LookingtoJesus

December 22

Bible Reading: Revelation 17

Revelation 17:3, “…And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names.”

Revelation 17:5-6, “And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: ‘Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations’.  And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.”

The chapter and the next have to do with the subject of Babylon.  As John Walvoord has noted, there is much speculation and debate concerning the details of these two chapters:

“Any interpretation of Revelation 17 and 18 is difficult because expositors have not agreed as to the detail of their interpretations. In general, however, it is helpful to consider chapter 17 as dealing with Babylon as an ecclesiastical or spiritual entity and chapter 18 as dealing with Babylon as a political entity.”

John Walvoord

Babylon is mentioned six times by name in the book of Revelation (Revelation 14:8; 16:19; 17:5; 18:2, 10, 21) and 260 times in the Bible.  There are five dominant views regarding Babylon’s identity: 1) the world; 2) Jerusalem; 3) Rome; 4) An end time religious system; and 5) a future, literal, rebuilt Babylon.  Still, others suppose her to be the Roman Catholic Church or some syncretic amalgamation of two or more of the aforementioned views.

“Babylon has from its inception symbolized evil and rebellion against God.  It was founded by Nimrod (Genesis 10:9-10), a proud, powerful, God-rejecting ruler.  Babel (Babylon) was the site of the first organized system of idolatrous false religion (Genesis 11:1-4).  The Tower of Babel, the expression of that false religion, was a ziggurat; an edifice designed to facilitate idolatrous worship.  God judged the people’s idolatry and rebellion by confusing their language and scattering them over the globe (Genesis 11:5-9).  Thus, the seeds of idolatry and false religion spread around the world from Babylon, to take root wherever these proud rebels and their descendants settled.” 

John MacArthur

The Babylon of Revelation chapters 17 and 18 is the fruit of the seed of the idolatrous rebellion in Genesis chapter 11.  They share similar characteristics.  A powerful ruler leads both.  It should be noted that Nimrod was the first earthly “king.”  The Antichrist will be the last one.  They both work to build something.  Nimrod, an “invincible” tower; Antichrist, an “invincible” kingdom.  They both enlist and unite others in their ungodly enterprise.  Through the building of the Tower of Babel, false religions spread.  The Antichrist will gladly tolerate false beliefs (anything besides truth is permissible as long as it does not stand in the way of his agenda; Revelation 17:6).  Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom was “Tower of Babel” like.  The Roman Empire was too, and though there was a plethora of pagan gods and goddesses, it was the emperor alone who demanded absolute allegiance.  The godless humanism of our day functions according to similar principles.

“What is found in these verses is the final form of religious apostasy, ending in a one-world super-church…During the Tribulation, all the world’s diverse false religions will be reunited into one great religion.  That ultimate expression of false religion will be an essential element of Antichrist’s finale world empire, in holding together his military, economic, and political structure.  Only religion can unite the world in the most compelling way.”

John MacArthur

The coming one-world religion will tolerate all sorts of beliefs and practices except for the truth.  As the Apostle John warned, that form of “religion” is even now in the world, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.  By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.  This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already” (1 John 4:1-3). 

How important it is to measure that which pertains to what we believe and practice against the truth found in God’s Word!  There are voices demanding allegiance.  And warning of repercussions for those who refuse to comply.  But it is imperative for the believer in Jesus Christ to hold fast to truth, no matter the cost, as it says: “but test everything; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

“To pursue union at the expense of truth is treason to the Lord Jesus.” ― Charles H. Spurgeon

Lord, we receive the love of the truth,
In an age of deep confusion.
Refusing the lie, Your truth we will buy.
We’ll treasure and cling to You.

December 21

Bible Reading: Revelation 16

Revelation 16:1, “Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”

Revelation 16:9, “They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues.  They did not repent and give him glory.” 

Revelation 16:11, “(They) cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores.  They did not repent of their deeds.”

