Take Them Captive
Jeannie Yates
“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended.” Revelation 20:1-3
Can you imagine what it would be like to not have the Tempter? Can you picture the kind of freedom from temptation we, as believers, will experience without the Father of Lies whispering to our flesh? For a thousand years, we will reign with Him and our enemy will be bound. What an incredible hope we have in Jesus.
In 2020, a particular trend went viral across various social media platforms: the temptation challenge. The idea of the challenge was to set before your children a delicious treat, pizza, or toy, tell them not to eat or touch it, turn on the camera, and leave the room. If you do a search for “temptation challenge” on Google, you will find some hilarious videos of sweet, seemingly innocent children grappling with this temptation. While the purpose of this challenge is entertainment, the reality of the temptations we face every day is so very real, and sometimes the burden can seem unbearable.
So, what do we do with our temptation while we wait for that day when Satan is bound? The Apostle Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” This is something we all have in common. We all face temptation; but God has given us this promise, that He will provide what we need to escape and endure.
Perhaps we should start by heading the words of Paul again in 2 Corinthians 10:5-6, “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.” One of our greatest weapons against temptation is to change the way we think. We need to focus our thoughts on the pleasure of obedience. I love what the commentator James Hamilton, Jr. says about this passage in Revelation, “We need to have our imaginations ravished by the beauty of holiness, so that we will not be led astray by the ways that Satan perverts beauty with his unholy attractions. We need to have our thoughts about influence taken captive by the power of righteousness, so that the weakness of unrighteous schemes will have no appeal to us. We need to see the usurper thrown down and the true Lord of the world ascend the throne, so that we will live for his kingdom and not that of the imposter.”
So, let us take inventory of our thoughts today. What lies am I believing? Am I letting the “power of righteousness” rule? Is my heart focused on living for His Kingdom? What thoughts am I letting run free in disobedience? Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Jeannie Yates
“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended.” Revelation 20:1-3
Can you imagine what it would be like to not have the Tempter? Can you picture the kind of freedom from temptation we, as believers, will experience without the Father of Lies whispering to our flesh? For a thousand years, we will reign with Him and our enemy will be bound. What an incredible hope we have in Jesus.
In 2020, a particular trend went viral across various social media platforms: the temptation challenge. The idea of the challenge was to set before your children a delicious treat, pizza, or toy, tell them not to eat or touch it, turn on the camera, and leave the room. If you do a search for “temptation challenge” on Google, you will find some hilarious videos of sweet, seemingly innocent children grappling with this temptation. While the purpose of this challenge is entertainment, the reality of the temptations we face every day is so very real, and sometimes the burden can seem unbearable.
So, what do we do with our temptation while we wait for that day when Satan is bound? The Apostle Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” This is something we all have in common. We all face temptation; but God has given us this promise, that He will provide what we need to escape and endure.
Perhaps we should start by heading the words of Paul again in 2 Corinthians 10:5-6, “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.” One of our greatest weapons against temptation is to change the way we think. We need to focus our thoughts on the pleasure of obedience. I love what the commentator James Hamilton, Jr. says about this passage in Revelation, “We need to have our imaginations ravished by the beauty of holiness, so that we will not be led astray by the ways that Satan perverts beauty with his unholy attractions. We need to have our thoughts about influence taken captive by the power of righteousness, so that the weakness of unrighteous schemes will have no appeal to us. We need to see the usurper thrown down and the true Lord of the world ascend the throne, so that we will live for his kingdom and not that of the imposter.”
So, let us take inventory of our thoughts today. What lies am I believing? Am I letting the “power of righteousness” rule? Is my heart focused on living for His Kingdom? What thoughts am I letting run free in disobedience? Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Posted in Revelation
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