December 2021 – If Not For Grace

31 Dec 202130 Dec 2021

Congratulations!

You have reached the end of the year 2021 and with today’s reading you have read through the Bible! Great Job! If nothing else this is something good that has come from 2021!!

“And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.” Revelation 22:17 NKJV

Do you know my testimony – some of you may not. Let me share a tiny bit of it with you today. You see, I was raised in church and I had a relationship with God as a child. As I grew up the false teachings, graceless legalism and issues of the church leaders not only led to repeat church splits – but also to robbery and theft (particularly the theft of the truth from my generation). Looking back it was obviously the work of the father of lies who comes to kill, rob and destroy. Like many from my generation in that church I slid away. Then one day – Jesus called me back.

Dear Heavenly Father – As always, please open eye to see and our ears to hear what you are saying! Lord – open our understanding that we may know you and give us wisdom. Please do not let us miss out on what you want and need from us today. Lord, I pray that your word prepares us and not scares us! We forbid the works and influences of fear over your word. And please keep us and bless us and shine your face upon us and pour out grace over us and give us peace! Thank you! – In Jesus name we pray, Amen

Today’s reading is the Book of the Revelations of Jesus Christ (also called Revelations or Revelation), chapters 19 through 22 (embedded below the image below for your convenience).

Jesus called me back, Psalm 23 on auto replay in my head, and I came back – and oh if it was only that simple. It was a hard work to shed the flesh, and chains, and stronghold and ancestral curses. Right after returning to the Lord, I went to my cousin’s church with him and 2 ladies prophesied over me. They never met me nor did they even know my name. Both spoke of the feast and the table – one spoke of coming now and eating, the other spoke of the bridal feast. God speaks in symbols. Over and over since I returned the table and feast have returned in dreams, visions, sermons, readings, and always timely. So when I hear or see this symbol, now, I perk up and pay special attention – I know I am about to get fed, I know God prepared something deep for me to chew on!

“And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’” Rev. 19: 6-9a

And there it is – the announcement of the feast!! So where is the food?! This is the book of revelations so there should be a juicy bit of Jesus revealed around here somewhere!

“And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Rev. 19:10

My experience with Jesus, my testimony is the spirit of prophecy. It says grace. It says I have overcome, therefore I will overcome. It says, the experience is real – not imaginary voices in my head or make-believe visions. I suppose it requires we dwell in the secret place (or walk in the spirit) because these things cannot be found in our own heads.

Last night I dreamt I was trying to explain “Walk in the spirit” to a man of God who can’t get out of his own head. He has God dwelling with him so it has been in his head that he has heard the voice of the lord and in his head that he tries to dwell with him. But the Bible does not say walk inside your own soul, you introverts! No! Step out and have an experience.

Also, follow the symbols as God threads them together and the spirit give revelation.

For example at chapter 21 verse 9 starts the description of the New Jerusalem and the measuring – which we have seen in the Bible 3 times already in relation to the temple. Follow it. Compare it. Learn the symbols. Do not search for the meaning as much as understand all the places and all the symbols. The more you take in of the bigger picture the more you WILL understand in Spirit. These are not earthly things. These are Spirit things.
Then in today’s reading it continues to the river in chapter 22 – the river! Where did we see the river before? And where was it attached and associated with the measuring of the temple and Jerusalem? And if we go back to our study on that we made a parallel between it and us being the temple. All so good.

Take some time today to think on these things. Bring them to God for revelation and for Him to open your eyes. Let it birth a hungry to get wisdom and understanding from Him. It seems to be the pull of the New Year – to seek wisdom. I am sure, considering all we have just read… meaning today, we complete the read through of the Bible (congratulations)… and all we have read with how little we understand. As we only know and prophesy in part. It is wisdom to rely more heavily on God.

It sometime feels like the more I study and the more I learn, the less I know and the hungrier I get for more.

I don’t know if you read my plan for the next year. I laid it all out there after much prayer. If God changes it, He can – He has that right. This is, after all, His.

As many of you may recall, I started last year on a 40 day fast (January 1^st through February 9^th – back to normal eating on February 10^th). I am doing it again this year, and I am inviting you to join me.
When King David called a fast, they fasted (everything except water) from sun up to sunset every day during the fast. Of course you cannot eat while you sleep so this fast includes a breakfast early, before the sunrise and a dinner after sunset. One of those meals would be light and the other would be more substantial. Both would be extremely low in sugar and processed foods. The purpose of the fast is to be like David and to chase after God’s heart.

Psalm 51:10-12 NKJV – “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.”

Micah 2:13 NKJV – “The one who breaks open will come up before them; They will break out, Pass through the gate, And go out by it; Their king will pass before them, With the Lord at their head.”

Acts 1:8 NKJV – “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

So now it is time for:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.” Matthew 28:19-20 NKJV

We are going to do it together. If you keep sharing this, and God keeps being God, and we all feed the poor and care for one another, then 2022 will be an amazing year under His wing!!

Have a happy and safe New Year’s Celebration and be blessed in the New Year.

