Today, I am reading and commenting on Revelation 9-12.

In John’s vision, after the fifth angel blows his trumpet a great suffering is inflicted on those who do have not received God’s seal, on those who refuse to listen His commands and obey them.  Then after the sixth angel blows his trumpet yet more suffering is inflicted on mankind such that a third of the people are killed.  Even after these two events the remaining people did not repent of their idolatry and evil.  While John’s vision is about the end times, I think this message is one for all time.  Most of the time people do not see the connection between their sin and their suffering.  Instead of turning from the wicked behaviors which have led to their suffering, they often double down and engage in even more wicked behavior.  They become convinced that if they just dedicate themselves more fully to the things to which they have turned for meaning and fulfillment, things which failed to provide that in the first place, those things will give them what they desire and relieve them of their suffering.  Whether the end of the world is coming or just the end of our lives, the time we have to communicate to those we love that they need to turn to God is running out.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.