For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    We can take lessons from various creatures none of which are powerful. Ants store up food when it is plentiful for times when it is in short supply. The hyrax (the word translates from Greek as “shrewmouse”, which gives you some idea what sort of creature they are) is weak, but it lives where it is hard for predators to get at it. Locusts have no leaders, yet they move as a group so as to overwhelm any attempt to stop them. Lizards are easy to catch, yet they turn up everywhere. Let us follow these examples as we seek to serve the Lord.

    If you are feeling depressed, this psalm is both a good prayer and a good meditation. Call out to God for rescue from your depression and from the things which are making you depressed. Then think about the great works which God has done, but not just about the great works, think about all of the things which God has done. If you trust God and give yourself to Him, He will show you where and how to walk. He will hide you and protect you from your enemies. He will teach you to do His will, follow those teachings and, over time, you will find your depression lifting.

    Those who resist the temptation of the beast, his statue, and his number will stand before God to sing His praises. If we are among that number God will give us the tools which will allow us to beautifully praise His name before all people. This passage is at least partially figurative. As we resist the temptations to give in to persecution we bring praise to God and encourage others to serve and praise Him as well. I will praise and glorify God in such a way as to encourage others to do so as well.

    Zechariah is given the message that the gold and silver being brought from the exiles still in Babylon should be made into a crown for Jeshua, the high priest. Zechariah declared that Jeshua would rule over Jerusalem as a king and would also serve as high priest. What I find interesting is that Jesus is the Anglicized version of the Greek transliteration of Jeshua. So, it is possible to interpret this passage as a prophecy regarding Jesus. I believe that while this passage had meaning to the people of Zechariah’s day, it was also a prophecy regarding the coming of Jesus.
    There is an important message in this passage. Some of the Jews sent a message to Zechariah asking if they should continue to mourn and fast on the anniversary of the Temple’s destruction, since it had been rebuilt. Zechariah’s answer is one to which we need to place close attention. He tells them that they were not mourning and fasting for God, and their holy feasts were also for their own pleasure. What God wanted from them, and wants from us, is that we show mercy and kindness to one another. We must not oppress the powerless, the orphan, the widow, the foreigner, and the poor. Further we should not plot and scheme against one another. When I write this I keep thinking, “This is so obvious. I need to write something which shows how this is not just pablum.” Then I look at the world around me, even in parts of the Church, and realize that it may be pablum, but not enough people are listening and acting upon this pablum. All too many people think they are following God by putting on a show of righteousness, while failing to follow these instructions.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    There are some things which cause trouble. When the oppressed rise to power they become an even worse oppressor. When a fool gets lucky, he will use it to claim that he was wise. When a servant displaces his, or her, master, they become worse than the one they replaced. The common thread in all of these are people who rise to a position upon which none of their experience has bearing. Often they have no desire to truly do a good job, but even when they do, they do not know how to tell if they are doing so.

    When we reach the end of our rope and no longer know what to do we can turn to God for guidance. Ideally however we will turn to Him before we reach that point and He will show us how to reach that level of despair. God always knows the actions we should take. He will guide us on His paths so that we can serve Him. If we faithfully serve God we will never find ourselves in a desperate situation because we will know that we have followed the righteous path.

    I am unsure what is meant by the 144,000. Is it literally only 144,000? Or is that number purely symbolic? The number is clearly symbolic, but I am not sure if it is also literal. However, there is a message here that is more than symbolic. There will be a number of people who are able to keep themselves pure (or perhaps are kept pure by the Holy Spirit). They will be rewarded by becoming members of the choir described in this passage. While even the most vile of sinners will be forgiven if they repent of their sin and turn to God, there is something to be said for not needing such extreme forgiveness, for struggling to maintain one’s purity to the extent which it is humanly possible.
    On a different theme which carries through John’s vision, those who succumb to the temptation and allow themselves to receive the mark of the beast will face God’s judgment. The writer reminds us that those who choose to serve Christ will face persecution and suffering. We must never allow ourselves to be seduced into worshiping the beast or its image. The context here makes me think perhaps I should revisit my understanding of the beast because it suggests that worshiping the beast is something which happens all throughout history, not just at some time just before the end. Let us be on guard so that we do not fall to the temptation to worship the beast.

    While this passage was directed at Zerubbabel, I believe that it contains a message for everyone who strives to serve God. We will not accomplish God’s will by our strength, nor by our intelligence, nor by any other ability which we possess. While those things may serve us as we strive to do God’s will, it is only by relying on His Spirit and keeping ourselves focused on Him that we will accomplish anything of lasting value in this world.

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

    We know scientifically how these things work, but just think about them from the viewpoint of your experience. Even though I know how an eagle flies, a snake slithers, and a ship sails, I do not really understand how they work. I cannot really convert them into how I move my own body. In a similar fashion I have trouble explaining how I love my wife. Yes, sex plays a role in that love, but there is something else to it as well. My love for my wife is different from my love for others in a way that is not fully explained by our sexual relationship.

    This psalm will indeed be my prayer. It is only if God will take control of my words and guard what I say that I will be able to truly serve Him. I know that when I control what I say I will say the wrong thing at the wrong time. It is all too easy to drift into evil. I pray that God prevent me from that drift.

    It is noteworthy that the first beast will have authority for the same length of time as the two witnesses from Revelation 11. Are the two beasts in authority at the same time that the two witnesses are prophesying? Or do they come later? I am not sure what meaning to ascribe to the two beasts in this passage and I wonder about their relationship to the two witnesses from Revelation 11. The two beasts and the two witnesses are clearly meant to be seen as parallels to each other. The two witnesses are servants of God and the two beasts are in opposition to God.
    I am not sure what the meaning of most of the metaphors** in this passage. However, it is important to read this passage and to be familiar with its imagery. What do the seven heads and ten horns of the first beast mean? Is the beast a person? Or an organization? Or a government? What does the wound which appears to be fatal mean? Does it represent a leader who survives an apparently fatal injury? Or does it represent that an organization appeared to be destroyed and comes back from that destruction? Personally, I lean towards the former, but it could be the latter. What is meant by the mark of the beast? Is it some kind of tattoo? Is it some kind of technological device which is implanted in people? Or is it some kind of figurative mark that is not literally visible? My inclination is the second of the three options. Is there a relationship between this mark and the seal which was put on the foreheads of God’s people earlier in Revelation? As I said, there are a lot of questions about the meanings of the things talked about in this passage. It is important to read this passage and be familiar with the imagery which John uses here. When we see things happening which fit the imagery presented here, we need to sit up and take notice.

**Please note that I use the word “metaphors” to describe the imagery here not because I do not believe that these things will happen literally as described but because there is meaning behind the imagery. I do believe that when these things happen it will not be immediately obvious that they are the things described in this passage, even though those who are faithful to God will recognize them as wrong.

    I truly believe that this prophecy is a prophecy about the coming of Christ, but it is also a prophecy about the restoration of the nation of Israel. In it Zechariah speaks of a day when people of many nations will join themselves to the Lord and God will count them as His people as well. The prophet continues by speaking of God living among His people. I am convinced that this is a prophecy about the those who follow Christ. Further on the prophet speaks of the high priest of his day being a symbol of things to come. This is a prophecy of the coming of Christ Himself.
    Beyond that the prophet also prophesies that the day will come when the people of Jerusalem will number so many that they will live outside of the walls of the city. But they will not need the walls because God will be their protector. Look at the city of Jerusalem today. Large numbers of the people live outside of what once were the walls of Jerusalem. And none of them feel any fear because of living outside of the walls.