RELATIONSHIP:
Do you already have a relationship with a powerful God who cares about your every need because He loves you? Did you know my God can communicate with you and protect you – He has a plan for you to prosper if you just submit to His will and let His plan play out in your life!!! God wants a relationship with you and has already made a plan for your life. He loves you so much He sent His son to this world, to die as a sacrifice for your sins and rise from death with victory over sin and the ability to have a personal relationship with you.
“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10:9-10 NIV
Here is a prayer for you to pray:
Jesus, I believe you are the way, the truth, the life, and the only way to the Father. I believe you are the son of God, you came to Earth and lived. That you died on the cross as a sacrifice for my sins, and rose again so that I may be saved from my sins and be able to get to know you. I declare: Jesus, you are Lord!
Therefore, I confess that I am a sinner and I ask that you forgive me of my sins and come into my life. Help me to turn away from my sins and transform me into what you have lovingly created me to be. Help me through a real personal relationship grow and accept your will for my life – that I may live in your blessings. Please walk with me, and talk with me – I accept a relationship with you and with our Father God, through you. In the name of Jesus I pray ~ Amen

MEMORY WORK: This month we have another powerful verse – this one will give you peace that passes understanding as the world around us spins out of control we know our sovereign God still has a plan! We may not be able to comprehend, but hang in there His way is better!!

Isaiah 55:8

NIV – “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.”
NLT – “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.”
ESV – “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.”
KJV – “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.”
NKJV – “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.”
NAS – “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.”
AMP – “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.”

Thank you for reading.
May the God of peace keep you and bless you. May you stay focused on Christ and covered in grace.
Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!

BIBLE READING: Revelations 19-22 NKJV

Heaven Exults over Babylon

19 After these things I ^[a]heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to ^[b]the Lord our God! ²For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.” ³Again they said, “Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!” ⁴And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!” ⁵Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both^[c] small and great!”

⁶And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the^[d] Lord God Omnipotent reigns! ⁷Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” ⁸And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

⁹Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” ¹⁰And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Christ on a White Horse

¹¹Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. ¹²His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He ^[e]had a name written that no one knew except Himself. ¹³He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴And the armies in heaven, clothed in ^[f]fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. ¹⁵Now out of His mouth goes a ^[g]sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. ¹⁶And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS.

The Beast and His Armies Defeated

¹⁷Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the ^[h]supper of the great God, ¹⁸that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, ^[i]free and slave, both small and great.”

¹⁹And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. ²⁰Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. ²¹And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.

Satan Bound 1,000 Years

20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. ²He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; ³and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

The Saints Reign with Christ 1,000 Years

⁴And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for ^[j]a thousand years. ⁵But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. ⁶Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

Satanic Rebellion Crushed

⁷Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison ⁸and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. ⁹They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. ¹⁰The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where^[k] the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

The Great White Throne Judgment

¹¹Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. ¹²And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before ^[l]God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. ¹³The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. ¹⁴Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second ^[m]death. ¹⁵And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

All Things Made New

21 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. ²Then I, ^[n]John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

⁵Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said ^[o]to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

⁶And He said to me, “It^[p] is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. ⁷He who overcomes ^[q]shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. ⁸But the cowardly, ^[r]unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

The New Jerusalem

⁹Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came ^[s]to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the ^[t]bride, the Lamb’s wife.” ¹⁰And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the ^[u]great city, the ^[v]holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, ¹¹having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. ¹²Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: ¹³three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.

¹⁴Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the ^[w]names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. ¹⁵And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. ¹⁶The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand ^[x]furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. ¹⁷Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. ¹⁸The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. ¹⁹The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, ²⁰the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. ²¹The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

The Glory of the New Jerusalem

²²But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ²³The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine ^[y]in it, for the ^[z]glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. ²⁴And the nations ^[aa]of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor ^[ab]into it. ²⁵Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). ²⁶And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into ^[ac]it. ²⁷But there shall by no means enter it anything ^[ad]that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

The River of Life

22 And he showed me a ^[ae]pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. ²In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. ³And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. ⁴They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. ⁵There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

The Time Is Near

⁶Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the ^[af]holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place.

⁷“Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

⁸Now I, John, ^[ag]saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.

⁹Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. ^[ah]For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” ¹⁰And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. ¹¹He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him ^[ai]be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”

Jesus Testifies to the Churches

¹²“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. ¹³I am the Alpha and the Omega, the ^[aj]Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”

¹⁴Blessed are those who ^[ak]do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. ¹⁵^[al]But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

¹⁶“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”

¹⁷And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

A Warning

¹⁸^[am]For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, ^[an]God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; ¹⁹and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God^[ao] shall take away his part from the ^[ap]Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

I Am Coming Quickly

²⁰He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”

Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

²¹The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be ^[aq]with you all. Amen.

