I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

     Zechariah prophesies that there will come a day when all the nations will gather to attack Israel. They will overrun and sack Jerusalem. When the conquest is completed, God Himself will fight against those nations. He will make a path for His people to flee from their enemies, while He brings down their armies. Once this has happened, a river of life-giving water will flow out of Jerusalem to the east and another to the west. God will send a plague on the nations which fought against Israel (the effects of the plague sound a lot like the descriptions of zombies). In the end, the people who survive the plaque will worship the Lord.
     The prophecy tells us that Jerusalem will be completely destroyed by its enemies, but no sooner will they have gained the victory then God will strike them down and rescue His people. God will exhibit His power on the earth and people will turn to Him for salvation. People from all over the earth will gather to worship His name. Those who refuse to worship the Lord will suffer, not because people persecute them, but because nature itself will turn against them. On the other hand those peoples who worship the Lord will prosper. There will be peace throughout the earth as everyone turns to the Lord and is governed by His will.

     John also tells us of a time when God shall reign on this earth. Satan will be bound for a thousand years, unable to deceive the people of the earth. During that time Christ will rule over the earth. At the end of that time Satan will be released and once more he will deceive people. He will gather armies from the ends of the earth to attack God’s people. His army will be as numberless as the sand on the sea shore. It will gather to attack God’s people, but before it can strike, fire will come from heaven and consume it. Satan, the beast, and the false prophet of the beast will be thrown into a lake of fire.
     Christ will come on a white horse and the earth and sky will be no more. All people from all time will be brought before Him to be judged according to their deeds. When the judgment begins death and the grave will be cast in the lake of fire, no more to have power over anyone. Those whose names were not recorded in the Book of Life will also be cast into the lake of fire. Both John and Zechariah tell us that the day will come when those who continue to refuse God’s grace will suffer for the consequences of the sins they have refused to repent. At the same time, God will rule over the earth and reward those who have accepted His grace and allowed Him to mend their ways.

     The psalmist reminds us to praise the Lord, for if it were not for Him we would not exist. He created us and gave us life. Let everything that is praise the Lord. From the least to the greatest, we owe God praise for all of the joy we have experienced. The surest way to experience more joy is to thank and praise God for the joy you have already experienced. I will praise the Lord.

     The writer tells us to speak up for those unable to speak for themselves. Let us fight for justice for those who are unable to fight for it for themselves. The only way to be sure that we will receive justice is to fight for justice for those who cannot do so for themselves.

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

     Zechariah prophesies that the day will come when God will pour out His Spirit upon the people of Judah and Jerusalem. On that day, they will mourn for the One they have pierced, they will grieve bitterly. As a result, they will be cleansed of their sins. God will erase idol worship throughout the land and false prophets will be removed from the land. No one will claim the ability of divination any longer. Those who had previously practiced it will reject the practice and be ashamed that they had once practiced such sinfulness.
     God is going to put His people through fire in order to refine them like silver and purify them like gold. When He is done He will say, “These are my people.” They will reply, “The Lord is our God.” Will you be one of those people?

     With the fall of “Babylon” a great crowd will praise God for His greatness and salvation. They will sing about how He brought justice against those who had murdered His servants. They will sing for the joy of being invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb as He marries the bride who had prepared herself for Him. Then a rider on a white horse will ride forth to wage war against the beast and the kings who gathered with him. They had gathered to bring down the prostitute and then to make war against God Himself. The rider, whose name is Faithful and True, will be accompanied by the armies of heaven, but He will be victorious of the kings of the earth and those who had worshiped the beast without the aid of His armies. He will strike down all who had given themselves over to evil. This passage is a reminder that everyone will be held accountable for their actions. It may seem that some people are getting away with their evil behavior, but God will hold them accountable and force them to pay the price for their mistreatment of others.

     God will heal the brokenhearted and bandage their wounds. This is a reminder that we do not claim to be perfect. No, we have all been wounded, but God will bandage our wounds and offer us healing. God does not desire those who claim to be strong and able to stand up against whatever the world can throw at them. He calls us to acknowledge our pain and turn to Him for healing. Those who fear Him and put their hope in His love will experience healing. He does not take pleasure in those who rely on their own strength and/or wealth. Let us turn to Him for healing and trust in His love.

