Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Revelation 1:1-3. 

 

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place;  and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.  Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it;  for the time is near.”  Revelation 1:1-3. 

 

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Whether the time is near for the Second Coming of Christ or the time is near for our death, or both, “the time is near”.  Verse 3. 

 

It is a time for prophecy and preparation. 

 

We see Israel in Genesis 47:29:  “When the time for Israel to die drew near, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Please, if I have found favor in your sight, place now your hand under my thigh and deal with me in kindness and faithfulness.  Please do not bury me in Egypt, but when I lie down with my fathers, you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.”  And he said, “I will do as you have said.” 

 

We likewise read of Joseph in Hebrews 11:22:  “By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones.” 

 

We read of Moses in Deuteronomy 31:14:  “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, the time for you to die is near; call Joshua, and present yourselves at the tent of meeting, that I may commission him.”  So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting.”  We later read in the same chapter of the prophetic warning God gave Moses, the commission of Joshua, and the finishing of the writing of the law in the book by Moses.  In Deuteronomy Chapters 32 and 33, we read of the Song of Moses and the Blessing of Moses.  In Deuteronomy 34, we read of the obedience of Moses to go to the place where he would die and the view into the Promised Land and reaffirmation of that prophetic promise by God to Moses. 

 

We read of David in 1 Kings 2:1-4:  “As David’s time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying,  “I am going the way of all the earth.  Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man.  Keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the Law of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn, so that the Lord may carry out His promise which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons are careful of their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’” 

 

We read of Jesus in Matthew 26:18:  “And He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near;  I am to keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.”’” 

 

We read of the exhortation to all of us that we should love our neighbor and “behave properly” because the time is near.  “Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep;  for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.  The night is almost gone, and the day is near.  Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.  Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”  Romans 13:11-14. 

 

In conclusion, as we start reading the book of Revelation, let us take seriously the words that “the time is near”.  Let us not be deterred by some of the disturbing and puzzling vivid and figurative language of Revelation.  Rather, let us be encouraged and motivated by the promised blessing.  “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it;  for the time is near.”  Verse 3.  Let us also be encouraged and motivated by the saints before us who received and made good prophecies and who made preparations in faith, believing that the “time is near”.