Background Scripture:  Revelation 16
Focus Passage:  The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?  Jeremiah 17:9 NIV

Don't ever say it or even think it!  You wouldn't be so foolish as to say, "I want what I deserve!" would you?  Be very, very careful what you wish for because you might just get it.  God's judgment and righteousness, although postponed in His grace, is certainly not mocked; ever.  Without the saturating, efficacious effects of the blood of Christ, we all deserve hell.  With that sobering thought in mind, I have been laboring all week to think of a way to "pretty-up" Revelation 16 - the seven bowl judgments.  I must now confess to you that I have failed in that endeavor.

Bible commentator Lehman Strauss probably said it best.  After his exegesis of our background scripture today, he simply said, "If a man rejects the kindness and love of God, then what makes us think that the judgment of God will change his heart either?"  While this defiant, fist-in-the-air attitude toward a holy and omnipotent God is inexplicable, that, my friends, is what is going on here in this chapter.  The judgments poured out upon the world at this dark time in human history, while reminiscent of Pharaoh's Egypt, are really also a preview of hell itself.  In a bit, we will take a closer look at two of those judgments.

God's judgment on those who reject His love as expressed through His Son will seek out the disbeliever's heart like a laser-guided missile and will not miss its mark.  It's sort of like the Yankton, South Dakota woman who accompanied her stepson to his Boy Scout meeting.  The special guest at that meeting was a local narcotics officer and his drug-sniffing German shepherd dog.  While the woman watched from the back of the room, the dog made a beeline to her purse and began whining.  The meeting ended prematurely that night with the arrest of the woman whose purse, you guessed it, contained a bag of marijuana.

To set the stage for our glimpse into the future today, let's remind ourselves where we are in the unfolding of these events. 

• The Church, having been raptured, is in heaven with the Lord.
• The 144,000 Jewish evangelists and many of their converts have been martyred by this time and are also in heaven singing a song before the throne.
• The Antichrist has risen to power and is in now complete control of the world's economy, government, and religious practices.
• The seven-year period of history known as the Tribulation is more than half over.
• Most (but not all) believers who have refused to take the mark of the beast and bow down to him have been killed.
• The seven angels who are specially chosen by God, are summoned to pour out His bowls of wrath on an unrepentant and unbelieving world.
• God has already revealed His power and His authority to judge the wicked in various ways but it appears that, by this time, all have made up their mind which path they will choose.  This is the beginning of the end.

Now, let's take a brief glance at the fourth and fifth bowl judgement:

While I find myself skeptical of Al Gore's dire warning that I will cause the end of the world simply by exhaling or that cow flatulence will melt the polar ice caps, the Bible does reveal a time when God himself will cause global warming.  We see it here in the 8th and 9th verses of Revelation 16.  After the 2nd and 3rd bowls of wrath, people will be desperate for new sources of fresh water.  They will come from unexpected sources.  The earth will be scorched with heat melting all glacial ice around the globe.  One scientist has stated that there are enough ice reservoirs around the earth to raise the ocean levels 200 feet.  There goes New York, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Sydney, etc.  Combine that with the heat and the stench from bowls 2 & 3 and we have an unbelievably foul atmosphere in which to live.  Yet, in verse 9 we read that those scorched blaspheme God and refuse to repent.

If you, like me, are old enough to remember the early days of Monday night football, you might remember that when the outcome of the game seemed assured, announcer Don Meredith would begin to sing (badly), "Turn out the lights, the party's over."  Here in the latter stages of the Tribulation, the party is definitely over and the outcome is assured.  God turns out the lights.  If you have ever been in complete darkness (such as in a cave), you know that it is overwhelming and pervasive, almost painful.  It is as if God is saying to the unbelieving world, "You want darkness?  Here is is."  It is reminiscent of the final three hours of the cross and the Apostle John's explanation that "men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil." (John 3:19)

All of this is a preview of hell.  The scorching heat, the weeping and gnashing of teeth, the outer darkness...but we don't like to talk of these unpleasant things, do we?  Someone may ask, "Why does Dan speak of these things as though they could happen in our lifetime.?"  My answer:  "Because they could."  All the more reason to pray that God will use His Holy Spirit to melt the hearts of the hardened...while it is still day.