     The proverb writer warns against spending one’s strength (or, possibly, wealth) on various women. He does not come out and say it, but instead a man should find one woman who will strengthen them and help them be a better person. He goes on to say that rulers should not indulge themselves in alcohol because it may distort their judgment and cause them to deny the oppressed of their rights. Rather alcohol should be left for those who are in pain or suffering, in order to help them forget their misery.

     I want to wish everyone reading my blog today a Merry Christmas. May the Prince of Peace, whose birth we celebrate this day, bless you in the coming year and grant you the confidence and faith to serve our God with a willing, merciful heart. I pray that God may grant you healing in all of the places which the sin of this world has broken you, just as He is doing for me.
     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

     Zechariah gives a prophesy here where he states that God is going to bring His people back to Jerusalem from all over the world, from the east and from the west. He reminds them that before they started work on the Temple, before they started the work which God had given them, they had no jobs and no money. In short, when they were dedicating all of their resources to their own desires, the economy was terrible, but after they began dedicating a share of their resources to doing God’s work, the economy recovered. Zechariah continues by telling them to be strong and continue doing God’s work. They are to stop telling lies and tell each other the truth. They are to ensure that everyone receives justice in their courts. If they do these things, the day will soon come where people from every nation will wish to walk with them in service to God because of the blessings which they have received from doing so.

     John’s vision now contained seven angels who poured out seven bowls of God’s wrath upon the earth. The first bowl caused those who had accepted the mark of the beast and worshiped his statue to break out with malignant sores. This sounds to me like a plague which only effects those
who worship the beast. I think this is representative of the diseases which those who fully embrace immoral practices experience. The second and third bowls caused the bodies of water over the entire earth to become foul and undrinkable. The fourth bowl caused the Sun to become hotter, causing the earth to be scorched. The fifth bowl caused darkness to fall on the lands which worshiped the beast. Despite all of the suffering caused by their evil actions, the people who worshiped the beast not only refused to turn from their evil, they cursed God for allowing them to suffer the consequences of their actions.
     The sixth bowl caused the Euphrates River to dry up, allowing the kings of the East to march their armies west without hindrance. At this point, three evil spirits emerged and gathered the armies of all of the rulers of the earth at Armageddon in order to do battle against God. Finally, when the seventh bowl is emptied there will be thunder and lightning, a great earthquake, and a hailstorm. The earthquake will destroy many cities, cause islands to disappear, and level the mountains. Hail stones the size of a large dog will fall from the sky. Once again, rather than repent of their sins, people will curse God for the consequences of their actions.
     I am not sure what all to make of this passage, except that those who wallow in sinful behavior will always blame others for the suffering which they experience as a consequence of their sin. If no person can be blamed, they will blame God for allowing them to suffer harm as a result of their actions. I will strive to always turn to God and repent my sins when those sins lead me to suffer.

     What a psalm of joy for this day. God will be our refuge and our deliverer. My thoughts echo those of the psalmist. Who am I that God should notice me? Let alone send His son, whose birth we celebrate today, to suffer and die for my deliverance? Yet, He did so. He reached down from heaven and rescued me from despair. I will sing praises to God, both today and every day.

     The writer tells us today that not everyone who struts about is as dangerous as they think. The lion and the king leading an army are examples of proud and dangerous creatures, but the rooster is just as proud and not nearly as dangerous (the male goat is somewhere in between). I am not sure if this is a note to tell us that if we walk proudly, most will leave us alone, or an instruction that not everyone who acts like they are powerful is as dangerous as they pretend.

