“And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Revelation 20:10

The apostle John penned these words after an angel of the Lord revealed the end times to him in a dream or vision. He was exiled to die on the island of Patmos “because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 1:9), but Jesus chose that moment of suffering to reveal to him the impending last chapter of humanity as we know it. In the end, Jesus trumps Satan and his demons, the dead in Christ are resurrected and the eternal celebration in heaven begins.

So, the real question is, “How does knowing that in the end Jesus triumphs over death, hell and the grave, affect the way I live for Christ today?” Or even “should it affect the way I live today?” I believe the answer is an emphatic YES!

I believe this point can best be illustrated by the following scenario. There is a man who lives in Hawaii and is an avid NFL fan. He sets his DVR to record one of his favorite football teams, the New England Patriots, as they play live in the continental states. Because Hawaii is six hours behind the east coast his DVR records the game in the wee hours of the morning. He gets up early and watches the pre-recorded game before going over to his buddies in the evening and watching it on a delayed broadcast.

Knowing that the Patriots won the football game makes it much easier to watch when they fumble the ball in the 2^nd quarter because he knows, in the end, his team wins. He doesn’t feel the pain or agony when the Patriots mess up because he knows, that when the last second ticks off the game clock, his team will come out victorious. (Not like the apprehension I experienced this weekend when my LSU Tigers defeated the Auburn Tigers in the last 4 seconds of the game!  It sure would have saved me some stress and heartache if I had known the outcome of that game in advance!)

The same concept is true for us in the game of life. Knowing that the devil loses the spiritual battle in the end, should make it much easier to walk through any suffering we experience in life. Therefore, keep your eyes focused on Christ, endure suffering for Him and be ready to celebrate His glory when the time comes. He is truly worthy of our praise! Amen!

In Christ,

Dave

Ok, yes I know the football picture in this post is not of the New England Patriots… this is a picture of me coaching a Pop Warner football team from a few years ago!

If you like sports:

Read our This is the Day and Home Run book reviews and Overcomer movie review.

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