; two of Peter; three of John; one of Jude; and the Revelation Summary As the second half of Revelation begins here in chapter 12, the language & symbolism gets more the complications and details add up, it is critically important for you to keep the overall theme of Revelation

Jesus is coming soon to settle up. What will He bring for you? Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 11 Q. [God won't permit sin to go unpunished...] But isn’t God also merciful? A. God is certainly merciful, but he is also just. His justice demands that sin, committed against his supreme majesty, be punished with the supreme penalty— eternal punishment of body and soul. Summary Today's passage is from the closing passage of the Bible, and it's packed full of theology that ought to give you hope. First of all, and most importantly, Jesus announces that He is coming soon! Yes, these words were recorded two millennia ago and we're still waiting, but remember God operates in the Divine Time Zone, which is entirely different than how we experience time in our world. So you ought to be ready at any moment. Second, Jesus is returning with His settlement. Since as a believer you've been given the perfect righteousness of Jesus, you ought to look forward to this! Jesus expands on what your reward will be in v14: "you will have the right to the tree of life, and you may go through the gates" and into the Kingdom of God! But a settlement cuts both ways. Those lacking the perfect righteousness God requires will get what they have coming as well, and it can be summed up in one word: exclusion. They will not be allowed in, and in fact their fate was sealed a few chapters earlier when they were cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 19:11-15). Dig Deeper Certainly the average American has a very distorted view of God in which the Father is viewed as an grandfatherly type who forgives sins and simply wants to bestow blessings upon His children, which they deserve for all of the good deeds they have performed in their lifetimes. So when they read that at the end, Jesus will return with His reward, they eagerly anticipate this, not understanding that a positive reward will be reserved only for those individuals possessing perfect righteousness, while all others will be paid back with the eternal wrath which their sins deserve. It ought to be obvious to you that you don't have the perfect righteous God requires, and if you're not putting your full faith in Jesus Christ, this ought to trouble you greatly! Don't be one of the myriads of people who shortchange themselves by just considering Jesus as their good buddy up in the sky whom they can call on when they get in a jamb. Christ came so that you might have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10). He did this by putting your sin upon Himself, and in exchange giving you His perfect righteousness, which you so desperately need. And He's coming... Soon! Be ready for His settlement by making sure that in every aspect of life, you belong to your faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: The Alpha & Omega, the First & the Last, the Beginning & the End (v13) ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will submit every aspect of your life to Christ's Lordship, so that you can eagerly anticipate His settlement. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Acts 4

Jesus is coming to settle up. What does that mean for you? Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 63 Q. How can you say that the good we do doesn’t earn anything when God promises to reward it in this life and the next? A. This reward is not earned; it is a gift of grace. Summary It's always interesting looking at the famous last words of people throughout history. Often times people use such words to convey advice for those who continue to live. These words of Jesus that John records here could be classified as Jesus' last words, communicating key advice for how His followers ought to live as they wait for His return. We're just going to focus on v12 today as we continue looking at what it means that God promises to reward Christians for the good work we do, in addition to the saving grace that He gives to all who believe. The plain reading of the NIV’s translation could easily be misunderstood as presenting the returning, victorious Christ as some sort of a divine Santa Claus, coming back with a bag of rewards to give out for all of the good things that people have done in their lifetimes. Many people mistakenly place their hope for salvation in God by comparing the number of seemingly good deeds they have performed against their sinful deeds, and such a person might conclude after reading this passage that Christ’s words bear good news for them since, from their perspective at least, they have done more good things than bad. But this is a dangerous misunderstanding of the gospel. Your salvation is based on grace alone, through faith alone, so you must place all of your trust in Christ alone, since as we learned a few days ago, even your best efforts are tainted with sin and on their own are unacceptable to God. But as we learned yesterday, the work you for Christ's Church will not go unrecognized, and in His final words to us, Jesus promises that He will reward them! Dig Deeper When I was in seminary, I wrote a lengthy paper on how to best translate this verse. Here's where I landed: Look, I am coming soon. My settlement is with me to repay each one for what he has done. One thing that quickly becomes apparent with this translation is that Jesus has something for everyone: To those who have ignored Jesus' free offer of grace and have instead followed their own way, Jesus will settle up with them by giving them exactly what they want: an eternity devoid of grace (in which they'll face the full measure of God's unmitigated wrath for their sin); To those who trust in Christ for their righteousness, He will most certainly give to them the reward He's promised: peace with God; But to those who've not only trusted in Christ alone for their salvation, but who have also sacrificed their own wants and desires to work hard for Him in their lives, Jesus here promises to pay them with wages that will never fade away! Which of these three categories do you fall in? Be sure to heed Christ's famous last words. Trust in Him alone for salvation for sure, but also take full advantage to increase your reward by using the gifts He's given you to build up His body, the Church. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who accepts the sanctified work you do in Christ; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that when Christ returns with the settlement you deserve, you will not be ashamed of what you have done for Him. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Philippians 1

Photo: Klemen Vrankar via Unsplash Genesis 15:1–21 (NIV) SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF: Roughly 5-10 years have Euphrates— 19  the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20   Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 God first revealed some of the most incredible promises of His saving grace to Abraham.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”  21  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome Today: Revelation 8

John 21:1–23 (NIV) 21 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee.  21  When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” Summary This 21st chapter of John's gospel is often referred to as an epilogue, because it sure seemed That's the way Peter felt too as chapter 21 begins.

Isaiah 45:21-25 (NIV) 21  Declare what is to be, present it— let them take counsel together. This is the well-known decree of election and reprobation revealed in God’s Word. 

Biblia.com Ezekiel 11:17–21 (NIV) 17  “Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will gather They will be my people, and I will be their God. 21  But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their