Tag Archives: Christianity

Daily Bible Study

December 30, 2018 Bible Study — The Fall of Babylon

Leave a comment

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Revelation 17-19.

Next in John’s vision is a woman sitting on the seven headed beast.  He writes that the seven heads of the beast represent the seven hills from which the woman rules.  John, and his first readers, would have understood this to mean that the woman was the city of Rome.  Perhaps Rome will once more rise to world dominance, or perhaps this will prove to be figurative.  Or, perhaps this was fulfilled with the fall of Rome many centuries ago.   

 

John writes that in addition to representing the hills from which the woman rules, the heads represent those who rule over that city, as do the ten horns.  What struck me today is that he then tells us that these rulers hate the woman.  Those who rule over “Babylon” will be the ones who bring about her destruction.  This has been true of many great nations throughout history.  A careful study of the fall of Rome reveals that Rome fell more because of the actions of her rulers than because of external actors. 

John writes that he heard a voice telling God’s people to come away from this great city and to not take part in her sins.  I am convinced that this admonition is directed at those of us living today.  We must be careful not to take part in the sins of the nations in which we live.  Time and again throughout history great nations have built their wealth by oppressing others.  If we live in such a nation (and if you are reading this, to one degree or another, you do), we must strive so that we do not acquire wealth through the oppression of others.  And we must strive to use whatever wealth we do acquire to help those who are suffering.

Daily Bible Study

December 29, 2018 Bible Study — The Rise of the beasts

Leave a comment

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Revelation 13-16.

John describes a great beast which will arise and rule over the entire earth.  This beast was given power by the “dragon”, which was the devil.  As a result of this power it survived and healed from a wound which appeared to be fatal.     People from all over the world will worship the beast and the dragon which gave it power.  The beast will blaspheme against God and against heaven.  It will wage war on God’s people.  A second beast will arise and exercise the power of the first beast.  This second beast will perform miracles in the name of the first beast.  It will commission a statue of the first beast to which it will give the power of speech.   The second beast will require everyone to have a number written on their hand or on their forehead in order for them to buy or sell anything.

 

As I read all of this passage, I wondered if John’s vision referred to a specific future event, or if it was a figurative description of history from John’s time until Christ’s Second Coming.  I struggle with writing this entry because for the most part, John’s Apocalyptic visions do not speak to me.

Having written the previous, I went back to the passage one more time for something to wrap up this entry.  Whereupon I read the part where God sent the Seven Plagues upon the earth.  The terrible plagues John describes seem to me to be the natural result of the behaviors of those who worshiped the beasts.  More importantly, rather than respond to their suffering by turning to God, the victims of these plagues cursed God and dedicated themselves more fully to service to the beasts.  That speaks to me because it is behavior I see all too often.  Time and again I see people double down on the sins which have caused their misery rather than repent and turn to God.

Daily Bible Study

December 28, 2018 Bible Study — Some people will reject God, no matter what

Leave a comment

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

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

As the fifth and sixth trumpets sound, each announces a new terror upon the earth.   There is significance to John’s descriptions of the first and second terror, but what I find most telling is that John writes that those who did not die also di not turn from their evil deeds.  Watching the world around me, I see the mindset which leads to such behavior.  In the 1980s, when the AIDS crisis first reared its ugly head and little was known about how it was transmitted, people resisted the idea that people should avoid the behaviors which had been shown to turn the chance of contracting the disease from improbable to likely.  I use that as an example, yet I see people do the same thing on a smaller scale with other things as well: they are unwilling to turn from their sins to God even when the terrible consequences of their sins are obvious.<br>

Between the sixth and seventh trumpets, John recounts an episode which is clearly influenced by the writings of Ezekiel.  First John was given a scroll to eat, which was sweet in his mouth but, unlike the scroll which Ezekiel ate in his vision, sour in his stomach.  Then, also reminiscent of Ezekiel, John measured the Temple.  Neither of these similar elements are intended to mean the same thing as they did in Ezekiel, just as the four horsemen earlier in this letter did not carry the same meaning as the four horsemen in Ezekiel.  Rather they borrow symbolism from those earlier uses to give them deeper symbolic meaning than another image might convey. 

