Revelations 20 v 4 - 6: "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."
The greatest achievement of our existence is to be part of the first resurrection for that is our unshakable place in Heaven with God for all eternity.
It means we have not worshipped the beast, nor his image, nor received his mark in hand or forehead. The beast is made up of a body of nations seated in Brussels. Out of this body will come the Antichrist, a single world leader, who starts out as a man of peace but becomes our worst nightmare. A dictator that is worse than all the terrifying dictators rolled into one.
He will be the full manifestation of Satan on Earth. He will reign for 7 years, the last 7, ending with Armageddon. After this comes one thousand years of peace for those who followed the Lamb. The first resurrection.
We may ask why God does not just wipe out this Beast and Antichrist and False Prophet, and spare us the agony, and just skip to the thousand years of peace. Then we should also ask why it was part of God's plan for Jesus to die for us on the Cross.
The Lord said He had to separate the sheep from the goats, followers of Jesus from unbelievers. He needs the people of Earth to show whom they want to to spend eternity with. Everyone will say Heaven but what do their lives reveal?
Are we genuine in our commitment to Jesus? Or does the Beast's world hold us in its grip? How do we know the difference?
Genuine Commitment: How much time do we spend in God's presence daily? Just in fellowship and communication with Him, loving Him, listening to Him, obeying Him? From this He knows if we will enjoy being in Heaven with Him.
Beast's World: Carnal pleasures, love of money, power trips, adultery, porn, partying, drunkenness, drugs, fraud, lies, witchcraft, occult religion, all religion, under the law, blasphemy, apostate.
2 Timothy 3 v 2 - 5: "For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away."
Are we lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God? That is what God seeks in us when He separates the righteous from the sinners. The sinners belong to the Beast and will queue up to receive his mark in hand or forehead, because only those will be able to buy and sell anything.
We must rather be beheaded to stay true to Jesus than take that Mark. Countries committed to the EU are under the power of the Beast. Britain is in a great struggle to break away from this Beast, its called Brexit, and if we are not in a coma we have seen it happening. They are playing a game called Deal or No Deal. From a spiritual standpoint God favours No Deal. Rather be beheaded as a nation and receive the promises of God.
I don't think Britain has even considered that our God has found enough righteous people to spare that nation from the coming destruction, but He used those righteous ones to make the right choice for His mercy and grace to be upon them. Those who remain true to Jesus will enjoy the thousand years of peace.
God's ways are not popular in today's world of high technology, high speed, easy access to information and social media. Unfortunately, we are also subject to hackers, fake news, scammers and other kinds of misery. However 95 percent of the world's population believe that there is a God to be worshipped, many worship false gods in false religions.
It is the desire of God that we reach them and give them the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Acts 17 v 22 - 23: "Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you."
Our Father does not want to lose a single soul to Satan and has done everything He can to save us. However, He gave us a free will to choose whom we will serve, and if we choose Him then let it be all out worship, love and obedience. If we give Him the lukewarm treatment here is what happens.
Revelations 3 v 15 - 16: "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." Words of Jesus Christ.
Hot people are those who love Jesus with great fervour and passion. Cold people have never heard the gospel so there is still hope for them. Lukewarm are those who say they believe but their lives betray them as easily swayed in any direction.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, so few people want to hear absolute truth these days, it makes them feel uncomfortable, but You are saying what You have always said to make sure they find the right way to You. We long for the thousand years of peace in Your presence. We don't want to be part of the second death. We will do our utmost for Your glory. In Jesus' name. Amen.