There is much concern in our day regarding climate change.  Concerns have also been raised about the rise in earthquake occurrences.  According to scientists, the world has experienced a six-fold increase in earthquakes in a recent decade as opposed to the previous one.  We are even warned from time-to-time of the dangers associated with occasional solar flare-ups and asteroids that pass perilously close to our planet. You can read about such things.  Alarmists demand that something be done.  But there are not many speaking to man’s far greater predicament.  Mankind has a sin problem.  In sin, men “suppress the truth” and worship and serve the “creature rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:18, 24).  Not so many are troubled about the sin problem, but judgment day is coming.  Unprecedented calamity will be visited upon planet earth and all its inhabitants.  But even amidst such unmistakable evidence of God’s displeasure, mankind will still refuse to repent.

In the previous chapter, John saw the “seven angels (with) seven angels full of the wrath of God” (Revelation 15:7).  Chapter 16 has to do with the pouring out of the bowl judgments.  The primary purposes of the seven bowl judgments are to: 1) exercise God’s righteous judgment against those who dwell upon the earth; and 2) to dramatically demonstrate the extent of their depravity in their continued refusal to repent of their evil deeds.

As a result of the pouring out of the first bowl, “harmful and painful sores (come) upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image” (Revelation 16:2).  Reminiscent of Job’s experience and the plagues that struck Egypt (Job 2:7; Exodus 9:8-11), these sores will not only cause pain but will refuse to heal.

The pouring out of the second bowl will make the sea to become “like the blood of a corpse” (Revelation 16:3).  In the second trumpet judgment, a third of the sea became blood and a third of the living creatures in the sea died (Revelation 8:8).  Now the rest of the sea is made lifeless.  Dead marine life will litter the shores.

The third bowl turns the “rivers and springs of water” into blood.  There is a similarity here also between this judgment and the third trumpet judgment, the differences being in quantity (one third vs. all) and extent (blood vs. wormwood).  Again, this judgment bears resemblance to that which afflicted Egypt in the plagues (Exodus 7:20) and will bring unimaginable hardship and suffering to earth’s residents.

The fourth judgment affects the sun, allowing it to “scorch people with fire” (Revelation 16:9).  The fifth plunges the kingdom of the beast into darkness (Revelation 16:10).  People will gnaw their tongues in anguish, but will nevertheless use them to curse God (Revelation 16:11).  The sixth judgment dries up the “great river Euphrates,” preparing a way for the kings of the east (Revelation 16:12).  The seventh bowl is poured out and “a loud voice (comes) out of the temple, from the throne, saying ‘It is done” (Revelation 16:17).  The pouring forth of this bowl is accompanied by “flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was the earthquake” (Revelation 16:18).  So powerful is the earthquake that earth’s geology will suffer major alteration (Revelation 16:20).  In addition, “Great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each” will fall from heaven “on people” (Revelation 16:21).

No amount of environmental activism, governmental regulation, or FEMA planning or expenditure will work to prevent these things.  There will be no escape to another planet from Him “to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13).  These judgments will come from the hand of the Creator of all things.  Man’s biggest problem is sin, and his greatest need is for salvation.  Best now to trust in Jesus, who “suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

Unprecedented calamities will soon visit this planet from which there will be no escape.  Jesus alone is the answer for those seeking refuge.

There’s an awful day that’s coming,
Soon we’ll feel the judgment shock;
Then, poor sinner, seek a refuge
In the Everlasting Rock.
Come, poor sinner, get salvation
Ere all hope has fled away;
Heed the warning, flee for refuge,
Come to Jesus, come today.

December 20

Bible Reading: Revelation 15

Revelation 15:1-4, “Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.  And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty!  Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy.  All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Chapters 12 through 14 are all part of an interlude in the judgments visited upon the earth.  In chapter 15, the scene reverts back to these judgments, and specifically, the final set of seven bowls judgments in which “the wrath of God is finished” (Revelation 15:1).  As the previous judgments have progressed from the seals, to the trumpets, and now to the bowls, the degree of their intensity has increased.  When the final bowl is poured forth, a voice from the throne will declare “It is done! (Revelation 16:17).  These final judgments will conclude with the second coming of Christ (Revelation 19:11-21). 