Keep and Defend the Faith,

Dan

As if that wasn't enough

Background Scripture:  Revelation 14
Focus Passage:  "It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, ⁵ and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless." Revelation 14: 4b,5 ESV

In case you hadn't heard this before, it can now be revealed that life is not fair (I'll just let that sink in for a moment).  However, rather than letting this factoid to spoil your whole day, take heart!  It has also been revealed in God's word that He (God) is always fair, always just, always faithful, and "rewards those who earnestly seek Him."(Heb. 11:6).  That is why we can always rest assured that, in spite of the vicissitudes of life, God will set things right -- guaranteed!  If this were made into a TV commercial, it might be "God is like Allstate:  You're in good hands with Him."  Or, it might be like, "God is like Ford:  He has a better idea."

When we first met the 144,000 Jewish evangelists in chapter 7, they were on earth preaching and teaching; evangelizing in a great soul harvest in the midst of the worst time in human history.  Here in chapter 14, they are in heaven before the very throne of God, the four living creatures, the 24 elders, and they are singing a new song given only to them. What a blessing!  But, when they were still on earth, they were treated shabbily, very shabbily indeed.  In fact, they were murdered by the Antichrist for their refusal to worship him and for "following the Lamb wherever He goes."

So, how are we to respond to the unfairness and consequent discouragement of following the Lamb in this life?  Allow me to answer that question by relating the true story of Irena Sendler.  "Irena who?" you ask.  To tell you the truth, I was not familiar with that name either until around 2007.  Later you will discover how I came across her name and her incredible accomplishments.

Irena Sendler was a Polish health worker who found herself working for Hitler after the German invasion of Poland in 1939.  As a part of her duties, she dealt with tuberculosis patients in Warsaw and had the freedom to come and go as she needed.  She utilized that freedom to enter the Warsaw ghetto where she surreptitiouslybegged Jewish parents to allow her to smuggle their children out of the area and hide them from the Nazis.  Children were smuggled out of the ghetto in coffins, tool boxes, burlap sacks, and ambulances.  She even trained a dog to bark repeatedly at uniformed guards so that they couldn't hear the sounds of children crying.

All of the children she successfully smuggled out of Warsaw(over 2,500 of them!) were given new names and identities and she buried their original identity documents under an apple tree in her backyard so that the children could be reunited with their parents (if they survived) after the war.  Irena Sendler was caught doing this and was imprisoned by the Gestapo, tortured, brutally beaten, and set to be executed.  However, when one of her friends bribed a guard she was able to escape and remain in hiding until after the war.

To make a long story shorter, in her elderly years she was cared for by a woman who had been smuggled out of the Warsaw ghetto by Irena; a baby girl of only five months old at the time.  Irena had smuggled her out in a toolbox.  In 2007 Irena was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 97.  And (drum roll please)..........................................the award went to... Al Gore and his movie about global warming. 

Weep not for Irena Sendler!  For you see, Irena was a woman of faith and she did all of these things not just for humanitarian reasons but primarily for the glory of God.  Irena is standing before the Throne of God now, thanking and praising Him for saving her and allowing her to serve Him in this incredible fashion.  The perpetrators of the repression in the Warsaw ghetto, save repentance, are elsewhere.  Irena was created for "such a time as that" and she stepped forth in faith to save over two-thousand Jewish people.  Unfortunately, the Nobel Prize committee failed to grasp this truth.

Faithfulness in this life, in spite of what the world would consider success or recognition, is never lost on God.  He does reward those who earnestly seek and serve Him and, unlike the Nobel Peace Prize, God's rewards are eternal.

Keep and Defend the Faith,
Dan

Author's Note:  To put Irena Sendler's accomplishments into some perspective, Oskar Schindler, made famous by Steven Spielberg in his movie Schindler's List, is credited with saving 1,100 Jews during the Holocaust.

Background Scripture:  John 1: 1-14
Focus Passage:  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.  Ephesians 1:3

In as much as itis Christmas and with the suspicion that you aren't in the mood to read about the blasphemous beast that ascends out of the pit (Rev. 13), I thought I would take this opportunity to tell you how much I appreciate you all and that I missed our weekly discussion this morning.

It is a special day and more than anything else, it reminds us of the ardent truth that God's love was never more evident than when He sent the Son to this dark world to become our Savior, our sacrifice, our Lord, and our friend.  God's love was never more manifest than when the Son humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross (Phil. 2: 5-8).  So, with that in mind, I thought that it would appropriate to create a (very) partial list of the blessings we have in Christ Jesus.

