December 25, 2014
The merriest and “blessedest” of Christmases to all! Happy birthday, Jesus! And happy birthday, David Motta, as well!
Revelation 10-12
Before the seventh trumpet sounds, John is given two visions:
The first (Revelation 10) is of an angel holding a little scroll. John is told to eat the scroll, and when he does, it tastes sweet, but turns sour in his stomach. This happened to Ezekiel (chapters 2-3) as well. In both cases, God was inviting his prophets to “digest” His words, and—difficult as they were—proclaim them to God’s people!
The second (Revelation 11:1-13) is the vision of the two witnesses. These two witnesses may symbolize all testifying believers in the last days, but the plainer way to read it is that they are two powerful witnesses in the spirit of Moses and Elijah, who die for their testimony, are raised from the dead and whisked away to heaven right before their enemies’ eyes!
When the seventh trumpet blows (Revelation 11:15), we pause for another brief visit to the great worship room of heaven and a peek at the ark of God’s covenant!
Revelation 12:1—13:1 is a fantastical allegorical vision. There is a woman, clothed with the sun and about to give birth, and a dragon waiting and determined to devour the woman’s offspring, who is clearly identified as Jesus, the Messiah. The story unfolds in three sections:
The woman gives birth, and flees to God’s hiding place, while the child is whisked away before the dragon can get him. (This is as close as Revelation gets to the “Christmas” story!)
There is war in heaven between Michael and his angels, on the one hand, and the dragon and his, on the other. The result? The dragon, now clearly identified as Satan, is banished from heaven to earth, where he wreaks havoc.
On earth, the dragon now turns his attention to “the woman who had given birth to the child.” This woman is not Mary any longer; so much as she is the Church! There is now a vast struggle between the dragon and the church. Revelation 12:11 is our prescription for how to fight against the dragon while he prowls the earth: “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death!”
Your fellow traveler through the New Testament,
Pastor Gary
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