God Is Still in Control
There is a question that every believer will face at some point: Is God still in control?
Life can move in directions we never expected. Plans fall apart. Dreams are delayed. Someone breaks a promise. Someone hurts us. Circumstances seem completely out of control. In those moments, it is easy to wonder whether God is still working or whether we have somehow been forgotten.
The answer Scripture gives is clear: God is still in control.
That is one of the great messages of Revelation. The book of Revelation is not simply a collection of mysterious events about the end times. It is the revelation of Jesus Christ. From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture reveals a God who has had a plan from the beginning, a God who keeps His promises, and a God who will finish what He started.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ
Revelation begins by telling us exactly what this book is about:
“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place.” -Revelation 1:1
John received this revelation while exiled on the island of Patmos because of his testimony about Jesus. In that lonely and difficult place, Jesus appeared to him with a message for the Church. Jesus was coming again, and His people needed to hear that message.
There is even a blessing attached to receiving this word. Revelation 1 says, “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it.” -Revelation 1:3
That means there is a blessing in hearing what God has said about the future. We may not know the day or hour of Christ's return, but we can know that His return is certain.
John saw Jesus and fell at His feet as though dead. Jesus placed His right hand on him and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades.”
Jesus is alive. Jesus holds the keys. Jesus is the First and the Last.
God is still in control.
God's Plan Has Been Moving From the Beginning
The end-time events described in Revelation are part of a much larger story. God's plan of redemption did not begin in Revelation. It began in the beginning.
John 1 tells us:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
That Word is Jesus.
Jesus was there in the beginning. Through Him all things were made. He was not merely another prophet or another religious figure. He is God who came in human flesh. He maintained His divine nature while taking on humanity and entering our world.
John continues:
“In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Jesus has always been God's answer to darkness.
Before the world was created, God knew humanity would fall. Before Jesus ever walked the earth, the plan of redemption was already in place. Revelation even describes Jesus as the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.
Think about what that means. The One who created the universe knew that He would one day come into that universe and die for the people He created.
That is the revelation of Jesus.
God was not reacting to humanity's sin. He already had a plan to rescue us from it.
The Steady March of Redemption
Throughout Scripture, we see the same pattern. God's plan keeps moving forward.
God called Abram and told him to leave his country and his father's household. God promised that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Through Abraham's lineage, the Messiah would eventually come.
Then God gave Abraham a son, Isaac, when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90. Later, God told Abraham to offer Isaac.
Abraham did not understand what God was doing, but he obeyed. When Isaac was placed on the altar, God provided a ram caught in a thicket.
That moment pointed forward to Jesus. God was showing that He would provide the sacrifice.
Later, Abraham's descendants became a nation and were enslaved in Egypt. God told Moses that He was going to deliver them. He instituted Passover and instructed each household to take a lamb and place its blood over the doorposts.
When judgment came, the homes covered by the blood were passed over.
Again, we see Jesus.
Jesus is the Lamb of God whose blood provides forgiveness and freedom from judgment.
The plan keeps moving.
Israel eventually enters the Promised Land, but the people repeatedly turn away from God. Prophets are sent. God's Word is given. Warnings are issued. Yet rebellion continues, and eventually foreign armies conquer the nation and take the people captive.
Even then, God remains in control.
God's people may have been in captivity, but God's plan had not been canceled.
God Can Move Through People Who Don't Even Know Him
One of the clearest examples of God's sovereignty appears in the story of Israel's return from captivity.
The timeline of Daniel's prophecy shows Israel in captivity around 606 BC. Then, around 444 BC, God moved the heart of Artaxerxes, a pagan king.
Artaxerxes was not a Jew. He was not a godly man. Yet God used him to release the captives, send them back to their land, authorize the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple, and provide resources for the work.
That is an important reminder for us.
God can move circumstances through people who do not worship Him. He can open doors through people who are not on our side. He can direct the heart of a king.
If God has said He will do something, His ability to accomplish it does not depend on everyone around us cooperating.
God is in control.
Daniel's prophecy gave a timeline of 70 weeks, representing 490 years. The prophecy pointed toward the coming of the Messiah. The timeline brought us to the time of Jesus, with one final period still to come.
We are living in the Church age, awaiting the return of Christ.
That means we are living in a significant moment in God's timeline.
Jesus Came at the Set Time
There was a set time.
Jesus did not arrive by accident. His birth was not a coincidence. His death was not an unexpected tragedy. God's plan was moving toward a specific moment.
The same is true of the cross.
Satan did not defeat Jesus at the cross. The crucifixion was part of God's plan. Jesus willingly walked into the suffering that Isaiah had prophesied centuries earlier.
Isaiah 53 describes the Messiah as One who would be despised and rejected, acquainted with grief, and ultimately wounded for our transgressions.
“He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and by his stripes we are healed.”
Jesus knew what He would suffer.
He knew the cost.
He knew the rejection, the grief, the beating, the cross and the separation that would come. Yet He was willing to do it because He knew what His sacrifice would accomplish.
