Articles & Resources

Alpha/Omega: Revelation 14 Family Devotional

May 23, 2021 | By Marsella Evans

I’ll never forget the experience I had this last year hiking a fourteener for the first time. The beauty of the mountains was breathtaking and seeing sixteen peaks in one place was worth the hours of effort to me. It was an incredible experience to be above some of the clouds hanging in the sky and look down, but to get there we had to wake up at four in the morning. I was so excited the night before that I barely got any sleep at all.

I had one night of no rest, and I would not want to do it again, but the experience of seeing the clouds before and underneath me on a powerful mountain gave me a striking image of the Creator God and the way Jesus coming to a mountain on the clouds would look.

The Lord will join His people on His mountain and bring His kingdom on the clouds in the end.

Until that time, He will always

  • Protect the sealed believers
  • Call us to proclaim the Gospel
  • Ask us to worship Him

He calls us to these things and sets us apart so that we might escape the pain that will come to those who refuse to listen to Him.


Read

Read Revelation 14:1-20. With younger children, read Revelation 10:12-14

ASK How does this passage cause you to picture God? What does it look like for us to stay faithful to God?


Activity

One way to ensure the family focus is on staying faithful is praying together! Make a prayer list as a family of things you want to pray for together every night, so that you can all see God work as He answers the prayers. Include prayers for family unity and faithfulness to obey God on the list.

SAY Life may be hard sometimes, but the Lord is always faithful to keep His promises, and we can look forward to His coming when we walk in faithfulness.

DISCUSS Talk as a family about the differences in the faithful people in the passage from those who took the mark of the beast and what this means.

ASK How does this passage display the holiness and justice of God?


Questions

Questions for Younger Kids

  • What does it mean that God will give us rest when we die?
  • Does God love everyone whether or not they know Him?
  • What does it mean to you that Jesus will come back with a crown?


Questions for Older Kids

  • What is it like to consider that non-believers will never experience rest?
  • How does the Lord provide this rest for us now and forever?
  • Is there anything about this passage that causes you to picture the Lord differently, or does it raise any questions for you?


Discussion Questions for Going Deeper

  • Why does the world tell us that the gospel is rude tell others?
  • Why is sticking to our beliefs and telling others about it actually loving to others?
  • Is the judgement of God something that reflects badly on the God we serve?


Pray

Dear God, help us to trust you in our freedom through Christ. Allow us to have faith in your plan to send us to eternal reward and others to eternal punishment. Help this truth to motivate us to tell others about what you have done for us. We thank you for saving us even though we fail and ask for you to help us remain faithful in hard times. Amen