• We have the fellowship, love and prayers of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
• We have God's Word and we do not have to risk our lives to get hold of a copy.
• We have a Bible teaching, believing church where people actually live out their faith on a daily basis rather than compartmentalizing it to Sundays.
• We have a faithful pastor and wife who not only planted Journey Church but who continue to serve us here with love and sincerity.
• We have a Sunday School class full of people that are hungry to hear God's word and who want to grow deeper in their relationship with Christ.
• We have opportunities to serve Jesus here at Journey Church and beyond.  There is no shortage of opportunities to serve the risen Lord for those who are looking to do so.
• We believe in the power of prayer and have the wonderful opportunity to lift one another up to the throne of grace whenever we want.  No call waiting, no recordings, no out-of-office replies.
• We have a God who knows our every need, hurts when we hurt, laughs when we laugh, and cares about the most infinitesimal aspects of our lives.
• We have a Savior who took the form of human flesh, toiled and grew weary, was subjected to temptation (yet without sin), and who has risen from death to prepare a place for us in heaventhat where He is, there we might be also.

Praise God for his History of Love, for it is persistent, passionate, faithful, trustworthy, and everlasting.

Keep and Defend the Faith and Have a Blessed Christmas!

Dan

Background Scripture:  Revelation 11: 3-19
Focus Passage:  "And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”(Rev. 11:3 NIV)

Picking up the trail:  Before we look at the two witnesses of Revelation chapter 11, I feel it is important for me to tie up some of the loose ends we left dangling last week in respect to the future temple that prophecy says will be rebuilt on Mount Moriah; the present site of the Muslim Dome of the Rock.
First, a quick history of the Jewish temple:

• David wanted to build a temple for the Lord but had too much blood on his hands and so it fell to his son Solomon to build the first temple. (1 Sam. 7:11-12)
• God, not David or Solomon, chose the site of the temple as Jerusalem.  (Ps. 87, 132: 13-15)
• In the days of Israel's apostasy, the temple became more of a security blanket and an idol than a place where the Shekinah glory of God dwelt.
• Finally, Solomon's temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar.
• Seventy years later, under the direction of Zerubbabel and the priest Joshua, a much inferior temple was rebuilt; so much inferior that the elders who remembered the original temple wept.
• The second temple was desecrated by the Greco-Syrian ruler Antiochus Epihanes.  This desecration is a type of the one that will occur in the middle of the Great Tribulation by the Antichrist. (Dan. 9:27)
• Herod the Great had the second temple taken down piecemeal and rebuilt to his specifications.
• InMatthew 24:2, Jesus Himself predicted that the temple would destroyed so that "not one stone here will be left on another, every one will be thrown down."
• Jesus' prophecy was fulfilled to the letter (duh!) by the Roman general Titus in 70 A.D. and while Titus himself did not destroy it, the Jews burned the temple so as to not allow it to fall into pagan hands.  Their destruction would have been so complete that, well..., not one stone lay upon another.
• There has not been a Jewish temple in Jerusalem since that time (1,941 yrs. and counting).

Now some thoughts on the future temple:

• One of the first things the newly formed Knesset did (July 5, 1950) was to establish the Law of Return which said that any Jew anywhere in the world had the right to come (emigrate) to "their country," Israel.
• One of the first things some in Israel did was to start making plans for the future temple including implements, furniture, blueprints, clothing, you name it.  There is even a Temple Institute at Hebrew University.
• HOWEVER, the fact that the Jewish temple will be rebuilt some time after the Antichrist signs a covenant with Israel to facilitate this, does not mean that the Jews are turning to Christ en masse.  In fact, it is a return to the Old Testament sacrificial system and a rejection of the Messiah.
• Other than the 144,000 witnesses and the two supernatural ones we are about to look at, the Jews will remain largely in unbelief until they are judged during the second half of the Tribulation.  Signing a covenant with the Antichrist who is in league with the devil is not a step in the right direction.

Who are these Men?

I love a good mystery, don't you?  Here we have two fire-breathing, rain-stopping, sackcloth-wearing, plague-inducing, water-to-blood turning men who will come out of the Old Testament (back from the dead) and testify for 1,260 days during the Great Tribulation.  They will be untouchable.  While they are fulfilling God's perfect plan (the salvation of mankind), no one can harm them until God says they can.  Then, to make it even more interesting, when they finally are killed and wild tailgate parties break out all over the world in celebration that these pests are gone...they will rise from death and the world will mourn.  However, as dramatic as this will be while the world watches all of it on ANN (Antichrist news network, formerly CNN), the vast majority of people still will not turn to God!

