Great Hope

John reported that Jesus Christ would initiate the final conflict against Satan. At the end, God would defeat Satan and throw him into hell.

For the believers, the end will be a time of rejoicing; for the unbelievers, time to face God's judgment.

For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. -Ecclesiastes 12:14

"The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth, for the Lord will bring charges against the nations; he will bring judgment on all mankind and put the wicked to the sword," declares the Lord. -Jeremiah 25:31

For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead. -Acts 17:31

The risen Christ had called John into the presence of God so that the old man could know, and through him we could know, this fact: Behind the universe there is a Power and a person worthy of our praise and our trust. In spite of rumors to the contrary, we are not creatures abandoned on a planet spinning madly through the universe, lost in galaxies upon galaxies of gaseous flaming suns or burnt-out cinder moons. We are the children of a great and wonderful God who even now sits in power accomplishing His purposes in His creation.

At the heart of this mystery is great hope. The national powers that we see hell-bent for destruction - amassing weapons, killing, and being killed - are not the ultimate power. Nor are the individual figures who rule in our lives the ultimate powers; mothers, fathers, teachers, pastors, counselors, politicians, diplomats, bankers, police officers, social workers, wardens and jailers, probation officers, tax collectors, dictators and their soldiers, kings and presidents will all one day stand powerless before this God of John's vision.

-From Storm Warning by Billy Graham; part of The Inspirational Study Bible: New Century Version by Max Lucado

Trust fully in Christ today as your antidote to God's punishment of sin.

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