Tag Archives: Revelation 16:1-21

December 25, 2014 Bible Study — Merry Christmas

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. Today is Christmas Day. Merry Christmas!

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Proverbs 30:29-31

    Just because someone struts about and acts as if he is powerful does not mean that he is someone to be admired. However, those who do so should be treated with caution since they can be dangerous.

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Psalm 144:1-15

    If we trust in God, He will train us to fight the battles He wishes us to fight. Let us remember to take refuge in God and only fight the battles He directs us to fight. Let us trust Him to fight any other battle which may come our way. We are such little things in this large Universe, yet God sent His Son to save us. I will praise God for all that He has done for me.

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Revelation 16:1-21

    In John’s vision the seven angels pour out the plagues upon the earth one by one and things go from bad to worse. But, instead of repenting of their sins and turning to God the people cursed God and blamed Him for their suffering. As things got worse the leaders of the people of the world joined forces to make war on God. As I read this passage it reminds me of many people today. When things go wrong, they blame God (even while claiming that they do not believe that He exists). Rather than change the behaviors which led to their problems, they blame those who point out that God warned them of those consequences. In their minds, it is God who is evil for telling them that if they continue to sin bad things will happen, things they will not like.
    Today as we celebrate Christ’s birth let us remember that God offered His Son to suffer those consequences with us and show us that if we are willing to turn from our sin, good can come out of our suffering.

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Zechariah 8:1-23

    Zechariah receives another message as a follow up to the one he gave in response to those asking if they should continue to fast and mourn in remembrance of the destruction of the Temple. Zechariah’s new message is that the fasts and mourning they had been practicing should now turn to celebrations. God was determined to bless Jerusalem. This blessing is going to happen. However, in order to experience this blessing the Jewish people need to do some things. When the people of any nation act similarly, they will receive similar blessings.
    Here is the key for any nation to experience God’s blessing. The people of that nation must speak the truth. Their courts must render true and sound judgments. They must not scheme against each other, no more seeking to gain advantage by cheating/misleading others. They must stop thinking it demonstrates cleverness to swear that a lie is the truth. I will state that I believe that a nation whose people follow these instructions will find themselves on the path to economic prosperity. Running counter to these instructions leads to an economic collapse.

December 25, 2013 Bible Study — Joyful Indeed Are Those Whose God Is the Lord

     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.

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Zechariah 8:1-23

     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.

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Revelation 16:1-21

     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.

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Psalm 144:1-15

     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.

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Proverbs 30:29-31

     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.

December 25, 2012 Bible Study–Tell the Truth and Seek Justice

     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. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

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The Wise Men

Zechariah 8:1-23

     Zechariah talks about what has happened since the people followed the prophet Haggai’s prophecy calling on them to start rebuilding the Temple. He tells them that before they started following God’s will (by working on rebuilding the Temple) the economy was in terrible shape, crime was high and everyone was in conflict with one another. But now that the people are following God’s will in the area of rebuilding the Temple the economy is improving. The prophet tells them that if they want that to continue they must tell each other the truth, they must seek justice in their courts, and they are to stop scheming against each other. If they do this, then not only will they prosper but people of other nations will strive to join with them to share in that fellowship and prosperity. The prophet tells them to love truth and peace.
     We can take a lesson from this. Why is our economy doing poorly? Because we are not being faithful to God. We cannot force others to do what is right, but we can do what is right ourselves. If we who claim to love the Lord return to doing what is right, we will prosper. This does not mean that we will become wealthy (although that might happen). It means that the Lord will provide for our needs. If we follow God’s will for our lives, others will see that we live on an even keel and are not flustered by the troubles and trials we face. They will seek to understand how this can be. We should be honest in our dealings with others. We should not seek after the accumulation of material goods, but rather seek to use our resources to help those in greater need than ourselves. We cannot fix the problems of this world by force. Actually, we cannot fix the problems of this world, only God can. All we can do is show people how God desires us to live and pray that His Spirit convicts them to change. I shall strive to live so that those around me approach me and say, “‘Please let us walk with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” I shall probably fail, but that shall remain my goal.

Four Advent Candles Lit
Four Advent Candles Lit

Revelation 16:1-21

     The writer tells us that seven angels will pour out seven bowls of God’s wrath upon the earth. Each of these bowls will be a plague upon the earth. The first plague will be painful sores on the people who worshiped the beast. It will be followed by first the oceans becoming as blood and then the sources of freshwater. The sun will become hotter, then the earth will be plunged into darkness. Then there will be warfare throughout the earth, after which all the armies of the world will gather to defy God. Finally, an mighty earthquake will come immediately followed by a hailstorm with hailstones of up to 100 pounds. Yet after each of these plagues, not only will people not repent of their sins and turn to God, instead they will curse God for the suffering they have brought on themselves. Do we not see this in the behavior of those around us? A tragedy occurs and people do not examine themselves to see what they have done that might have led to it. Instead they blame other people and God for allowing it to happen. After each tragedy, let us instead strive to look for what we can do to ease the pain and suffering of those who have experienced it and look to see what we are doing that may have contributed to this tragedy. Rather than seeking to place blame, let us strive to be more obedient servants of God going forward.

Mary & Joseph
Mary & Joseph

Psalm 144:1-15

     The Lord will be my ally and my fortress. He will shield me and defend me. Who am I, a mere mortal man, that God should care about me? Yet He does. He rescues me from troubles and delivers me from evil although I am completely undeserving. I will praise His name as long as I shall live.

King Herod
King Herod

Proverbs 30:29-31

     Today’s proverb is another one of the “three things, no four” sets in Proverbs that are really cool to read. Yet, I struggle to understand what the author is saying. Today he refers to four things that walk with confidence, that strut about. Is he telling us to follow their example? Or is he telling us that they are full of empty pride? Or is he telling us that just because someone struts about acting as the top dog it doesn’t mean they are all that powerful? Or, perhaps he is telling us that just because the last person we saw posturing was an empty windbag, that does not mean that the next one will be.