Zechariah 9—12, Revelation 20 * Key Verse: Revelation 20:7

The signboard in front of a Littleton, Colorado, church near Columbine High School announced the sermon title for the Sunday after the tragic shootings at the school in April 1999. It asked the question, “Where Was God on Tuesday Afternoon?”

That was a question many people wanted answered. However, it was not an expression of sincere inquiry but of shifting blame. The world wants to shift the blame. Man has been doing that since Genesis 3 when Adam said, “It was the woman you gave me.” The sad irony is that people also ask, “How can a loving God send anyone to hell?” Yet that Tuesday they wished that God would have stopped the killers, even by death if necessary.

Where was God? He was—as He always has been—continuing to offer His grace and forgiveness to sinful, inherently evil man. Not willing that any should perish, God was continuing to demonstrate loving patience.

Not all agree that man is evil, yet he is Revelation 20 is often thought of as teaching about the Millennium. It does say a little about that subject, but the chapter really is about the sinfulness of man and how God takes a thousand years to prove that point.

For a thousand years God will restrain Satan while Jesus reigns on this earth. Without Satan and his deception, an ideal environment will be in place. Yet when Satan is released, man will still rise up in rebellion against God. Therefore, the problem with man is not our environment (culture) but our heart. The reality is that man’s rebellion against God runs deep.

The answer to mans deepest need is not more metal detectors but Jesus. He alone can change the sinners heart. Have you received Him as your Savior?

Woodrow Kroll & Tony beckett
www.backtothebible.in