Footnotes

Revelation 19:1 NU, M add something like
Revelation 19:1 NU, M omit the Lord
Revelation 19:5 NU, M omit both
Revelation 19:6 NU, M our
Revelation 19:12 M adds names written, and
Revelation 19:14 NU, M pure white linen
Revelation 19:15 M sharp two-edged
Revelation 19:17 NU, M great supper of God
Revelation 19:18 NU, M both free
Revelation 20:4 M the
Revelation 20:10 NU, M where also
Revelation 20:12 NU, M the throne
Revelation 20:14 NU, M death, the lake of fire.
Revelation 21:2 NU, M omit John
Revelation 21:5 NU, M omit to me
Revelation 21:6 M omits It is done
Revelation 21:7 M I shall give him these things
Revelation 21:8 M adds and sinners,
Revelation 21:9 NU, M omit to me
Revelation 21:9 M woman, the Lamb’s bride
Revelation 21:10 NU, M omit great
Revelation 21:10 NU, M holy city, Jerusalem
Revelation 21:14 NU, M twelve names
Revelation 21:16 Lit. stadia, about 1,380 miles in all
Revelation 21:23 NU, M omit in it
Revelation 21:23 M very glory
Revelation 21:24 NU, M omit of those who are saved
Revelation 21:24 M of the nations to Him
Revelation 21:26 M adds that they may enter in.
Revelation 21:27 NU, M profane, nor one who causes
Revelation 22:1 NU, M omit pure
Revelation 22:6 NU, M spirits of the prophets
Revelation 22:8 NU, M am the one who heard and saw
Revelation 22:9 NU, M omit For
Revelation 22:11 NU, M do right
Revelation 22:13 NU, M First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
Revelation 22:14 NU wash their robes,
Revelation 22:15 NU, M omit But
Revelation 22:18 NU, M omit For
Revelation 22:18 M may God add
Revelation 22:19 M may God take away
Revelation 22:19 NU, M tree of life
Revelation 22:21 NU with all; M with all the saints

30 Dec 202130 Dec 2021

Great Sign

“Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars.” Revelation 12:1 NKJV

Today’s reading begins with a fairytale image of a pregnant mother, clothed in sun with stars…. Ancient Fairytales actually use a LOT of the same imagery that we read today. The old stories were made with moral and eternal teachings – most based deeply in Christianity. But let us not muddy the waters when the Bible is a clean well for us to go to for dragons and missions and fights and beasts and pregnant heroines. Do not misunderstand – I am NOT saying the Bible is a fairytale – I am saying they stole imagery from the Bible.

Today’s reading is the Book of the Revelations of Jesus Christ (also called Revelations or Revelation), chapters 6 through 11 (embedded below the image below for your convenience).

In our modern world, we no longer understand the images in the old fairytales. We no longer have what they now call the “deep knowing”. We made the stories less violent, less offensive, and less memorable, which has watered down the virtue and moral lessons in them. Ironically – by doing do, we cheapened our cultural understanding of the symbols we are now trying to understand. But if we grew up with these stories then we would understand.
Mankind should have turned the book of Revelations into nursery songs and taught them to our children, because now, we are a generation of mankind wondering if a vaccine is a mark of a beast we cannot comprehend while being terrified to read for ourselves, the very passage that we refer to! Someone call the preacher man and have him just tell us!! Not to mention the even greater lack in our children.

Prophecy happened outside of time – we have discussed this before. Therefore there is always something for that moment in time to the person receiving it from God. Then there is always something future and past and nothing is in chronological order – but then again it is outside of time. So this book and these images are NOT in chronological order.
When these happen? What it looks like to each of us personally? The truth is those things do not matter. That is a difficult pill to swallow when godly scholars commit their entire life to this book and these images and trying to understand. Unpopular opinion here – but I do not believe any of us are called to that. This book is very specifically called by John, the author: “The Revelation of Jesus” – so do not get distracted by what we do not understand…

Because revelation happens inside of time. And you and I are inside of time. And God will restore to us the “deep knowing”. It isn’t hardly that mysterious – it is the revelation. All we need to do is ask, so that we may be wise in the coming year. Wisdom is vital in our near futures… so while we seek God, let us also ask and seek His wisdom.

Let’s take a quick moment to focus on chapter 12 verses 7 through 12:
“And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”

Wait – let’s rewind to that Sunday school lesson we learned once – somewhere… the one where God created everything (and our teacher left off that it was Jesus who actually did that) then God’s angel of music became greedy and prideful so he tried to rally the troops against God. God kicked him out of heaven and he landed on earth and started tempting people – so some day when God finishes making hell He will be tossed into it. But when people die, they go straight to hell. And it leaves me with more questions than answers. Is that lesson coming from this section of scripture? If Satan is cast out, how is he going before God in the book of Job, and here, accusing us? If God and His throne room are outside of time – how is there a point of time in which satan is thrown out and into the lake of fire? Suddenly, all the times we questioned the Almighty God about why he did not just put satan away from the beginning, starts to make sense when we need a fix point thing to happen outside of time. Meanwhile here we are on earth making a muck of things so God has to take care of us too – while bending quantum physic theories. (For those of you who are not sci-fi fans and those who do not have any knowledge of Quantum Physics – I am saying it is all impossible by every known and make-believe theory. This is why God, being God, has got to do a God thing.)