This chapter describes the scene in heaven from which these “plagues” are unleashed to execute judgment and establish God’s Kingdom.  Earlier in the book, we have read of how God’s heavenly sanctuary has been unveiled to John (Revelation 4:1; 8:1; 11:19).  “Seven angels with seven plagues” come out of the “sanctuary of the tent of witness” in heaven (Revelation 15:5).  They are heaven sent to carry forth God’s judgment upon the earth.

Before the sendoff of the seven angels (Revelation 16:1), we read of a group of overcomers standing beside a sea of glass (Revelation 15:2).  John saw “what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire” (Revelation 15:2).  In his vision of heaven, the prophet Ezekiel saw “the likeness of an expanse, shining like awe-inspiring crystal” (Ezekiel 1:22).  Here the sea of glass is mixed “with fire,” likely referring to God’s pending judgment.  It is noteworthy that the overcomers are “standing beside the sea of glass” and not on it (Revelation 15:2).

These “who had conquered” appear in heaven prior to the end of the tribulation, before the pouring out of the seven bowls.  They are martyrs killed for refusing to worship the Beast (Revelation 13:15).  The term “conquered” translates the Greek “nikontas” which means to overcome or be victorious.  These individuals are those who had been threatened with the death penalty.  They had faced the dreadful choice—either worship the beast or refuse and suffer death.  Countless others agreed, but these did not (Revelation 12:11).  They “conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name” (Revelation 15:2).  They were overcomers. 

In His Revelation to John, Jesus was speaking to an overcomer.  The Apostle John, a partner to his readers “in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus,” who was on the island of Patmos “on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 1:9).  In His messages to the seven churches, Jesus made specific promises to the overcomers (Revelation 2:8, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21).  Jesus Himself was an overcomer (Revelation 3:21).  Those early believers were facing challenges similar in kind to what would be faced by these future martyrs.  In every age and in every place, God’s people have had such challenges to overcome.  The Apostle John had previously written these encouraging words: “For everyone who is born of God overcomes the world.  And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.  Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God (1 John 5:4-5)?”  No matter the challenge—be it “tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword” we are, “In all these things…more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

The overcomers sing a song of praise to God — “the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb” (Revelation 15:3; 5:9-14).  The song of Moses, celebrating God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt in the exodus, is fulfilled in the song of the Lamb, which speaks of the greater redemption availed to all men through the cross.  The overcomers praise God for who He is and thank Him for what He has done.  They “have conquered…by the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:11). The same manner through which any of us are made to be overcomers!

“In all these things…we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

Be an overcomer, you are heaven’s heir,
And a crown of life you may ever wear;
So with courage press the battle to the gates,
Till you gain the prize which in heaven waits.

December 19

Bible Reading: Revelation 14

Revelation 14:17-20, “Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.  And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, ‘Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.’ So, the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.  And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.”

Christmas—the celebration of the birth of Christ—is soon upon us.  But the message of Christmas extends beyond the cradle in the nativity scene.  The cradled child was purposed to die on a cross and then rise again.  He is now ascended to the right hand of God and is coming again to reign over all.  

“And we are looking at a text of Scripture that deals with the final harvest of the earth, the final reaping when the Lord Jesus Christ reaps the earth in judgment. The first time Jesus came to earth, He came as a servant. The next time, He will come as the sovereign King. The first time Jesus came, He came as one obeying. The next time, He will come as one commanding. The first time Jesus came, He came alone to live with a Jewish couple in a small obscure town. The next time, He will come with all His holy angels to take over the whole earth. The first time Jesus came He came in humility. The next time, He will come in glorious majesty and splendor. The first time Jesus came, He came to seek and to save the lost. And the next time He will come to judge and sentence the lost. Or, to put the contrast in the terms of our text, the first time Jesus came He came as the sower. Next time He will come as the reaper. He came in grace; He comes in wrath.”