One thing we know for sure, God never, ever leaves Himself without a witness!  Never!  But, who are these two men, these two supernatural witnesses whose powers and actions would challenge  the imagination of even the most fanciful superhero comic book writer?  Well, as you might have guessed, I have a theory about that.  Let's briefly examine some of the evidence about the identity of one of these mysterious fellows and leave the other one for Sunday morning.  Cub detectives...here are your clues on the identity of suspect no. 1:

• Malachi 4: 5-6
• 2 Kings 1:10
• John 1:21
• Matthew 17: 1-5

Now, if are reading this, I would expect you to come prepared to offer your deductive conclusions on the first "witness" as we gather once again this Lord's Day.  Commence investigating!

Keep and Defend the Faith,

Dan

Background Scripture:  Revelation 10: 1-11
Focus Passage: "But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”  (Rev. 10:7 NIV - emphasis mine)

"One day, as the Lord was looking down upon the earth and watching the rapid decline, He decided to dispatch one of His mighty angels for a firsthand report.  When the angel returned he reported that 90% of the people were being bad while 10% were being good.  Later, the Lord sent down another mighty angel, and he returned with the same report; 90% percent bad and 10% good.  So, the Lord decided to send an email to those 10% who were being good, to strengthen and encourage them.  And, do you know what the email said?...Oh, uh...I'm sorry...You didn't get the email?" 1

Seriously, though, to assume that because the book we are studying is called "Revelation" it means that God is revealing everything, would be an incorrect assumption to say the least.  If you doubt that, read through the rhetorical questions God asked Job in chapters 38-41 of that book.
But, John, who has been acting as a scribe here, is told that he cannot be the "Revelator" for this information but that he must seal it up and not write it down. 

In order to catch up with our context here in this chapter, we now find ourselves in another hiatus between judgments and we are smack dab in the middle of the Great Revelation taking place on earth (Matt. 24:21).  Six of the angels have already blown their trumpets and now, prior to the seventh one doing so, God feels that there must be a preparation time with all of the pomp and ceremony that it deserves.  It is like the time you held your breath just before plunging 200 feet or so on a roller coaster.  And so, he calls on "another mighty angel" to give the beloved disciple the "little book."  The identity of this mighty angel has been a source of great consternation by Bible expositors over the years and will continue to be so.  The nature and the contents of the "little book" has been no less controversial but, not to worry, we will straighten this all out Sunday morning I am sure.

A tag line from a very corny 1980's TV series called the "A-team", one that was repeated on each and every show was, "I love it when a plan comes together!"  Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans of we humans...but not so the plan of God.  And that is what we are witnessing here in Revelation chapter 10, the culmination, completion, conclusion, zenith, and coming to fruition of God's perfect plan.  It was never in doubt. 

But now, something really strange takes place; one of those things that cause some to set the book of Revelation aside and relegate it to fantasy.  Are you ready for this?  A voice from heaven (presumably God's) tells John to (gulp) eat the book.  Yes, eat it!  Now, when was the last time you ate something that tasted extremely good going down but found yourself looking for that bottle of TUMS at 3:00 AM?  That is what the angel tells John will happen after he ingests this little book.  It will taste soooo sweet in his mouth but it will sour his stomach.  What could this possibly mean and what purpose could it possibly serve?

Well, I have a theory about that and, for what it's worth, here it comes:  This "gulping down" of the little book is intended to symbolize an important truth that is just as applicable to us as it was to John.  In Jeremiah 15:16 the prophet says, "Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts."  You and I are ingesting the book of Revelation into our hearts and minds right now.  The more we read of God's word, the more we get excited about His imminent return, His justice being revealed, and His righteousness being universally recognized "on earth as it is in heaven." (Rom. 14:11)

But, what about the acid reflux that follows?  As you might have guessed, I have a theory about that as well.  As sweet as God's truth is to the taste, it also makes us realize that our door to evangelism is about to slam shut and that unsaved people everywhere are going to suffer a horrendous, hideous, and ghastly tribulation "such as the world has never seen since the beginning and will never see again."  Suddenly, the book of Revelation turns sour in our stomachs as we realize that some of our friends and even our relatives will have to endure this time if the Lord returns in our lifetime.

The remedy:  "You must prophesy" or tell the Good News of the Gospel while it is still daytime.  Some will accept it and some will reject it.  That, however, is the two-edged sword we are given to wield.