So this is what we do know: we know satan is just an angel and when the curse fell – he turned into a dragon. We know that in the end, he is kicked out of heaven because other angels defeat him. We know he is still going before God accusing us!! So if we mess up, we better get to God first and apologize. We know we need to team up with “salvation”, “strength”, the “Kingdom of God”, and the “Power of Christ”. We know we can overcome any and everything by the blood of Jesus (or the act of the cross) the word of our testimony and not loving our own life (like Esther – If I die, I die!) We also know it is getting worse day by day as the devil’s time comes to an end. We know this can, if we have eyes to see and our understanding is opened, reveal to us the mystery of the POWER of Christ.

the POWER.
Seriously stop and contemplate this. John who was with Jesus for his entire ministry on earth – emphasizes this power – is this part of the revelation? Do we even remotely begin to fathom it’s power? We say the name of Jesus so often and without reverence and understanding – yes we all do. And maybe it is time to stop and use this power the way God intended!

Also – Let’s talk quickly about “works”. Throughout this book you see people and being judged for their works. And you say, but I thought we were saved through grace not works…

“not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:5-7

And you are right. But once we are saved…. then what? So many people I know take that first step and think that is it… but then we see the judgements at the beginning of this book and realize we are accountable for more. Because it is NOT about being saved just like this book is not about prophecy. It is about having a real relationship with God through Jesus – through revelation of who Jesus is and what His power does! It is about being in love with Him and acting in LOVE. It is about doing the things that please Him, His will for us, and our obedience to Him. You see – we do have to do works. Not out of obligation and they do not get us anything…. It is kind of like Christmas dinner: I spent 2 days in the kitchen cooking, not to mention decorating and cleaning so it would be magical – friends and family breezed through – within a couple hours – leaving a wake of dishes and garbage and clutter. The appreciated it… but all I got out of it was more work. It was a labor of LOVE. I do not even like cooking! I hate it actually. But it makes everyone happy.

Draw in closer to the power – to our Lord, deeper into the relationship with Him.

Isaiah 55:8

Thank you for reading.
May the God of peace keep you and bless you. May you stay focused on Christ and covered in grace.
Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!

BIBLE READING: Revelations 12-18 NKJV

The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon

12 Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. ²Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.

³And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. ⁴His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. ⁵She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. ⁶Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

Satan Thrown Out of Heaven

⁷And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, ⁸but they ^[a]did not prevail, nor was a place found for ^[b]them in heaven any longer. ⁹So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

¹⁰Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. ¹¹And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. ¹²Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”

The Woman Persecuted

¹³Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. ¹⁴But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. ¹⁵So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. ¹⁶But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. ¹⁷And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus ^[c]Christ.

The Beast from the Sea

13 Then ^[d]I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having ^[e]seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. ²Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. ³And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. ⁴So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”

⁵And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to ^[f]continue for forty-two months. ⁶Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. ⁷It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every ^[g]tribe, tongue, and nation. ⁸All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

⁹If anyone has an ear, let him hear. ¹⁰He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the ^[h]patience and the faith of the saints.

The Beast from the Earth

¹¹Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. ¹²And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. ¹³He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. ¹⁴And he deceives ^[i]those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. ¹⁵He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. ¹⁶He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, ¹⁷and that no one may buy or sell except one who has ^[j]the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

¹⁸Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.

The Lamb and the 144,000

14 Then I looked, and behold, ^[k]a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, ^[l]having His Father’s name written on their foreheads. ²And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. ³They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. ⁴These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were ^[m]redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. ⁵And in their mouth was found no ^[n]deceit, for they are without fault ^[o]before the throne of God.

The Proclamations of Three Angels

⁶Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— ⁷saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

⁸And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon^[p] is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”

⁹Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. ¹¹And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

¹²Here is the ^[q]patience of the saints; here^[r] are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

¹³Then I heard a voice from heaven saying ^[s]to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”

Reaping the Earth’s Harvest

¹⁴Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. ¹⁵And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come ^[t]for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” ¹⁶So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.

Reaping the Grapes of Wrath

¹⁷Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.

¹⁸And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.” ¹⁹So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. ²⁰And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred ^[u]furlongs.

Prelude to the Bowl Judgments

15 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete.

²And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and ^[v]over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. ³They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying:

“Great and marvelous are Your works,
Lord God Almighty!
Just and true are Your ways,
O King of the ^[w]saints!
⁴Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You alone are holy.
For all nations shall come and worship before You,
For Your judgments have been manifested.”

⁵After these things I looked, and ^[x]behold, the ^[y]temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. ⁶And out of the ^[z]temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands. ⁷Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever. ⁸The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.

The Seven Bowls

16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the ^[aa]bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.”

First Bowl: Loathsome Sores

²So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a ^[ab]foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.

Second Bowl: The Sea Turns to Blood

³Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.

Third Bowl: The Waters Turn to Blood

⁴Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. ⁵And I heard the angel of the waters saying:

“You are righteous, ^[ac]O Lord,
The One who is and who ^[ad]was and who is to be,
Because You have judged these things.
⁶For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,
And You have given them blood to drink.
^[ae]For it is their just due.”

⁷And I heard ^[af]another from the altar saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”

Fourth Bowl: Men Are Scorched

⁸Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. ⁹And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.

Fifth Bowl: Darkness and Pain

¹⁰Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. ¹¹They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.