John MacArthur

Some struggle to accept these varying aspects of the person and work of Jesus Christ.  They refuse the clear testimony of God’s Word regarding a future judgment, but that’s what this text declares.  An angel will swing his sharp sickle to harvest grapes that are then thrown into “the great winepress of the wrath of God” (Revelation 14:20).  Blood will flow and cover a vast region (Revelation 14:17-20). Revelation chapter 19 uses similar language in describing what happens when Christ, the rider on a white horse, comes to exercise judgment at the end of the tribulation period (Revelation 19:11-21).  In “righteousness he judges and makes war” (Revelation 19:11).  “He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood” and is accompanied by “the armies of heaven” (Revelation 19:14).  Who is the one who “will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty” (Revelation 19:15)?  It is none other than Jesus Christ that One who came the first time as a babe in a manger.  The One who first came in humility to die is coming again in glory to reign. 

To where can one “flee from the wrath to come” (Matthew 3:7)?  To the One who bore God’s wrath against sin upon the cross (Romans 3:24-25; 1 Peter 3:18). 

“There can be no possible exaggeration of the wrath of God! I beseech you, my dear Hearers—though I know not, and never wish to know much about this dreadful subject—remember that what we do know about the doom of the lost is enough to make one’s hair stand on end and one’s heart almost to cease to beat! So, I beseech you, do not risk that doom for yourselves! Escape for your lives! Look not behind you but flee to the one Refuge which God has provided.  Whoever will entrust His soul to Jesus Christ shall be eternally saved! Look to Him who wore the crown of thorns and repose your soul’s entire confidence in Him!…. But if you reject Him, do not think it wrong that you should be cast with the grapes into the winepress of the wrath of God and be trodden with the rest of ‘the clusters of the vine of the earth.’ I beg you to take Christ as your Savior this very hour lest this night you should die unsaved! Lay hold of Jesus lest you never hear another Gospel invitation or warning…God save all of you from ever suffering that doom, for Jesus Christ’s sake! Amen.”

Charles Spurgeon

“The first time Jesus came He came in humility. The next time, He will come in glorious majesty and splendor.”—John MacArthur

Jesus, the Name high over all,
in hell or earth or sky;
angels and mortals prostrate fall,
and devils fear and fly.
Jesus, the Name to sinners dear,
the Name to sinners giv’n;
it scatters all their guilty fear,
it turns their hell to heav’n.

December 18

Bible Reading: Revelation 13

Revelation 13:5, “And all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of the life of the Lamb who was slain.”

In his book “Approaching Hoofbeats,” Billy Graham imagined and described a scene in a typical city in the Apostle John’s Day, “Imagine a village in the suburbs of Ephesus or Laodicea.  Christian believers are at work tanning leather, dying cloth, harvesting crops, raising families, studying math and history—at worship, at work, at play.  Then, suddenly, hoof beats are heard clattering up the nearby cobbled streets.  The horses are reined in by a Roman centurion and his honor guard.  A leather camp table is unfolded.  An incense burner is placed upon the table.  A flame is lit.  Heralds sound the trumpets.  There is no place to hide, no time to decide.  Believers must join their neighbors in that line.  Just ahead the village mayor tosses his incense into the flames and exclaims proudly, ‘Caesar is Lord.’ Others follow.  The line ahead grows shorter.  The moment of decision draws near.  Will the Christian avoid the conflict and protect his life and security with the simple act of obedience?  Will he mutter ‘Caesar is Lord’ and sneak back home to safety?  Or will he recognize that act as a symbol of a wider disobedience, refuse the incense, proclaim ‘Jesus is Lord’ and pay the price for his disloyalty to the state?  These scenes no doubt happened in all of these cities and chief among the reasons for the writing of this book was to encourage persecuted Christians.”

What was true in that day will be true in the future, but to a worldwide extent.  An evil ruler will demand worship and allegiance and will harshly deal with those who refuse to comply.  Human history is littered with examples of such devilish rulers.  They tyrannically demand under the threat of harm and punishment.  In response to God’s revelation regarding future events, and the pending demise of his kingdom, Nebuchadnezzar constructed a 90-foot-tall image of gold (Daniel 2:36-45, 3:1).  The image was dedicated, and the proclamation was made: “You are commanded, peoples, nations, and languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.  And whoever does not fall down, and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace” (Daniel 3:4-6).  Under threat of harm or punishment, evil dictators have done such things.  In Medieval times, under papal rule, thousands were martyred for the refusal to agree to the heretical doctrines and demands of the Catholic Church.  The Nazi regime demanded absolute allegiance and dealt harshly with all dissidents.  Evil atheistic dictators like Stalin and Mao Zedong worked to cleanse their communist countries of all religious practice.  The regimes burned churches and destroyed all religious materials. Dissenters were threatened, imprisoned, and millions were slaughtered. 