Our salvation was never something we could earn. We have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory. We cannot become good enough to save ourselves.
Jesus carried our sin.
He bore our grief.
He carried our sorrow.
He paid the price so that we could be forgiven, rescued and set free.
That is the revelation of Jesus.
Don't Go Back to What God Delivered You From
Because God's plan is one of redemption, we should never become comfortable returning to the bondage from which Christ rescued us.
Israel was delivered from Egypt only to struggle with rebellion again later. Their story gives us a warning.
It is possible for someone to experience God's freedom and then allow life to wear them down until they begin moving backward.
Don't give up.
Don't go back.
Don't allow disappointment, pain or failure to convince you that the old life is better.
God has a better plan.
Sometimes people are wounded by other people and then begin making decisions from that wound. We can allow broken relationships, rejection and disappointment to shape our identity. Then we can become angry with God over consequences that came from choices made outside His will.
God is not against you.
He hates the sin that destroys you, and He gave Himself to break sin's power over your life.
There is a difference between God's plan and our plans. When our plans fail, we may assume God has failed. Yet sometimes what failed was simply the plan we created.
From Genesis to Revelation, God's character remains consistent. He loves. He rescues. He redeems. He calls. He restores.
He has plans for His people, plans that give hope and a future.
How Should We Live While We Wait for Jesus?
The disciples asked Jesus when He would return. He told them that no one knows the day or hour except the Father.
That leaves us with another question: If we know Jesus is coming again, how should we live right now?
Jesus answered that question with the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25.
Five were wise and five were foolish. All ten had lamps. All ten were waiting for the bridegroom. But only five had brought enough oil.
The bridegroom took longer than expected. Everyone became drowsy and fell asleep. Then, at midnight, the announcement came:
“Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!”
The foolish virgins discovered that their lamps were going out. They had no oil.
The wise virgins were ready.
The oil points us toward the Holy Spirit and the importance of remaining spiritually full.
Jesus could return at any moment. We do not know when that moment will come. So the answer is not to become fearful or obsessed with predicting dates.
The answer is to stay ready.
We cannot live forever on yesterday's experience with God. A relationship that was once vibrant can become distant if we stop praying, worshiping, reading God's Word and walking in His presence.
The enemy wants to wear us down. He wants to drain our oil. He wants us to become spiritually empty and indifferent.
This is not the hour to fall asleep spiritually.
This is the hour to seek God.
We Get to Walk in His Presence
Prayer should never become merely another obligation.
We get to pray.
We get to worship.
We get to stand in God's presence.
We get to walk in His peace, His joy and His encouragement.
If the greatest thing we accomplish in a day is simply getting into the presence of God, that is still a good day.
The world may change. The economy may change. Circumstances may become difficult. We may not know what tomorrow will bring.
But if we have been at the feet of Jesus, we can face whatever comes.
This is especially important because Scripture warns that the last days will be difficult. We are living in a time of confusion, division and increasing spiritual pressure. People can become divided over race, politics, ideology and earthly alliances.
The Church must not allow those things to become more important than our commitment to Jesus Christ.
Jesus Is Coming Back as King
Revelation 19 gives us the final picture.
John sees heaven opened and a rider on a white horse. His name is Faithful and True. His eyes are like blazing fire. He wears many crowns.
The armies of heaven follow Him.
And on His robe is written:
“King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”
Jesus is not returning as a helpless victim.
He is returning as King.
The antichrist and the armies aligned with him will attempt to make war against Him, but the outcome is never in question. The beast and false prophet are captured, and the enemies of God are defeated.
No weapon can stop Him.
No government can stop Him.
No technology can stop Him.
No army can stop Him.
No demon can stop Him.
No force in creation can stop the plan of God.
Jesus will come again.
God Is Still in Control
From before creation, God was in control.
He was in control when Adam and Eve were placed in the garden.
He was in control when Abram was called.
He was in control when Israel became a nation.
He was in control when His people entered captivity.
He was in control when a pagan king released them.
He was in control when Jesus was born of a virgin.
He was in control when Jesus died on the cross.
He was in control when Jesus rose from the grave.
He was in control when the Holy Spirit was poured out.
He is in control of our lives today.
He will be in control when He calls His Church to Himself.
He will be in control when He returns to establish His victory.
And He will be in control when His plan is complete.
So when your life feels chaotic, remember this: God is still in control.
People may be out of control.
Circumstances may be out of control.
Plans may fall apart.
You may not understand what God is doing.
But He has not lost control.
The question is whether we will place our lives in His hands.
Are we staying full?
Are we walking with God?
Are we living ready?
Are we allowing Jesus to be more than an afterthought?
The message of Revelation is ultimately the message of Jesus. He is the First and the Last. He is the Living One. He holds the keys. He is faithful and true.
And the Lord Himself will come.
So stay ready. Stay full. Stay faithful.
God is for you. God is with you. And God is still in control.
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