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

     A delegation went to Zechariah and asked him if they should continue to mourn and fast on the anniversary of the destruction of the Temple, now that the Temple had been rebuilt. Zechariah responded by asking them if they had truly been fasting for God. He then told them that when they had holy festivals, they ate and drank to please themselves rather than to glorify God. He tells them that he has the same message that the prophets gave their ancestors, a message to which their ancestors had refused to listen.
     Zechariah tells them that rather than worry about feast days and fast days God wants them to judge fairly and show mercy and kindness to one another. God desires that they not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, or the poor. In addition, God commands that they not scheme against one another. This was the message to which their ancestors did not listen and as a result God sent them into exile. By their sins they had turned their pleasant land into a desert. This is an important message for any nation or people. If you oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and/or the poor and scheme against one another, you will turn a pleasant land into a desolate desert.

     As John’s vision reaches its climax, he saw a host of people gathered before God’s throne. They were the people who had been victorious over the beast by refusing to worship it or bear its number. They had remained faithful to God and now stood before Him to sing His praises. Now as His judgment was about to be poured out on the earth for the wicked ways of its people, they declared that God’s ways are just and true and all peoples and nations would learn to fear Him. All nations will praise and worship God in that day.

     I am not going to say that this is the complete answer, but this psalm outlines the place to start if you are suffering from depression. The psalmist appears to have been suffering from depression, but nevertheless he cried out to God. He was losing hope and paralyzed by fear, yet he remembered God’s great works and meditated on them. He turned to God and begged for an answer. He turned to God and chose to do God’s will. The psalmist rededicated himself to serving God and expressed his confidence that God would rescue from his distress because he believed in God’s unfailing love. I will not tell you that you may not need more treatment than this if you are suffering from depression, but I will tell you that this is the place to start. If depression is overwhelming you, cry out to God and ask His Spirit to show you what to do. Meditate on His word, seek to do His will, and His Spirit will show you the way out.

     The proverb writer tells us of small creatures which give us examples to follow. Ants are small and not particularly strong, but they work industriously preparing for times of hardship. Rock badgers are not powerful so they make their home among the rocks so that other creatures cannot get at them. Locusts have no hierarchy, yet they advance in ranks like an army. Lizards can be caught by hand, but they are everywhere. Let us be industrious, choose places of safety to live, work with others in an orderly fashion, and go wherever God sends us despite the danger.

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

     Zechariah has another vision in which an angel gives him a message from God concerning Zerubbabel’s task of rebuilding the Temple. However, this message is for everyone whom God has called to a task (which is everyone). No matter how simple or how daunting that task is, let us remember God’s word concerning the tasks He has given us: “It is not by force nor by strength, but by My Spirit says the Lord.” We will not accomplish any task God has set us by force, nor by our strength. We will only accomplish the tasks which God has set us by relying on His Spirit.
     Zechariah’s vision next included an image of a basket containing the sins of everyone throughout the land. Those sins were represented by a woman named “Wickedness”. The basket containing Wickedness was carried to Babylon, where a temple will be built for it to be worshiped. The implication here is that there are lands and peoples who build temples and worship wickedness in the same way in which the people of God worship God and His righteousness. Are we building a temple to wickedness today? Or is it already built? Let us not worship at the temple of wickedness.

     John recounts how the Lamb (Christ) will gather the 144,000 (a symbolic number), who had His name and the name of the Father on their foreheads, and present them as a first fruits offering before God’s throne. Following this, three angels will fly over the earth proclaiming God’s messages. The first will proclaim the Good News over all of the earth. People of every nation, tribe, language, and people will hear the Gospel message and have the opportunity to turn to God and worship Him. The second angel will announce the message that “Babylon” has fallen. In this case, Babylon represents those dominant cities and nations which encourage the people of the world to embrace immorality. Actually, it goes beyond merely encouraging to using force to get people to accept immorality. Finally a third angel will pass over the earth announcing that those who have accepted the mark of the beast will suffer God’s judgment.
     A voice then tells John that those who die in the Lord are blessed, they will rest from their hard work and their good deeds will follow them. Our reading today ends with two angels harvesting the earth. The first harvests the grain to be gathered into heaven’s storehouses, the second harvests the grapes which are ripe for judgment to be crushed in the wine press of God’s wrath. The grain represents those who have served God in this life. The grapes represent those who have sought out the pleasures of wickedness rather than serving God.