Daily Bible Study

December 27, 2018 Bible Study — A vision with symbolism galore

Leave a comment

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Revelation 4-8.

I always struggle with what to make of the vision which John describes here.  It is filled with symbolism from beginning to end, but I am unclear what many of the symbols mean.  Many people strive to interpret it as a prophecy regarding the end of the world, but today’s passage does not seem to me to be that.  Rather, it seems to be a vision concerning the state of the spiritual world as it exists today.

John starts with the description of God’s throne room. The glory and majesty of the throne and all around it are overwhelming.  I am sure there is meaningful symbolism in the emerald glow which surrounds God’s throne, but I do not know what it is.   Then we have the 24 thrones with the 24 elders sitting upon them.  I am sure that the fact that 24 is twice 12 is part of the significance of that number, with 12 being the number of the tribes of Israel and the number of the Apostles…and that may be why 24.

Then we have the presentation of the scroll.  There was no one in all of heaven and earth who was worthy to open the scroll until Jesus died and was raised from the dead.  Here once again John tells us that Jesus and God are One, yet different:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Blessing and honor and glory and power
    belong to the one sitting on the throne
    and to the Lamb forever and ever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both Jesus and God are equally deserving of glory and honor and power. In addition, John describes how the living beings and the elders worshiped the Lamb in the same manner which they worshiped the One seated on the throne.

 

Traditionally, the four horsemen are interpreted as riding forth together.  Yet, as I read it today they seem to ride forth successively.  First, the white horse rides out to win battles and gain the victory.  After that, the red horse rider rides out to bring war to all of the earth.  The third and fourth riders naturally follow after the second.  Widespread famine and hardship follows where there is war and battle.  Famine leads to disease and death.  

Which brings me to one of the messages in this passage which I do understand.  The rich and powerful believe that they are sheltered from the coming destruction.  John’s vision tells us that only those who are faithful to God will be sheltered, and even they will experience suffering.

This entry is longer than I prefer, but I need to cover this last piece of the passage.  After the seventh seal is broken, John’s vision begins to truly enter into a description of the end times.  I am unsure how much of this describes distinct events and how much of this is figurative about those days.  However, John describes how at the end of time seven trumpets will sound, one at a time.  As each trumpet sounds disaster will strike Creation.   It will be a time of great terror, but John reminded us just before he started describing this that those who put their faith in God can be sure of how it will end.

 

 

 

Daily Bible Study

December 26, 2018 Bible Study — Have we lost our enthusiasm for the Lord?

Leave a comment

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Revelation 1-3.

In the introduction to his letter to the seven Churches of Asia (Asia Minor), John gives us a description of God and Jesus which shows us that they are One.  Yet, despite being One, they are different.  God is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.  Jesus is the First and the Last, the Living One who died but is alive for eternity.  Both of them are the One who <strong>IS</strong>, who <strong>ALWAYS WAS</strong>, and who <strong>IS STILL TO COME</strong>.  I can think of no way to easily express better that for God time is no constraint.  He is present both at the beginning and at the end (not “was present” and “will be present”), and at every point in between.  Yet, He understands the passage of time.

Often times I have seen people talk or write that each of the seven Churches represent archetypes of Church, “which one is YOUR congregation?”  However, I realized today that there is only three types listed here.  There are variations between those that fall into each of these categories, but only three categories.  There are three Churches which have lost their enthusiasm: Ephesus, Sardis, and Laodicea.  There are two Churches which tolerate false teachers: Pergamum and Thyatira.  And there are two Churches which are faithful in the face of opposition:  Smyrna and Philadelphia.

I think it is worth looking at the Churches which have lost their enthusiasm in more detail.  Laodicea is neither an enthusiastic, energetic group who strive to get everyone excited, nor a solid, pragmatic group which sees it through to the end.  Sardis is living in the past.  They have a reputation for doing good things, but they are not doing them anymore.  They are just going through the motions.  Finally, Ephesus is still doing good things, but has lost the love which motivated them in the first place.  They no longer act out of love, just routine. 