There have been a lot of “prototypical antichrists.”  They’ve ruled according to that spirit.  They’ve threatened and punished and callously abused those who refused to yield.  But no past evil leader can compare to the evil one who is soon coming.  This chapter speaks of two “beasts” that will come, the Antichrist and the false prophet (Revelation 13:1, 11).  The Antichrist will utter “haughty and blasphemous words” and will be “allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months” (Revelation 13:5).  He will “make war on the saints” and will be given authority “over every tribe and people and nation” (Revelation 13:7).  “All who dwell on earth will worship” him (Revelation 13:8).  The false prophet will enlist worshipers for the Antichrist through miracles and deceit (Revelation 12:13-14).  Worship of the beast will be demanded of all: “both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave” (Revelation 13:15).  To refuse to receive his “mark” will be to lose the freedom to “buy and sell” (Revelation 13:17).  Previous generations might have questioned how any ruler could exercise dictatorship to such a broad (i.e., worldwide) extent.  Remember when Credit Cards and ATMs first came into being?  But technology is rapidly catching up to Biblical prophecy.  Such a day does not seem far removed at all.  Through the course of human history, there have been plenty of evil dictators, but none can compare to the “man of lawlessness,” the personification of evil and hostility to God (2 Thessalonians 2:3).  There is but One Ruler worthy of man’s love and devotion—the One who loved us so much that He died on a cross and rose from the dead to save us from our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).  Do you know Him as Lord and Savior?

The economic and political globalism we are now witnessing is setting the stage for the antichrist.  Our hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is coming again to reign over all.

Soon He’ll come the Lord of glory,
Come the church His bride to claim,
And complete the wondrous story—
Come, Lord Jesus, come again!

December 15

Bible Reading: Revelation 12

Revelation 12:1-5, “And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.  She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.  And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems.  His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.  She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne.”

Throughout human history, there have been countless wars that have led to the deaths of millions of people.  Our country was at war in Afghanistan for many years. The “hundred years’ war” (it was actually 116 years long) began when King Edward III of England invaded France.   But no battle on earth can compare in longevity or import to the war spoken of in this passage.  The scene in heaven speaks to events ranging back to the Fall of Man and the subsequent promise of a Redeemer to come.  Various personages are involved: 1) a woman, representing Israel; 2) the dragon, representing Satan; 3) the male child, representing Christ; 4) the stars in heaven, representing angels.

The “great red dragon” (Revelation 12:3) is Satan.  His color speaks to death and destruction.  He is elsewhere identified in this chapter to be “that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world” (Revelation 12:9).  He is referred to by five names/titles: 1) as the “great dragon,” he is fierce and fearsome; 2) as the ancient serpent, he is the One who “tempted Eve by his cunning” (2 Corinthians 11:3); 3) as the devil (diabolos), he is an accuser and slanderer; 4) as Satan, he is the adversary to God and His purposes; and 5) as the deceiver, he is the “father of lies” and the great master of deception (John 8:44).

The long war against God began when the tail of the dragon “swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them down to the earth” (Revelation 12:4).  The stars refer to angels.  Previous to Eve’s temptation, the devil rebelled against God (Isaiah 14:12; Ezekiel 28:15).  A third of the angels (a vast number) followed him.  These fallen angels (demons) are referred to in this chapter as “his angels” (Revelation 12:7, 9).  Together with Satan, they represent the “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” spoken of by the Apostle Paul (Ephesians 6:12).

The devil won a battle in his temptation of Eve (Genesis 3:1-7).  But in response God made promise of a future victory through a coming redeemer, as he spoke to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15).  Whereas the devil would inflict a wound, the Redeemer would cause a fatal one.  This promise, of a future triumphant Redeemer coming from the seed of the woman, relates to all that henceforth transpires in the Biblical narrative.