Sixth Bowl: Euphrates Dried Up

¹²Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. ¹³And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. ¹⁴For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings ^[ag]of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

¹⁵“Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”

¹⁶And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, ^[ah]Armageddon.

Seventh Bowl: The Earth Utterly Shaken

¹⁷Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” ¹⁸And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth. ¹⁹Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. ²⁰Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. ²¹And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.

The Scarlet Woman and the Scarlet Beast

17 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying ^[ai]to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, ²with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”

³So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. ⁴The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of ^[aj]her fornication. ⁵And on her forehead a name was written:

MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT,
THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS
OF THE EARTH.

⁶I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.

The Meaning of the Woman and the Beast

⁷But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the ^[ak]mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. ⁸The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to ^[al]perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and ^[am]yet is.

⁹“Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. ¹⁰There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. ¹¹The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to ^[an]perdition.

¹²“The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. ¹³These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. ¹⁴These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”

¹⁵Then he said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. ¹⁶And the ten horns which you ^[ao]saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. ¹⁷For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. ¹⁸And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.”

The Fall of Babylon the Great

18 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. ²And he cried ^[ap]mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! ³For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the ^[aq]abundance of her luxury.”

⁴And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. ⁵For her sins ^[ar]have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. ⁶Render to her just as she rendered ^[as]to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her. ⁷In the measure that she glorified herself and lived ^[at]luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’ ⁸Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who ^[au]judges her.

The World Mourns Babylon’s Fall

⁹“The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, ¹⁰standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’

¹¹“And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: ¹²merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; ¹³and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men. ¹⁴The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have ^[av]gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all. ¹⁵The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, ¹⁶and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! ¹⁷For in one hour such great riches ^[aw]came to nothing.’ Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance ¹⁸and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like this great city?’

¹⁹“They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she ^[ax]is made desolate.’

²⁰“Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you ^[ay]holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her!”

Finality of Babylon’s Fall

²¹Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore. ²²The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore. ²³The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. ²⁴And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.”

Footnotes

Revelation 12:8 were not strong enough
Revelation 12:8 M him
Revelation 12:17 NU, M omit Christ
Revelation 13:1 NU he
Revelation 13:1 NU, M ten horns and seven heads
Revelation 13:5 M make war
Revelation 13:7 NU, M add and people
Revelation 13:10 perseverance
Revelation 13:14 M my own people
Revelation 13:17 NU, M the mark, the name
Revelation 14:1 NU, M the
Revelation 14:1 NU, M add His name and
Revelation 14:4 M adds by Jesus
Revelation 14:5 NU, M falsehood
Revelation 14:5 NU, M omit the rest of v. 5.
Revelation 14:8 NU Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, which has made; M Babylon the great is fallen. She has made
Revelation 14:12 steadfastness, perseverance
Revelation 14:12 NU, M omit here are those
Revelation 14:13 NU, M omit to me
Revelation 14:15 NU, M omit for You
Revelation 14:20 Lit. stadia, about 184 miles in all
Revelation 15:2 NU, M omit over his mark
Revelation 15:3 NU, M nations
Revelation 15:5 NU, M omit behold
Revelation 15:5 sanctuary, the inner shrine
Revelation 15:6 sanctuary, the inner shrine
Revelation 16:1 NU, M seven bowls
Revelation 16:2 severe and malignant, lit. bad and evil
Revelation 16:5 NU, M omit O Lord
Revelation 16:5 NU, M was, the Holy One
Revelation 16:6 NU, M omit For
Revelation 16:7 NU, M omit another from
Revelation 16:14 NU, M omit of the earth and
Revelation 16:16 Lit. Mount Megiddo; M Megiddo
Revelation 17:1 NU, M omit to me
Revelation 17:4 M the fornication of the earth
Revelation 17:7 hidden truth
Revelation 17:8 destruction
Revelation 17:8 NU, M shall be present
Revelation 17:11 destruction
Revelation 17:16 NU, M saw, and the beast
Revelation 18:2 NU, M omit mightily
Revelation 18:3 Lit. strengths
Revelation 18:5 NU, M have been heaped up
Revelation 18:6 NU, M omit to you
Revelation 18:7 sensually
Revelation 18:8 NU, M has judged
Revelation 18:14 NU, M been lost to you
Revelation 18:17 have been laid waste
Revelation 18:19 have been laid waste
Revelation 18:20 NU, M saints and apostles

30 Dec 202130 Dec 2021

2022 a Year of Wisdom and Salvation

FORMAT FOR BLOG POSTS 2022

1. “Verse” – Continue to start each one with a verse

2. Salvation Message – move this to the top as it is more important. Slowly transform it over the course of the year – away from the ABC’s of Salvation format (the devo will be moved down)
This section should also begin to include the different expectations of a Christian – not just how to be saved, but what they are getting into and how to do it (the basics). We all know it shouldn’t be a checklist to check off – but in this world of distractions it is nice for even a seasoned Christian to be reminded of all the things they should and want to do.