Daily Bible Study

December 25, 2018 Bible Study — Three takes on loving others in the face of false teaching

Leave a comment

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

Merry Christmas!

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 John, 3 John, and Jude.

How appropriate that 2 John is part of the reading for Christmas Day, the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus.  John writes that we should have nothing to do with those who teach that Jesus never had a physical body.  The context here makes clear that he is referring to those who claim to be followers of Christ and teach that Jesus was purely a spiritual being, or that He was merely an ideal with no actual physical existence.    No matter how good and beneficial we may find the rest of their teaching we should not support their preaching in any manner.  Interestingly enough, John writes that following God’s command to love one another will lead us directly to avoiding such people.<br>

In his third letter, John writes that we should be hospitable to and support those who travel around teaching the Gospel.  The context makes it clear that John is referring to those who follow the example of Paul, traveling around and preaching the Gospel to nonbelievers.  In addition to encouraging those to whom he is writing for their faithfulness in supporting such preachers, John condemns a local Church leader who actively opposes those who travel around preaching to nonbelievers.   In his second letter, John wrote that we should have nothing to do with those who preach a false Gospel, but here in his third letter he makes clear that does not apply to those who preach true Gospel.  In many ways, it would be more elegant if these two letters were reversed.<br>

Jude writes an explicit condemnation of those who teach that God’s grace means that we can live immoral lives without concern.  He writes that such people’s only concern is their own desire.  They are not seeking to better others, but to satisfy themselves.  They tell us repeatedly how wonderful they themselves are and use flattery to convince others to go along with their teaching.  Such teachers cause division by demeaning those who question their teaching while offering flattery to those who are still trying to discern the truth of what they say.  If we wish to be faithful to Christ, we should, on the other hand, build up those whose faith we perceive as weak or wavering, encouraging them to more closely follow God’s truth.

Daily Bible Study

December 24, 2018 Bible Study — Sin is contrary to love

Leave a comment

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 John 1-5.

John tells us that he wrote this letter so that we will not sin.  However, he also tells us that if we do sin, Jesus will act as our mediator with God and plead our case with Him so that we receive God’s mercy.    Further, John reminds us that each and everyone of us has sinned, and probably will again.   He makes the important point that, even though we will probably sin in the future, those who follow God do not make a practice of sinning.   If we confess our sins to God, He will forgive us, but that does not mean that we can sin with impunity.  As we continue to sin we turn ourselves over the devil as his possessions.  It is only by seeking to live righteously by the power of the Holy Spirit that we become God’s possessions.  <br>

John wrote that the key to living righteously is to love our fellow believers.  It is not enough to say that we love them, our actions must show it.  If we have enough to live well and do not help those who do not, we do not truly love them.  I believe that John makes it clear that providing for the material needs of those unable to do so for themselves is just the starting point of showing our love for others.  John tells us that as we grow in the love which God has given us we will cease to fear.

I want to bring up one final point that John makes in this letter.  God hears us when we ask Him for things that please Him, and will grant those requests.  The more we act in love for those around us, the more our requests of God will please Him and the more we will see His power expressed in this world in answer to our prayers.

 

Daily Bible Study

December 23, 2018 Bible Study

Leave a comment

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Peter 1-3.

Peter gives us a short and easy guide for how we should live our lives in chapter 1 verses 5 to 9. I use the NIV for this because it seems slightly more concise.  Peter reiterates what James and Paul have said elsewhere; having faith is not enough.  Our faith must inspire us to action.  In particular, Peter tells us that our faith should lead us to be good.  Or, as he puts it,  we need to add goodness to our faith.   However,  over time we will realize, or, at least, we should, that seeking to do good is not enough.  We need to actually know that our actions have good results.  At that point we need to seek knowledge.  As we come to know more about God’s will, we will learn that we need to exercise self-control.  A natural consequence of self-control is perseverance.  As we persevere   our actions will become not just good, but godly.  As we exercise godliness we will come to have an affection for others.  Here the NLT provides an insight, it translates this as “brotherly affection”.  Which tells me that it is like the feelings a brother has for his siblings, slightly protective and desiring the best for them assuming that they will feel likewise, but not dependent on them doing so.  Perhaps you have seen the families where one sibling demonstrates that affection for their sibling, only to be repeatedly hurt when the other sibling fails to reciprocate?  Well, that is what we will experience from time to time.  Which leads us to actual godly love.  We no longer assume that others will return our good feelings about them and act for their benefit anyway.  

