Lesson Ten • Tribulation
Devotion 2: Not Real
Pastor Ben Kirkman
As a teenager, I dreamed of having a Rolex. I am not sure why I wanted such a nice watch because I do not like wearing watches, but man, I had to have one. The problem was, I did not even have the funds to get a decent watch from Walmart. My Rolex dreams would become a reality (kind of) my freshman year of high school when we took a class trip to Washington D.C. As we were sightseeing, I found a really nice group of street vendors selling Rolexes for fifteen bucks. You know I scooped up one of those. I also managed to get a pair of Oakley sunglasses for ten dollars. I thought I had hit the jackpot! It seemed like two awesome deals in one day! By the end of the day, one of the “diamonds” on the watch had fallen off and the Oakley logo on the glasses had rubbed off completely. Obviously, I had been sold imitations of the real thing. I still have that “Rolex” in a box of items from my childhood. I enjoy taking it out and showing my kids every once in a while, and laughing with them about my foolish purchase.
As we dig into Revelation and get into the Tribulation (the bowls, trumpets, and seals), we see a scary outpouring of God’s wrath and judgments. What is crazy to me is that leading up to the devastation, we see people blindly buying into a peace that is not real, a peace that is short-lived and fake. We find people following the ploys of the Antichrist all while rejecting true peace only found in Jesus.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3, Paul says, “For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.” Because of their rejection of the real Christ, we see people blindly marching after a false peace right to their destruction. As you read through the different aspects of the coming judgment, please honestly consider this question, “Have you put your faith and trust in the only one that offers true peace?”
Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Are you following the only One that can save you from the outpouring of God’s real wrath? In 1 Thessalonians 1:10, we read, “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from wrath to come.” Do not be deceived by the false peace the world may offer. In the end, any peace that rejects Jesus is not real.