The “woman clothed with the sun” refers to Israel (Revelation 12:1).  It is through Israel that the promised Redeemer was born (Isaiah 9:6-7; Micah 5:2; Romans 9:5).  The sign, “she was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth,” had a partial fulfillment in Christ’s incarnation by virgin birth to Mary (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:25; Luke 1:34).  It will have its ultimate fulfillment in Christ’s second coming when He comes to rule over His kingdom (Revelation 12:5).

As God had promised, there has been ongoing enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent (Genesis 3:15).  Pharaoh attempted to kill all the male sons of Israel (Exodus 1:16).  Haman sought to eliminate all of the Jews (Esther 3:6).  Athaliah, Ahaziah’s mother, attempted to wipe out all of the male heirs of the tribe of Judah, the tribe through which the Messiah would come (2 Chronicles 22:10).  Herod sought to murder Jesus by killing all of the male children in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16).  These devil-led attempts all failed, as did the most dramatic example of them all—the crucifixion of Christ.  Christ died, but the promised child born to the woman rose again and was subsequently “caught up to God and to his throne” (Revelation 12:5; Acts 1:9-11).

The bad news is that there is a horrific war, a battle for the souls of men, going on—there have already been innumerable casualties.  The good news is that God sent His Son, who died on a cross and rose from the dead, so that men might be turned “from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18).  The good news is that in the long war against God, God wins.  So do those who believe in Christ unto salvation.  They will all “overwhelming conquer” through Him (Romans 8:37)!

The good news is that in the long war against God, God wins. As do all those who have trusted in Jesus!

And though this world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God has willed
his truth to triumph through us.
The prince of darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure,
for lo! his doom is sure;
one little word shall fell him.

December 14

Bible Reading: Revelation 11

Revelation 11:3-11, “And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”  These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.  And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed.  They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire.  And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.  For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.”

The blast of the seventh trumpet must wait until two witnesses “prophesy for 1,260 days” (Revelation 11:3).  Revelation chapter 11 speaks to their ministry.  There has been much speculation regarding the identity of these two.  Some suppose them to be merely symbolic or representative of a group of people (i.e., the church).  Amongst those who believe them to be to actual persons there are various opinions as to their identity, but they are most commonly thought to be Moses and Elijah—they will do the kinds of things Moses and Elijah did (James 5:17-18 and Revelation 11:6; Exodus 7:20 and Revelation 11:6) and it was Moses and Elijah who appeared with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration (Matthew 17:3).

They minister by the authority of God (Revelation 1:3).  Heaven-sent to proclaim truth in an incredibly evil time.  They will “prophesy for 1,260 days” (Revelation 11:3).  Their message will be one of repentance (they are “clothed in sackcloth”; Revelation 11:3; Isaiah 37:1-2; Jonah 3:5; Matthew 11:21).  Zechariah gives some insight into their role (Zechariah 4:2-3 is referenced in Revelation 11:4).  Zechariah preached a message of repentance to the people of his day, encouraging them to return to Israel to rebuild the destroyed temple.  In a vision, he saw a lampstand of gold with a bowl on top and seven lamps on it.  He also saw, on either side of the lampstand, two olive trees (Zechariah 4:2-3).  The “two olive trees and the two lampstands” of John’s vision allude to what Zechariah witnessed.  The two lampstands of his vision represented Joshua and Zerubbabel who had a God-given role in the rebuilding of the temple.  That historical incident also looked forward to the future day and the two witnesses who would be used by God in some comparable way.  In the immediate context, reference is made to “the Branch” and events that come to pass in His millennial Kingdom (Zechariah 3:8-10).

God supernaturally protects the two witnesses.  Fire comes from their mouths and consumes anyone who would seek to do them harm.  They have power to shut off the rain, turn waters into blood, and strike the earth with plagues.  It is only after they have “finished their testimony” that the beast (the Antichrist) is able “to make war on them and conquer them and kill them” (Revelation 11:7).  Their death will cause a huge celebration when “those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents” (Revelation 11:10). 

