Daily Discovery 29th September 2020 Devotional Today Message
TOPIC: NO HAPPY ENDING FOR SIN
Opening Prayer: Cleanse my heart today as I seek You, Lord.
Read Revelation 14:14–20
Harvesting the Earth and Trampling the Winepress
14 I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man[a] with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” 16 So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” 19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. 20 They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.[b]
Footnotes
a Revelation 14:14 See Daniel 7:13.
b Revelation 14:20 That is, about 180 miles or about 300 kilometers
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect: Daily Discovery 29th September 2020 Devotional
Reflect quietly on the wonder of all that God has done for you through Jesus. You will not face condemnation (Rom. 8:1).
On the cross, God proclaimed both a “Yes” and a “No.” Precisely because sin was being judged by God and taken away by the Lamb, the floodgates of God’s mercy and grace are opened to sinners. The cross is both good news and dire warning.
The good news about the God who saves forever goes hand in hand with the dire warning of wrath—not wildly volatile anger, but right and proper judgment on evil.
The picture is appropriately awful. Swinging the sickle, trampling the grapes. Two movements of the same final event. Growth cut down. Blood flowing from the winepress, enough to cover the whole land. There’s nothing nice about judgment. There’s nothing nice about sin. We can wince and turn away. We can feel embarrassed and try to render it innocuous. But if we find what sin is and does unacceptable and find ourselves angered by what we watch on our news channels, how much more does the utterly holy God? The passage describes the awful end of awful rebellion—not an awful God.
Apply: Have you tried to bring retribution to those who have harmed you? Judgment belongs to God. Give to God your “right” to anger and justice. Trust him to work it out and see how you can offer mercy.
Closing Prayer: My God, I know that in the end, You will show justice. Thank You for showing mercy through Jesus. May I extend his mercy to others.
Through the Bible in One Year
Isaiah 57,58 / Hebrews 10
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Daily Discovery 29th September 2020 Today Devotional