3. Prayer – continue to pray for wisdom, understanding, and a closer walk with God

4. Reading – Goal is to read through the New Testament (slower take the whole year) and on weekend complete all 5 of the wisdom books. The reading plan is as follows and may vary from this plan if need be – starting each quarter of the year with the gospel story!

JANUARY:
1^st Proverbs 1, 2^nd Proverb 2, 3^rd Matthew 1, 4^th Matthew 2, 5^th Matthew 3, 6^th Matthew 4, 7^th Matthew 5, 8^th Proverbs 3, 9^th Proverbs 4, 10^th Matthew 6, 11^th Matthew 7, 12^th Matthew 8, 13^th Matthew 9, 14^th Matthew 10, 15^th Proverbs 5, 16^th Proverbs 6, 17^th Matthew 11, 18^th Matthew 12, 19^th Matthew 13, 20^th Matthew 14, 21^st Matthew 15, 22^nd Proverbs 7, 23^rd Proverbs 8, 24^th Matthew 16, 25^th Matthew 17, 26^th Matthew 18, 27^th Matthew 19, 28^th Matthew 20, 29^th Proverbs 9, 30^th Proverbs 10, and 31^st Matthew 21

February:
1^st Matthew 22, 2^nd Matthew 23, 3^rd Matthew 24, 4^th Matthew 25, 5^th Proverbs 11, 6^th Proverbs 12, 7^th Matthew 26, 8^th Matthew 27, 9^th Matthew 28, 10^th Acts 1, 11^th Acts 2, 12^th Proverbs 13, 13^th Proverbs 14, 14^th Acts 3, 15^th Acts 4, 16^th Acts 5, 17^th Acts 6, 18^th Acts 7, 19^th Proverbs 15, 20^th Proverbs 16, 21^st Acts 8, 22^nd Acts 9, 23^rd Acts 10, 24^th Acts 11, 25^th Acts 12, 26^th Proverbs 17, 27^th Proverbs 18, and 28^th Acts 13

March:
1^st Acts 14, 2^nd Acts 15, 3^rd Acts 16, 4^th Acts 17, 5^th Proverbs 19, 6^th Proverbs 20, 7^th Acts 18, 8^th Acts 19, 9^th Acts 20, 10^th Acts 21, 11^th Acts 22, 12^th Proverbs 21, 13^th Proverbs 22, 14^th Acts 23, 15^th Acts 24, 16^th Acts 25, 17^th Acts 26, 18^th Acts 27, 19^th Proverbs 23, 20^th Proverbs 24, 21^st Acts 28, 22^nd 1 Thessalonians 1, 23^rd 1 Thessalonians 2, 24^th 1 Thessalonians 3, 25^th 1 Thessalonians 4, 26^th Proverbs 25, 27^th Proverbs 26, 28^th 1 Thessalonians 5, 29^th 2 Thessalonians 1, 30^th 2 Thessalonians 2, and 31^st 2 Thessalonians 3

April:
1^st Mark 1, 2^nd Proverbs 27, 3^rd Proverbs 28, 4th Mark 2, 5^th Mark 3, 6^th Mark 4, 7^th Mark 5, 8^th Mark 6, 9^th Proverbs 29, 10^th Proverbs 30, 11^th Mark 7, 12^th Mark 8, 13^th Mark 9, 14^th Mark 10, 15^th Mark 11, 16^th Proverbs 31, 17^th Psalms 1-5, 18^th Mark 12, 19^th Mark 13, 20^th Mark 14, 21^st Mark 15, 22^nd Mark 16, 23^rd Psalms 6-10, 24^th Psalms 11-16, 25^th Romans 1, 26^th Romans 2, 27^th Romans 3, 28^th Romans 4, 29^th Romans 5, and 30^th Psalms 17-20

May:
1^st Psalms 21-25, 2^nd Romans 6, 3^rd Romans 7, 4^th Romans 8, 5^th Romans 9, 6^th Romans 10, 7^th Psalms 26-30, 8^th Psalms 31-35, 9^th Romans 11, 10^th Romans 12, 11^th Romans 13, 12^th Romans 14, 13^th Romans 15, 14^th Psalms 36-41, 15^th Psalms 42-46, 16^th Romans 16, 17^th 1 Corinthians 1, 18^th 1 Corinthians 2, 19^th 1 Corinthians 3, 20^th 1 Corinthians 4, 21^st Psalms 47-51, 22^nd Psalm 52-56, 23^rd 1 Corinthians 5, 24^th 1 Corinthians 6, 25^th 1 Corinthians 7, 26^th 1 Corinthians 8, 27^th 1 Corinthians 9, 28^th Psalms 57-61, 29^th Psalm 62-67, 30^th 1 Corinthians 10, and 31^st 1 Corinthians 11

