293rd Week, Revelation Chapters 9-13 (Click on Title for Video Introduction)

Click on Title for Video Intro

Monday, Revelation Chapter 9

Revelation 9

Verse 20a

Jeanie Boldt

Verse 20a:  The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands.

THOUGHT

As the events of the final trumpets unfold, we see God unleashing the forces of evil upon the world. These forces will plague the world with increasing intensity, but they will do so only at God’s command.

The Sound of Trumpet Five:  A star falls to earth from God Himself and has a key to open the Abyss, hell itself. This place is the demon’s place of confinement. The demons are instruments of God’s judgment with their power being limited to what God will allow. Smoke arises from the Abyss as it is opened, which darkens the sun. From the smoke, comes a plague of locusts. These locusts strike only people without God’s seal, so that they suffer but do not die. They are allowed the plague humanity for five months, a period of time suggested by the life cycle of the locust. It will be so awful that man will want to die but will be unable to do so.

The Sound of Trumpet Six: It brings the second woe. Now four angels who are in charge of a vast army are released to kill one third of humanity. God allows the demons to do their work, even to bring about death, but for His own purposes. This means that half of the world’s population is now dead. His purposes include not only judgment, but also repentance.  

I guess this is what makes the above verse stand out so much to me. After all the bad that has happened, the pain they endured and the suffering that they saw, they still remained unwilling to repent of their sins and become a believer in God our Father. The world must make a choice: life or death. Nevertheless, even in the fact of destruction, people will, of their own accord, remain attached to the very things that have brought destruction upon them.

PRAYER

Father God, help us to offer the gift of Jesus Christ to those who know You not. May we pray each and every day for our enemies and of those that take Your Name in vain and persecute You. There are neighbors, work associates, friends and even maybe some family members that do not profess that Jesus is the Christ of the Living God. Hold us accountable to pray daily for them and to ask on our knees for their blessing and their salvation. Help them to make the right decision. May you bless each of us this weekend.  Give us strength to do Your work. We love You. AMEN

Tuesday, Revelation Chapter 10

 Revelation 10

Verse 10

Jane Jones

Verse 10:   I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.

THOUGHT

One food I just loved growing up was onions. I loved putting them on my Dad’s grilled hamburgers. They just seemed to complete the sandwich. Later on, and it was not much later on, I had to quit eating onions because of the terrible stomach ache and bad side effects they caused. What tasted so good going down, was miserable for the rest of the day.

God’s Word is sweet to us as believers because it brings encouragement, but it sours our stomach because of the coming judgment we must pronounce on unbelievers. Throughout our chapters that we have read so far, we are constantly reminded of the Day of Judgment. Reading this book has been a good prompt for us about reassessing our lives and getting our sights set on being a Christian like Daniel and Paul.

PRAYER

Dear Lord, we pray that whenever we feel that sour feeling in our stomach it will be a reminder to us of the coming judgment.  We pray that we as believers will do whatever it takes to introduce Jesus to unbelievers so that the sour taste will not stay forever in their mouths. We thank You for our warm, safe homes. AMEN

Wednesday, Revelation Chapter 11

Revelation 11

Verse 18

Jane Jones

Verse 18:  The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who revere your name, both small and great---and for destroying those who destroy the earth.

THOUGHT

In the Bible, God gives rewards to His people according to what they deserve. Throughout the Old Testament, obedience often brought reward in this life, but obedience and immediate reward are not always linked. If they were, good people would always be rich, and suffering would always be a sign of sin. If we were quickly rewarded for every faithful deed, we would soon think we were pretty good. Before long, we would be doing many good deeds for purely selfish reasons. While it is true that God will reward us for our earthly deeds, our greatest reward will be eternal life in his presence.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, our desire is to imitate our Heavenly Father, and as a child of light, we will try and walk in love and wisdom. Help us to encourage others and edify them.  Father, in the name of Jesus, help us to love our enemies and be kind and do good --- doing favors so that someone derives benefit from them. Help us to lend, expecting and hoping for nothing in return. Lord, we want to thank You for imprinting Your laws upon our hearts and inscribing them on our minds.  Our desire is to be with You in eternity. AMEN.

Thursday, Revelation Chapter 12

Revelation 12

Jane Jones

THOUGHT

This was quite the chapter, and I wasn’t quite sure what the meaning behind the dragon, woman, and child was. I will be referring to my applications.

The woman represents God’s faithful people who have been waiting for the Messiah; the crown of 12 stars represents the 12 tribes of Israel. God set apart the Jews for himself, and that nation gave birth to the Messiah. The male child is Jesus born to a devout Jew named Mary. Evil King Herod immediately tried to destroy the infant Jesus. Herod’s desire to kill this new born king, who he saw as a threat to this throne, was motivated by Satan (the red dragon) who wanted to kill the world’s Savior. The heavenly pageant of Revelation 12 shows that Christ’s quiet birth in the town of Bethlehem has cosmic significance.

All along in this Chapter the applications referred back to what the Old and New Testaments referred to in various chapters. It makes it very clear to us that we were told and warned about the ‘end of earthly time’.  Don’t waver in your commitment to Christ.

PRAYER

Dear Lord, make us aware that there is no time for indecision and that we must focus and turn our lives over to You daily. May Revelation make us aware of that as we walk through this book. AMEN

Friday, Revelation Chapter 13

Revelation 13

Verse 18

Jane Jones

Verse 18:  This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number. His number is 666.

THOUGHT

Chapter 13 introduces Satan’s (the dragon’s) two evil accomplices: (1) the beast of the sea and (2) the beast out of the earth. Together, the three evil beings form an unholy trinity in direct opposition to the Holy Trinity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

When Satan tempted Jesus in the desert, he wanted Jesus to show his power by turning stones into bread, to do miracles by jumping from a high place, and to gain political power by worshiping him.  Satan’s plan was to rule the world through Jesus, but Jesus refused to do Satan’s bidding. Thus Satan turns to the fearsome beasts described in Revelation. To the beast out of the sea he gives political power. To the beast out of the earth he gives power to do miracles. Both beasts work together to capture the control of the whole world. This unholy trinity --- the dragon, the beast out of the sea, and the false prophet -- unite in a desperate attempt to overthrow God, but their efforts are doomed to failure.

The number ‘666’ is today considered a satanic number. The meaning of this number has been discussed more than that of any other part of the book of Revelation. The three sixes have been said to represent many things, including the number of man or the unholy trinity of Satan, the first beast, and the false prophet. If the number seven is considered to be the perfect number in the Bible, the Trinity would be represented as ‘777’; thus Satan’s trinity is considered to be represented by ‘666’.

I know when TJ was trying to come up with a number for his helicopter, the National Aviation Assoc. was helping him. He was thinking of three same numbers in a row. The Aviation officer chuckled when he remarked that ‘666’ was still available and would probably never ever get used. So Tom went with ‘999’.  His helicopter number is N999BH. He teases about the fact that if he crashes and ends upside down, people will figure out quickly where he is going. SMILES!! Also, Tom purchased a truck several years ago. In Iowa there are three letters and three numbers that make up the license number. His three numbers are 666. We talked about it at the time. He said this could be bad. Since then we have had one accident, and Matt has hit a deer with the truck as well. 

PRAYER

Dear Lord, today we are reminded and lift up thanks to You for the Holy Trinity, for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. You are the Alpha, the Omega, the beginning and the end. We thank You that we have hope in eternal life. May we learn to trust You with all our being and surrender our lives to You on a daily basis.  AMEN