December 30/31, 2014
We made it! We’ve completed our trek through the Bible in 2014! Are you ready for a “Season of Prayer?” I will be continuing this “Bible Blog” in 2015, writing weekly, rather than daily, on prayer, and what the Scriptures teach us about this great gift and privilege.
Revelation 20-22
These final three chapters tell us, as Paul Harvey used to say, “The rest of the story.” Many preachers have quipped, “I’ve read the last chapters of the Bible, and I know who wins!” But the truth of the matter is this: The Christian life isn’t about winning and losing; it’s about worshipping the Lamb.
Even after a thousand years of Christ’s reign on earth, there will be, apparently, some who refuse to worship Him, who rebel and follow the enemy into self-worship. The devil and, all who refuse to worship the King of Kings, will be dispatched. Only then can the New Jerusalem, the new place of worship, the new palace of God’s presence, descend to earth! Only then, will God’s dwelling place reside with human beings without interference. Only then will pain and suffering and tears and sadness be dismissed. Only then will Jesus reign supreme. Only then will the redeemed realize the vast uncharted expanse of God’s grace and goodness. Only then will paradise (the Garden of Eden) be regained. Only then will we all be able to eat from the Tree of Life and worship without hindrance the One who died, rose and is coming again!
Take these things to heart, O troubled souls of the earth! Jesus says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” (Revelation 22:20)
Are we ready?
See you the first week in January with a Prayer Blog!
Your brother in Christ,
Pastor Gary
Friday, January 2, 2015
December 28/29 Revelation 17-19
December 28/29, 2014
Our penultimate (next to last) reading!
Revelation 17-19
These three chapters take us from the depth of cultural depravity and its final destruction to heights of glory and the wedding supper of the Lamb!
Revelation 17 describes the woman who sits astride the beast. The woman is “Babylon the Great.” Since the days of Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon has been the Bible’s universal symbol for sinful culture. It seems that here, Babylon is code for Rome, the “mother of...abominations.” Rome does not persecute the faithful without riding on the back of ultimate evil, the beast. Ironically, the beast “hates” the prostitute who sits on him, and will turn on her (17:16).
Revelation 18 is, perhaps, the saddest chapter in the Bible. “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!” I remember reading an end-of-the-world, nuclear holocaust novel named, “Alas, Babylon,” which took its title from this chapter. Read chapter 18 with such destruction in mind, and Nevil Shute’s novel seems a distinct possibility. Everything that cries wealth and power in this world will one day be destroyed!
Revelation 19 shouts, “Hallelujah!” not just because sin and idolatry has been punished, but because the wedding of the Lamb has come and His bride (the Church!) has made herself ready! (19:7) But there are two “banquets depicted in Revelation 19; the second is the banquet of carrion enjoyed by the scavenger birds after the last battle.
On December 30, we conclude our year-long trek through Scripture!
Your fellow traveler through the New Testament,
Pastor Gary
Our penultimate (next to last) reading!
Revelation 17-19
These three chapters take us from the depth of cultural depravity and its final destruction to heights of glory and the wedding supper of the Lamb!
Revelation 17 describes the woman who sits astride the beast. The woman is “Babylon the Great.” Since the days of Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon has been the Bible’s universal symbol for sinful culture. It seems that here, Babylon is code for Rome, the “mother of...abominations.” Rome does not persecute the faithful without riding on the back of ultimate evil, the beast. Ironically, the beast “hates” the prostitute who sits on him, and will turn on her (17:16).
Revelation 18 is, perhaps, the saddest chapter in the Bible. “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!” I remember reading an end-of-the-world, nuclear holocaust novel named, “Alas, Babylon,” which took its title from this chapter. Read chapter 18 with such destruction in mind, and Nevil Shute’s novel seems a distinct possibility. Everything that cries wealth and power in this world will one day be destroyed!
Revelation 19 shouts, “Hallelujah!” not just because sin and idolatry has been punished, but because the wedding of the Lamb has come and His bride (the Church!) has made herself ready! (19:7) But there are two “banquets depicted in Revelation 19; the second is the banquet of carrion enjoyed by the scavenger birds after the last battle.
On December 30, we conclude our year-long trek through Scripture!
Your fellow traveler through the New Testament,
Pastor Gary
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