June:
1^st 1 Corinthians 12, 2^nd 1 Corinthians 13, 3^rd 1 Corinthians 14, 4^th Psalms 68-72, 5^th Psalms 73-77, 6^th 1 Corinthians 15, 7^th 1 Corinthians 16, 8^th 2 Corinthians 1, 9^th 2 Corinthians 2, 10^th 2 Corinthians 3, 11^th Psalms 78-82, 12^th Psalms 83-87, 13^th 2 Corinthians 4, 14^th 2 Corinthians 5, 15^th 2 Corinthians 6, 16^th 2 Corinthians 7, 17^th 2 Corinthians 8, 18^th Psalms 88-92, 19^th Psalms 93-97, 20^th 2 Corinthians 9, 21^st 2 Corinthians 10, 22^nd 2 Corinthians 11, 23^rd 2 Corinthians 12, 24^th 2 Corinthians 13, 25^th Psalms 98-102, 26^th Psalms 103-107, 27^th Philippians 1, 28^th Philippians 2, 29^th Philippians 3, and 30^th Philippians 4

July:
1^st Luke 1, 2^nd Psalms 108-112, 3^rd Psalms 113-118, 4^th Luke 2, 5^th Luke 3, 6^th Luke 4, 7^th Luke 5, 8^th Luke 6, 9^th Psalm 119, 10^th Psalms 120-125, 11^th Luke 7, 12^th Luke 8, 13^th Luke 9, 14^th Luke 10, 15^th Luke 11, 16^th Psalms 126-130, 17^th Psalms 131-136, 18^th Luke 12, 19^th Luke 13, 20^th Luke 14, 21^st Luke 15, 22^nd Luke 16, 23^rd Psalms 137-140, 24^th Psalms 141-144, 25^th Luke 17, 26^th Luke 18, 27^th Luke 19, 28^th Luke 20, 29^th Luke 21, 30^th Psalms 145-147, and 31^st Psalms 148-150

August:
1^st Luke 22, 2^nd Luke 23, 3^rd Luke 24, 4^th Galatians 1, 5^th Galatians 2, 6^th Ecclesiastes 1, 7^th Ecclesiastes 2, 8^th Galatians 3, 9^th Galatians 4, 10^th Galatians 5, 11^th Galatians 6, 12^th Ephesians 1, 13^th Ecclesiastes 4, 14^th Ecclesiastes 5, 15^th Ephesians 2, 16^th Ephesians 3, 17^th Ephesians 4, 18^th Ephesians 5, 19^th Ephesians 6, 20^th Ecclesiastes 6, 21^st Ecclesiastes 7, 22^nd Colossians , 23^rd Colossians 2, 24^th Colossians 3, 25^th Colossians 4, 26^th 1 Timothy 1, 27^th Ecclesiastes 8, 28^th Ecclesiastes 9, 29^th 1 Timothy 2, 30^th 1 Timothy 3, and 31^st 1 Timothy 4

September:
1^st 1 Timothy 5, 2^nd 1 Timothy 6, 3^rd Ecclesiastes 10, 4^th Ecclesiastes 11, 5^th 2 Timothy 1, 6^th 2 Timothy 2, 7^th 2 Timothy 3, 8^th 2 Timothy 4, 9^th Hebrews 1, 10^th Ecclesiastes 12, 11^th Songs of Solomon 1, 12^th Hebrews 2, 13^th Hebrews 3, 14^th Hebrews 4, 15^th Hebrews 5, 16^th Hebrews 6, 17^th Songs of Solomon 2, 18^th Songs of Solomon 3, 19^th Hebrews 7, 20^th Hebrews 8, 21^st Hebrews 9, 22^nd Hebrews 10, 23^rd Hebrews 11, 24^th Songs of Solomon 4, 25^th Songs of Solomon 5, 26^th Hebrews 12, 27^th Hebrews 13, 28^th Titus 1, 29^th Titus 2, 30 Titus 3

October:
1^st Songs of Solomon 6, 2^nd Songs of Solomon 7, 3^rd John 1 , 4^th John 2, 5^th John 3, 6^th John 4, 7th John 5, 8^th Songs of Solomon 8, 9^th Job 1-2, 10^th John 6, 11^th John 7, 12^th John 8, 13^th John 9, 14^th John 10, 15^th Job 3-4, 16^th Job 5-6, 17^th John 11, 18^th John 12, 19^th John 13, 20^th John 14, 21^st John 15, 22^nd Job 7-8, 23^rd Job 9-10, 24^th John 16, 25^th John 17, 26^th John 18, 27^th John 19, 28^th John 20, 29^th Job 11-12, 30^th Job 13-14, and 31^st John 21

November:
1^st Philemon, 2^nd James 1, 3^rd James 2, 4^th James 3, 5^th Job 15-16, 6^th Job 17-18, 7^th James 4, 8^th James 5, 9^th 1 Peter 1, 10^th 1 Peter 2, 11^th 1 Peter 3, 12^th Job 19-20, 13^th Job 21-22, 14^th 1 Peter 4, 15^th 1 Peter 5, 16^th 2 Peter 1, 17^th 2 Peter 2, 18^th 2 Peter 3, 19^th Job 23-24, 20^th Job 25-26, 21^st 1 John 1, 22^nd 1 John 2, 23^rd 1 John 3, 24^th 1 John 4, 25^th 1 John 5, 26^th Job 27-28, 27^th Job 29-30, 28^th 2 John, 29^th 3 John, and 30^th Jude