“This is the Devil’s Christmas.  The modern celebration of Christmas gets farther and farther from the birth of Christ and closer and closer to paganism.  The day will come when it will be anti-Christian—it is almost that now.  Here is the celebration of what Antichrist has done instead of celebration of the coming of Christ to Bethlehem.”

J. Vernon McGee

While the world celebrates the death of the two witnesses something astonishing happens.  “But after three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet” (Revelation 11:11).  In dramatic fashion, the ungodly revelers are silenced and then overcome by great fear.  Any celebration of sin is at best short-lived.  In the message of the birth of the One who came into the world to save sinners, there is a true and lasting reason to rejoice and celebrate (1 Timothy 1:15).

Any celebration of sin and evil can only be short-lived, as God and His good purposes will always prevail.

This is my Father’s world:
O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world:
Why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King: let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let earth be glad!

December 13

Bible Reading: Revelation 10

Revelation 10:8-10, “Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”  So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll.  And he said to me, “Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.”  And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it.  It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter.”

Some things are sweet—think honey.  Other things are bitter—think orange peel.  Some things, like dark chocolate, are bittersweet—they exhibit both characteristics.  Life experiences can be bittersweet.  Webster’s defines bittersweet as “being at once bitter and sweet; pleasant but including or marked by elements of suffering or regret.”  The latter part of this definition relates to John’s experience in eating “the little scroll” (Revelation 10:9).  It “was sweet as honey” in John’s mouth, but when he had eaten it his “stomach was turned bitter” (Revelation 10:10).

Between the sixth and seventh trumpet judgments, another interlude takes place.  This interruption speaks to God’s patience regarding the pending judgments which will fully manifest His wrath.  John, in his vision, sees a “mighty angel” coming down from heaven (Revelation 10:1).  The angel is gloriously adorned with a cloud and with a rainbow over his head and has a face that was like the sun and legs like pillars of fire (Revelation 10:1).  “His right foot (is) set on the sea, and his left foot on the land” (Revelation 10:2).  He “who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it” is at work to bring all things in subjection to Christ.  The “mystery of God” is soon to be fulfilled (Revelation 10:7).

The angel holds a scroll.  It is the same scroll spoken of back in chapter 5.  It was handed from the Father to the Lamb who alone was worthy to open it (Revelation 5:1-7).  The little book represents the title deed of the earth.  It contains the judgments of the tribulation through which the Lord Jesus Christ works to take possession of the earth.  Some of these judgments have already taken place.  The seventh trumpet will soon be sounded and loud voices will proclaim, “The Kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15).  The scroll speaks to both pending triumph and judgment.

In a scene reminiscent of the prophet Ezekiel’s experience, John is told to “take and eat” of the scroll (Ezekiel 2:9-3:3; Revelation 10:9).  The message of Ezekiel’s scroll was full of “words of lamentation and mourning and woe” (Ezekiel 2:10).  He ate of that scroll and found it to be “sweet as honey” (Ezekiel 3:3).  John ate of his scroll.  It was sweet to his mouth, but bitter to his stomach.

John MacArthur has commented on this, “When I think about the coming of Christ, it has a sweetness, doesn’t it to you?  It means my Christ is glorified.  It means He takes over the world destroying Satan and demons.  It means the Kingdom comes, sin is conquered, salvation is revealed, Christ reigns.  That’s sweet.  But it also means blood and wrath and vengeance and judgment and hell.  Anyone who loves Christ can sense what John was experiencing here.  The blessings of God are sweet, every message of hope, of blessing, of glory, every message of liberty, salvation of goodness, every promise of heaven is sweet.  Every touch of love, every kiss of grace is sweet.  But oh, the bitterness of judgment!”

John MacArthur

The bitterness of pending judgment should work to motivate us to share the gospel.  The gospel is a bittersweet message of bad news and good.  The bad news is that we are all born as sinners deserving of judgment, and are by nature children of wrath (Romans 3:23; 6:23; Ephesians 2:3). The unbeliever is destined to eternal destruction in a place called hell.  That part of the message is bitter, but praise God that there is good news, a sweet part, to tell.  God’s love was manifest to us in the death of His own Son (John 3:16; Romans 5:8).  Jesus has borne our sin, once for all, at Calvary (1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 1 Peter 3:18; 2 Corinthians 5:21).  Salvation is by grace through faith in Him (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 10:9; Acts 16:31).  There is a bitter cost associated with sin.  But great sweetness to be enjoyed in knowing Jesus (1 Peter 2:3; Psalm 34:8).