I wrote the above as if it “just happens”, that each step automatically follows the one before.  But Peter makes it clear that we must actively choose to add knowledge to goodness, self-control to knowledge, perseverance to  self-control, godliness to perseverance, brotherly affection to godliness, and love to brotherly affection.   The fact of the matte is that if we fail to take the next step we will fall back to the previous one until even our faith is lost.  I had intended to write something about what Peter says about false teachers and the Second Coming, but this is already too long.  Please read that part for yourself.

 

Daily Bible Study

December 22, 2018 Bible Study — Living Holy lives means loving those around us

Leave a comment

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Peter 1-5.

As I started this letter from Peter I was struck by the contrast with the one from James I read yesterday. James built a logical case for why we should behave as God wills. Peter, on the other hand, takes a different approach and focuses on applying God’s love in our lives. Because God has shown His love to us we should love those we encounter. That means getting rid of evil behavior: deceit, jealousy, hypocrisy, and unkind speech.

Peter goes on to tell us to respect those in authority, in fact, he tells us to respect everyone. We should show this respect even when people insult us and mistreat us for doing good. Let us live our lives so that those who accuse us of wrongdoing will be shown to be liars and frauds. IF we always do the right thing, the godly thing, there are those who will persecute us and mistreat us. We should rejoice when that happens because similar, even worse, things were done to Christ. If we continue to do what is right, even when we suffer for it, we will provide a compelling witness for the Gospel message. Peter stresses that suffering in and of itself is not a good thing. If we suffer for doing wrong, there is no redeeming feature to the suffering (except possibly that it inspires us not to do wrong again). Our joy in suffering should not lead us to do wrong in order to suffer more. It would be easy to read Peter as suggesting that we should seek suffering, but I believe he is not saying that. He is telling us to do what is right, even if that means suffering. He goes a little further than that. I am going to step a little bit out of what I am sure of here. Peter tells us that if we have two courses of action which both seem right, but one of them will lead to our suffering, we should probably choose that one.

Daily Bible Study

December 21, 2018 Bible Study — Ask God for Wisdom, then act on what he gives us

Leave a comment

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on James 1-5.

The Book of James may be my favorite book of the Bible. James makes a lot of good point and they are each logically connected to each other. He starts by telling us to rejoice in our suffering because suffering improves our endurance. or as the NIV translates it, perseverance (or as I have heard it said, “stick-with-itness”). The ability to stick with doing God’s will in the face of difficulty strengthens us and makes us better able to please Him, similar to the way that developing physical endurance makes an athlete better able to excel in his sport. James indirectly reminds us that wisdom will allow us to determine if we should take it as an opportunity to develop our endurance, or as a sign that we should change course. If we are unsure which it is, we but need to ask God for the wisdom to know and He will generously provide it.

I had not noticed before today how James makes a point, makes the next point, or two, then comes back and reinforces the first point. He writes about enduring suffering, then about asking God for wisdom, then about the poor not being inferior to the rich, then back to enduring. Next, he writes that it is not enough to listen to God’s word, we have to actually do what it says. This is a them he comes back to shortly when he writes that having faith is not enough. We must act on that faith. Believing in God does us no good if we still act selfishly. Even demons believe in God, but they are condemned because they rebel against Him.

Finally, James informs/warns us that in order to live our faith we need to control what we say. James tells us that if we can learn to control what we say, we can control all of our other actions as well. More than that, he reminds us of something Jesus said, what we say reflects who we really are. If we use foul language it is because there are foul thoughts and attitudes in our hearts. When we seek to stop using foul language because it is foul, and not just in order to present a better image, goes a long way to removing that foulness from our hearts and minds. Learning to allow the Holy Spirit to filter what we say transforms us into people who serve God in other ways. James words on this do not just apply to foul language, but to any ill-thought words we might speak.