Devotional - Week of the 31st of March 2025 – The thousand year reign with Christ
MONDAY
Passages: Revelation 20:1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.
Job 1:7 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”
Commentary: We all wish the devil would go away don’t we ? Well, during the thousand year reign he will ! He will be locked up in the bottomless pit and shut up there and he will not be able to deceive the nations any longer, although he will be released later on for a little while. We surely will have some respite then, but we are not in the thousand year reign yet, and for now the devil is free to roam the earth, as the Job passage makes it clear (he is NOT in hell). We must therefore be on our guard, stay firm in God's Word and be careful that we are not deceived by him for the time being.
Prayer: Lord, we pray that we always stand firm in what Your Word says and we are not duped by the devil, thank You.
TUESDAY
Passage: Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands and they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
Commentary: We are part of the first resurrection and we are therefore blessed and holy. We will be on earth with Christ and we shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with Him a thousand years. That sounds pretty good, doesn’t it ? Whether the thousand years are literal or symbolic, a thousand years is a very long time. Heaven is not our final stop, the thousand years is next and we will have it well with Christ. We will be part of the world government with Christ, we will be priests of God and we will not have the second death, which is reserved for those, who will suffer eternal punishment. The future looks bright, it looks good.
Prayer: Lord, we thank You and praise You that we shall reign with You and be priests of God here on earth for a thousand years.
WEDNESDAY
Passages: 1 Corinthians 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. 43 It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. … 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O Death, where is your sting ? O Hades, where is your victory?”
Matthew 22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.
Commentary: In the thousand year reign with Christ we will have incorruptible, powerful, glorious and immortal bodies. Our bodies will not procreate and we shall be like angels. There are a lot of attractive things in the resurrected bodies: we will not die, we will not grow old, we will not get sick and we will look good. I look forward to that !
Prayer: Lord, we thank You that we will have incorruptible, powerful, glorious and immortal bodies in the regeneration and we will have these bodies for at least a thousand years !
THURSDAY
Passages: 2 Timothy 2:12 If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.
Luke 19:16 Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned five minas.’ 19 Likewise he said to him, ‘You also be over five cities.’
Matthew 19:28 So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Commentary: Our condition in the regeneration depends on how well we do here on earth. If we endure, we shall reign with Christ (2 Timothy 2:12), this means that if we are not don’t give up and continue following our Lord and we are neither lax, nor negligent, we will be rewarded for this. The same thing in the Luke passage, the good and faithful servants will be given power over a certain number of cities. As for the Apostles, they will sit on thrones and judge the tribes of Israel, because they followed our Lord. We, who have been born again, will be with Christ in His thousand year reign, but we don’t want to have a lowly condition there, but we want instead to have promotion, blessings and power. These things are directly correlated to us enduring and following and serving our Lord. This is what we will do then, not only because there will be a reward for this, but also because this is what we are supposed to do anyway.
Prayer: Lord, we pray that we always endure, serve and follow You and we are always good and faithful servants and disciples of Yours, so that we can also receive our due reward in the regeneration, thank You.
FRIDAY
Passage: 1 Samuel 23:1 Then they told David, saying, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they are robbing the threshing floors.”2 Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.” 3 But David’s men said to him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” 4 Then David inquired of the Lord once again. And the Lord answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah. For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.” 5 And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines, struck them with a mighty blow and took away their livestock. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.6 Now it happened, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he went down with an ephod in his hand.
Commentary: Let us start with verse 6 Now it happened, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he went down with an ephod in his hand. What this means is that the priest Abiathar had an ephod with him. An ephod was an instrument of divination through which the priest was able to consult God and obtain an answer from God. So, David had this special access to God through the priest and he enquired of God whether to attack the Philistines and deliver Keilah and God said “yes” to him (always a good idea to enquire of God first in all matters !). This was, however, a dangerous undertaking and David’s men were afraid to embark on this mission (verse 3), so David consults God again and God answers him “yes” once more. Based on God’s two “yes”s, David attacks the Philistines, he defeats them and delivers Keilah. This ended up being a very profitable undertaking for David and his men, as they struck the Philistines with a mighty blow and took away their livestock, livestock which they needed for sustenance, as David and his men were on the run from king Saul (this was before David was king). The moral of the story is: when God says “yes”, we should be strong and go for it, for we will be successful in our undertaking, even if it seems and/or is dangerous.
Prayer: Lord, please show us clearly what to do when we are at a certain crossroads and once we have a “yes” from You, may we never hesitate, but charge on into victory, thank You.
SATURDAY
Passages: 2 Kings 2:9 And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?” Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.” 10 So he said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” 11 Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces. 13 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over.
James 4:2b … you have not, because you ask not.
Philippians 4:13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
Commentary: Aaaahhhh, this man had the audacity and the boldness to ask for something extreme and he got it too. Elisha was Eljah’s successor and before Elijah departs, he asks Elisha what he may do for him before he is carried away into heaven. Elisha asks for double the spirit of Elijah’s ! Now, Elijah was a great prophet and he performed many miracles and Elisha had the audacity and the boldness to ask for double of what Elijah had ? Double the power ? Wow ! And what is even more incredible is that he got it too ! Oftentimes, as the passage in the book of James states you have not, because you ask not. We all want nice things in life, but do we all have the will and the desire to really go after them and pursue them from God ? Elisha did. Before we reached this point in the passage, the prophet Elijah had told him to stay behind, as they travelled from one town to another, and Elisha kept saying to the prophet Elijah (my translation) “no way !”. He was determined to get this special blessing, nothing would deter him and through the prophet Elijah he got God’s “yes” and became a very great prophet in his own right.
Prayer: Lord, we pray that we always pursue the desires You have given us with all our might and determination and we pray we obtain them from You too, thank You.
SUNDAY
Passages: Judges 6:36 So Gideon said to God, “If You will save Israel by my hand as You have said— 37 look, I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said.” 38 And it was so. When he rose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece together, he wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more: Let me test, I pray, just once more with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on all the ground let there be dew.” 40 And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, but there was dew on all the ground.
Judges 7:1 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the well of Harod, so that the camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley. 2 And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ 3 Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’ ” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained. 4 But the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. Then it will be, that of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ the same shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise everyone who gets down on his knees to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water. 7 Then the Lord said to Gideon, “By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place.”
Commentary: Gideon had been commanded by God to attack the Midianites and he had been promised victory by Him. He embarked on this campaign and before he engaged in battle he sought twice confirmation from God that God would indeed give him the victory. Twice God confirmed to Gideon that He would give him victory (Judges 6). God then tested Gideon twice too, by reducing his army twice and leaving him with three hundred men to fight against the Midianites (Judges 7). Gideon obeyed God and with the three hundred men that he was left with he defeated the Midianites. God’s “yes” was all that Gideon needed. He had an army of thirty two thousand and he was left with three hundred men to fight against the Midianites. All credit to Gideon, for he had faith in God and believed in God and in God’s “yes” and he was consequently successful. God’s “yes”s are all that we need and they will come from what is written in His Word and from the convictions that He puts in our hearts. We will be like Gideon and act upon God’s “yes”s and consequently be successful in what we undertake and like him we will defeat mighty armies too.
Prayer: Lord, we pray that we always follow and act upon what is written in Your Word and the convictions that You give us and we pray too that we always believe in You and never doubt You, so that we have success in our endeavours and like Gideon defeat mighty armies too, thank You.