Burdened for the lost, and aware of their destiny, it is the duty and privilege of the saint to work to rescue the perishing.

Rescue the perishing,
Care for the dying,
Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave;
Weep o’er the erring one, lift up the fallen,
Tell them of Jesus the mighty to save.

December 12

Bible Reading: Revelation 9

Revelation 9:1-6, “And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.  He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft.  Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth.  They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.  They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone.  And in those days people will seek death and will not find it.  They will long to die, but death will flee from them.”

The preceding chapter ended with the three-fold warning — “woe, woe, woe” — to those “who dwell on earth” regarding the last three trumpets and the escalating judgments associated with them.  Webster’s defines the term “woe” as “a condition of deep suffering from misfortune, affliction, or grief.”  The judgment associated with the blowing of the fifth trumpet will work to bring deep suffering and abiding torment to those on earth “who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads” (Revelation 9:4).  Unlike the previous judgments, these pending ones target men rather than nature.  In this, demonic forces are unleashed that work to cause havoc among the human population.  But even so, men refuse to repent (Revelation 9:20-21)

At the sounding of the trumpet, a star “fallen from earth to heaven” (Revelation 9:1; Luke 10:18; Revelation 12:9) is given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.  This bottomless pit is referenced to six other times in the book (Revelation 9:2, 11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1, 3).  According to Luke 8:31, the bottomless pit is the abode of demons.  The fallen star is given a key to “the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit” (Revelation 9:1).  As previously noted, nothing happens outside of God’s sovereign counsel (Ephesians 1:11). 

The demons are let out of their prison.  We read from time to time of escaped convicts or released terrorists who go forth to cause mayhem and harm.  But nothing in mankind’s experience can compare to what will take place when the demons are let go from the pit.  The opening of the shaft of the abyss causes smoke to come forth, darkening the sun and the air.  From the smoke come “locusts on the earth” (Revelation 9:3).  Many Old Testament prophecies are either fulfilled or alluded to in the book of Revelation.  The prophet Joel warned the people of his day of a locust-like judgment to come (Joel 1:4).  Locusts are innumerable, unpredictable, unstoppable, and destructive.  This demonic host will be likewise except that they are specifically told not to harm any foliage or those sealed by God (Revelation 9:4).

They are allowed to torment people for five months.  It has been noted by commentators that this is the period in which locusts typically cause destruction.  These locusts inflict harm but do not kill.  Their mode of operation is likened to the sting of a scorpion.  An actual scorpion’s sting is usually not fatal, although it can be extremely painful, and sometimes even result in the death of children who are stung.  The venom affects the veins and the nervous system.  There are different kinds of scorpions, and some are not as dangerous as others, but a sting from the more lethal variety can cause “widespread numbness, difficulty swallowing, a thick tongue, blurred vision, roving eye movements, seizures, salivation, and difficulty breathing.” 

The intensity of the affliction is evident in that “people will seek death and will not find it” (Revelation 9:6).  Those afflicted by these demonic forces will be powerless to escape.  Their radical depravity and sin’s tenacity are evidenced in their refusal—even amidst these terrifying judgments—to repent of their evil deeds (Revelation 9:21-22).  Woes are coming to planet earth.  Judgment even now awaits all “those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1:8).  As bad as this fifth trumpet judgment is, those who do not know God will experience something far worse in an “eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord” (2 Thessalonians 1:9).  The only way to avoid woe in judgment is to receive the One who came, as Savior, to bring “joy to the world” instead of woe (Romans 10:9).

Each day that passes brings us closer to the fearsome realities described in this chapter.  The urgent need of every lost soul is to trust in Jesus!

O safe to the Rock that is higher than I,
My soul in its conflicts and sorrows would fly.
So sinful, so weary, Thine, Thine would I be;
Thou blest Rock of Ages, I’m hiding in Thee.