Keep and Defend the Faith,
Dan

1 - Lasseigne, J. (2011). Unlocking the last days: A guide to the book of Revelation & the end times (p. 139). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

 

Background Scripture:  Revelation 8: 6-13
Focus Passage:  "For then there shall be great distress [tribulation] unequaled from the beginning of the world until now -- and never to be equaled again." (Matt. 24:21 NIV)

I must confess at the outset here that, as I sit down at my computer to write this week's e-votion, my mind is swirling with a host of thoughts.  Some of these thoughts have to do with things I have gleaned from my own reading of the scripture above, others from learned men who have written about the book of Revelation and still others have to do with things I have learned from my brothers and sisters on Sunday morning when we meet together.  Therefore, rather than an attempt at a cohesive expository devotion on this week's scripture, you will find it to be a disparate, yet (hopefully) interconnected series of thoughts on the subject.

1.  There it is...right before the final"Hallelujah" in the "Hallelujah Chorus" of Handel's Messiah...a great and poignant, seemingly interminable pause. In fact, in the version I have linked here, the pause lasts only about three seconds.  But, do you suppose George Frederic Handel was thinking of the 30 minute pause in heaven that we spoke of last week when he wrote this?  I think he was since a careful reading of thelyrics of his masterpiece will reveal that Handel was deeply into the entire Bible when he composed "Messiah" and that many of the lyrics from the Hallelujah Chorus are from the book of Revelation including 4:11,5: 9-10, and 7: 11-12 among others.  This fact was pointed out to us in class last week by Annette and I am thankful to her for doing so.  If you find that your day is in need of a lift, click on thefirst link above and spend 4 minutes and 22 seconds in pure unadulterated worship.

2.  Come on..admit it!  You were not overly surprised that the sun came up this morning.  In fact, you could say you took for granted that it would occur.  That is because God is the author of nature, the created world, and the laws of physics and He holds all things together (Col. 1:17).  When men and women make laws, they are supposed to live under them.  It has been said that, in a just society, no one is above the law.  To the extent that this is true, I believe that it is an explicit or a tacit recognition that God is the supreme lawgiver.  However, unlike the laws of men, God is definitely above the laws of science, nature, chemistry, biology, and physics...or just about any discipline you can name...and He can suspend them at His will.  This was pointed out to us quite well last Sunday morning by David L. 
You see, the biblical worldview is not in conflict with science; rather it is in conflict with any worldview that starts without a Creator.  Quite often in a reading of Revelation we will come across physical phenomena that are unusual and remarkable to the natural mind which causes some to dismiss them with impunity.  But, the same God that could defy gravity by walking on the water, defy chemistry by turning water into wine, defy meteorology by making it rain burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah, or defy astronomy to make the sun stand still in the heavens for Joshua (Josh. 10:13), can make these events we are about to study come about as well.

3.  There is an ongoing debate by those who call themselves biblical expositors about whether the judgments we will read about this coming week in Revelation 8 (background scripture) are literal or symbolic.  In my humble opinion, this is much ado about nothing.  They are quite obviously both.  The best way to discover this is in connection with the plagues of Egypt (Exod. 7-11).  When Moses waved his rod over the Nile, this was symbolic.  When the Nile turned to blood, this was quite literal and literal fish died a literal death. When Aaron put out his rod and smote the dust of the ground, that was symbolic.  However, when lice appeared, believe me, they were quite literal.
Why should what we are about to read be anything different?  When the angels perform their act of blowing their respective trumpets, that is symbolic.  However, what happens on earth  will be a literal and physical cataclysm of God's judgment.
Perhaps an example from our present day will serve to underscore this point.  The terrible scourge of abortion has been rocking this land for hundreds of years and at an accelerated rate since 1973.  The destruction of millions of unborn children is quite literal yet it is also symbolic of the hardness of our hearts and not much different from the quite literal act of the children of Israel throwing their children into the furnace of Molech.  In both cases, it is a testament to our increasing indulgence in the idolatry of self-centeredness.

Yes, as Jesus so plainly told his disciples in Matthew 24, terrible times are coming on the earth for those who are not "in Christ" (Romans 8:1).  However, we can take comfort in two very literal facts:  1) As the body of Christ, we will not be here for this terrible time and  2) We still have the privilege and opportunity to reduce the population of those who will endure it even if by only one.  Therefore, we should work while it is still day(John 9:4) because twilight is upon us.

Keep and Defend the Faith,
Dan