     I will pour out my troubles to the Lord. When I am overwhelmed He knows the path I should turn and will guide me to it. Even if no one cares what happens to me, God will help me. He will rescue me from my persecutors. The wonderful thing is that even if I fell alone and uncared for, if I turn to God and listen to Him, I will realize that the godly have crowded around me seeking to help me in any way that they can.

     The writer tells us four things which cause problems. When a servant becomes king or displaces her mistress(this is two of the four). When a fool becomes wealthy. When a bitter woman gets married. Sometimes people are upset by this because people are unfair and think that those who receive this good fortune do not deserve it. However, more commonly the problem is because when these types of people receive this good fortune, they do not know how to carry out the responsibility that comes with their new station and cause great misery for everyone around them.

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

     As Zechariah’s vision continued he saw a man on his way to measure Jerusalem. Zechariah was told that someday Jerusalem would be so full of people and livestock that people would live outside of the walls. In that day, God Himself would be a wall around the city protecting it from attack. God was going to come and live among His people and many people would come to join themselves to the Lord. That day has come to pass. We are now living in a day when God lives among His people and any who are willing to come to Him may join themselves to the people of God. God has sent His Branch to take away our sins so that we may invite our neighbors to sit peacefully with us in service to God.

     John’s vision continued. He saw a great beast rise up out of the sea. The dragon, which is the devil, gave the beast its power and authority. This beast appeared to have a fatal wound, yet the wound healed. As a result of the wound and its healing, the whole world marveled and gave their allegiance to the beast. The people of the world worshiped the beast and the dragon, convinced that no one could stand against the beast. The beast spoke blasphemies against God, slandering God, His dwelling, and those who dwell in heaven. The beast was given authority to rule over every possible group of people on the earth. He made war against God’s holy people. The people of the world worshiped the beast, that is, everyone whose name is not written in the Book of Life. God’s people endured persecution patiently without losing faith.
     Then John saw a second beast come up out of the earth. He exercised all of the authority of the first beast and required all of the earth and its people to worship the first beast. He performed many miracles in the name of the first beast and deceived all of the people who belonged to this world. He ordered a statue of the first beast built and he gave the statue the semblance of life so that it could speak. The statue commanded that everyone who would not worship it must die. Then the second beast required everyone to receive a mark on their hand or on their forehead. Without such a mark, no one could buy or sell anything. The mark was either the name of the beast, or the number representing its name. John then tells us that the number of the beast is the number of man, that it is 6 repeated three times. Everything I have seen says that the number six represented imperfection, while the number three represents holiness. This leads me to conclude that John was saying that the number of the beast represented worshiping imperfection.
     I am not sure what all of the symbolism in this passage means. However, there are a few things which I do understand. There will rise up those whom the world will worship in place of God. These leaders will persecute those who continue to worship God rather than these “beasts”. Despite the obvious imperfections and failures of these rulers, the people of this world will consider them to be worthy of worship. At some point, these “beasts” will exert authority over all forms of economic activity and will deny those who do not worship them access to any form of economic activity, even to the buying and selling of food.

     This psalm is definitely one to make my prayer today. I ask God that He take control of what I say so that all the words out of my mouth will bring honor to His name. I pray that He not allow me to drift towards wickedness, becoming enamored of the things which the wicked consider sweet. I will not complain when the godly rebuke me, because they do so out of love, desiring to turn me from the path of destruction. I will not refuse such correction. I will call on God to thwart the plans of the wicked.

     The writer of this proverb tells us that he is amazed by three things and a fourth that he does not truly understand. He is amazed by and does not understand an eagle in the sky, a snake moving across rocks, a ship moving through the ocean, and a man with a woman. I know how these things work and I have experienced being with a woman (my wife), yet I do not truly understand why they feel the way they do.
     Then the writer makes a comment which often takes us by surprise. I was raised to think of adulterous men as the ones who sought out sexual relations with no meaning, leaving the women they so treated hurt and broken. The proverb writer reminds us that adulterous women do the same thing to men. Neither gender is immune to the hurt and suffering that results from sexual relations with one who takes part in the activity and then moves on.