And if anyone’s name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
– Revelation 20:15
What a humbling, sobering, overwhelming verse to meditate on and to pray according to.
Revelation 20:15 is a sobering reminder of Judgment Day.
As we think about the day when all people without exception throughout all history, including you and me… We’ll stand before the great white throne of God and all will be judged before God. Every one of us represented in this scene. Those who’ve trusted in the Lamb of God for their lives… Who’ve trusted in Jesus to endure the just judgment due our sin as our Savior. Those who’ve not lived with him as the Lord and Savior of their lives… They will be thrown into the lake of fire.
Just picture that, a lake of fire that Revelation and the rest of Scripture make clear is eternal, is everlasting. The smoke from this lake, Revelation says, goes up forever and ever. I just want you to think, one, about your life like… Are you ready for that day? Trusting in Jesus alone, not in yourself, not in anyone or anything else? Are you trusting in Jesus alone as the Savior of your sin and the Lord of your life? If the answer to that question is not a resounding yes in your heart, I urge you today, right now… Trust in Jesus. He has lived a sinless life, died a sacrificial death on the cross for us. And he has risen from the grave. He’s conquered sin and death. God in the flesh. Jesus has made the way for you through faith in him.
Revelation 20:15 urges us to trust in Jesus for salvation.
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved from your sin. Your name will be found in this Book of Life. All those who trust in Jesus, all trust in him today, and when you do and for all who have, look around you today. Who will you interact with who has not yet trusted in Jesus?
Realize God loves that person so much that he sent Jesus to die for them, and he put them in your life so that you could share this good news with them, so that as a result of your testimony in their life, they could be spared the lake of fire on that day. Oh, God, help us to faithfully share the gospel today, knowing that our lives, our mouths are the instrument in your hands for bringing about salvation in other people’s lives and ultimately, salvation.
Prayer for the Bosantiya People
On this day in Revelation 20:15, God, we pray that you’d help us to gladly leave behind our comfort zones and boldly with compassion, share the gospel with someone today. God, we pray for people who don’t have a Christian around them to share the gospel with them as we pray specifically today for the Bosantiya people of India. 6,300 of them, Hindu people group with no known followers of Jesus among them. For the Bosantiya people, God, we pray that you would cause someone to go and share the gospel with them, that Bosantiya people in India would be spared the judgment due their sin and would experience salvation in Jesus that their names would be found in the Book of Life on that day. We pray this in Jesus’ name according to your word in Revelation 20:15. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
