In Revelation 13, we read about two beasts. The first beast caused people to worship the “Dragon,” who is the devil. This beast was given authority to kill the saints, the faithful who remained on the earth. Who gave the beast the authority? Ultimately, it was God. After all, He is the final authority, and nothing can happen without His permission. But just as it was when He gave Satan permission to test Job, God didn’t take away anyone’s free will to continue following Him. Job passed that test, as have many through the ages to the present day. Following Jesus doesn’t guarantee an easy life, or a long one here on earth. It does promise eternal life with Him when this life ends! A second beast appears after the first and he has a “number,” which is 666. The number is the number of “imperfection.” As we have said the number 7 is the number of God, perfection, and heaven. That makes the number 666 evil to the ultimate degree. The antichrist represents the devil and causes everyone on earth either to receive his “mark” or be destroyed. This suffering is a theme from the time of the opening of the first seal on the first scroll and continues until Jesus comes to restore all things. As already noted, some see this as cycles of suffering, and others as a restating of the same suffering. Either way, things will get incredibly bad at the end of time, before Jesus comes to establish His eternal Kingdom.
Revelation 14 records the time of the earth’s judgment, as Jesus and the 144,000 are sent out. Then three angels come to proclaim the gospel and to proclaim judgment. The gore of the “harvest” is unimaginable as we are told the blood shed from those who died was as high as a horse’s bridle and extended for miles around. While this may or may not be a literal expression of what will happen, one thing is sure: Those who reject Jesus will be judged and the result will be both physical and spiritual suffering as has never been seen on the earth.
Revelation 15 records the sending of the seven final plagues of God’s judgment. Consider the patience of God even in this final sequence of judgment: As each plague would be sent out the people who were still alive would have the opportunity to repent and receive Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Revelation 16 records the seven final plagues, and it seems each is more devastating than the one before it. After each of the plagues we are told the people who remained cursed God and would not repent. I have known folks whose suffering has caused them to curse God, and at times in my own suffering I have been angry with God. Here, though, we see God giving people the opportunity to turn to Him in their suffering, and instead they reject the salvation being offered. This reminds us how important it is to grab the grace of God in Jesus with everything we have. He wants us to know Him and to experience His presence in us through the Holy Spirit. As much as He wants that for us, He won’t force us to experience it. The response to His grace is for each of us to receive or reject.
As we return to Luke 23, we have the account of Jesus’ trial before Pilate, and then His crucifixion. In Luke’s account we read of Jesus’ offering forgiveness to those who drove the nails in His hands – which includes you and me, because we also caused Jesus’ death through our sins. We read of Jesus offering forgiveness to one of the thieves who was on a cross beside Him. The man asked Jesus to remember Him when He came into His Kingdom, and Jesus promised he would be with Him in paradise. When Jesus died, He was laid in the tomb of Joseph, and the women watched to see the location, so they could come and do the final preparation of the body for burial when the Sabbath ended. They and the whole world would be surprised at what they would find on that Sunday morning!