Thurs Devo: Evil Celebrated

Last week we saw how the two witnesses will be successful in God’s eyes for finishing the work God gives them to do. However, the world will hate them for it and the beast will kill them. That would be bad enough, but look what happens next.

Revelation 11:7-10    ⁷ Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. ⁸ Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city—which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where also their Lord was crucified. ⁹ For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial.¹⁰ The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.

Evil is celebrated as righteousness is detested. We see this happen today. God’s ways, His standards, and His people are hated, while all kinds of wickedness is supported, legalized, and celebrated. The Apostle Paul also warned us that this would happen.

Romans 1:28-32         ²⁸ Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.²⁹ They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; ³¹ they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.³² Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.


We shouldn’t be surprised when evil is celebrated. However, we aren’t to join in, condone, or quietly stand-by. How can we ensure we don’t also celebrate evil? We need to “retain the knowledge of God” as verse 28 says. We do that by having a growing personal relationship with our Creator. As we continue to learn and understand His attributes and character by reading and studying His entire Word, we won’t be deceived by the evil around us. As Kent talked about yesterday, we can’t do that by reading the Cliff’s Notes version of the Bible.

Alice