December:
1^st Revelation 1, 2^nd Revelation 2, 3^rd Job 31-32, 4^th Job 33-34, 5^th Revelation 3, 6^th Revelation 4, 7^th Revelation 5, 8^th Revelation 6, 9^th Revelation 7, 10^th Job 35-36, 11^th Job 37-38, 12^th Revelation 8, 13^th Revelation 9, 14^th Revelation 10, 15^th Revelation 11, 16^th Revelation 12, 17^th Job 39-40, 18^th Job 41-42, 19^th Revelation 13, 20^th Revelation 14, 21^st Revelation 15, 22^nd Revelation 16, 23^rd Revelation 17, 24^th Joel* 1, 25^th Joel* 2, 26^th Revelation 18, 27^th Revelation 19, 28^th Revelation 20, 29^th Revelation 21, 30^th Revelation 22, and 31^st Joel* 3 (*or maybe not, let’s see)

5. The Memory Verse Challenge
January Numbers 23:19– “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”
February Matthew 5:16– “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
March Proverbs 3:5-6– “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”
April Isaiah 41:10– “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
May John 20:31– “but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”
June Acts 4:12– “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
July Romans 6:1-2– “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”
August Romans 8:1– “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
September Ephesians 1:7– “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace”
October Philippians 1:6– “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”
November Colossians 4:2– “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving”
December Hebrews 11:1– “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

6. The study/devotional – in the Year 2022 we will:
.Continue to focus on The Word more than on modern prophecy,
.Continue to focus on getting to know God personally in wisdom and understanding (adding all the wisdom books) – seeking God first
.Focus more on the gospel message and evangelizing – teaching other how to begin their own relationship with God and be saved – and teaching readers how to share the gospel message
.Cross reference the Old Testament for deeper understanding, were as last year we referenced the timeline and historical events

1. Facebook and Instagram account shall be maintained – even though there are very few interactions the salvation message is predominate on the page and it was a social media post that pulled me back to the Lord – may He use it again to pull in another.

2. Most posts will be an image that is sharable with hashtags to make it easier to find. #IfNotForGrace

3. The posting schedule shall be:
Memory Verse Monday – the memory verse for the month
Tuesday shall be an explanation of the services provided by the blog
Word Wednesday will continue to be a scripture verse – something Jesus said
Thankful Thursday will continue to be a “thanks” themed verse and an opportunity to share what you are thankful for. As the days become more difficult we will need this more and more
Fearless Friday / Faith over fear Friday – will continue to have a fear not themed verse to encourage each other to be strong
Salvation Saturday shall be added to our post – which will be a reoccurring post with the salvation message
Supplication Sunday – comments will be open for prayer requests so we can pray for each other and testimonies so we can brag on what our God is doing!

YEAR END LOOK BACK

2020 * Views = 811 * Likes = 172

With 2 days and 3 posts left before the year ends – here are 2021 statistics:
Views = 2880 * Likes = 1225

54 countries have viewed the website

The most popular day is Tuesday and most popular hour is 6 am (posts are scheduled for 6:30 am)

Average words per post are 3,726 and on average 3 hours are spent on each post.

THANK YOU FOR SHARING!!! We have had 4,522 shares on Twitter and 4,565 Facebook shares!!

We have had one person reach out for prayer.

It was an incredible year of growth! Look what the Lord has done!! I am excited to see what He will be doing in 2022 – a year of wisdom and salvation. Thank you all for reading and coming along with me on this journey.

29 Dec 202128 Dec 2021

7 Seals, 7 Trumpets, 2 Witnesses and a Little Book

“Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. [3.5 years] And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. [approx. 3.5 years]” Revelation 11:1-3 NKJV

Revelations is packed with rich symbols, like Ezekiel and Daniel. Many of these symbols would have been understood instantly and differently than we look at them, back in the days when John wrote it. I suppose it would be prudent to return to the language the scroll was written in to really grasp some of these things – like “a book” since books did not exist back then. Then after understanding the terminology, cross reference everywhere else in the Bible and other Jewish texts where those symbols show up and the various meaning and patterns of activities associated with those symbols. For example where else did we see the measuring of the temple and why was it being measured? Then here, why does the measuring of the temple apply to measuring time? This combined 7 years is formally known as Jacob’s sorrow.

Today’s reading is the Book of the Revelations of Jesus Christ (also called Revelations or Revelation), chapters 6 through 11 (embedded below the image below for your convenience). This is the part where people get nervous – what do the symbols mean in this section? The overall tone is of God’s judgment, doom, and perilous times.

Since, the churches were judged in the last section we read, and never mentioned again – many believe that these events occur after the rapture of the church. The gentiles seem to prosper under their one world government and antichrist leadership for the first half – then the 2 witnesses come and prophesy and some believe the angels will even manifest to help bear witness and lead people to salvation in these times.

A misconception is the premise of the “Left Behind” book series. Although I read them, and they were riveting, they did not have strong scripture basis. For example – the time for the gentile’s salvation ends and their grace runs out with 3.5 years of being overrun, then the Jews have the grace to repent under the witnesses. So those who think “I’ll get my act together AFTER the rapture, and I will be a strong witness for God at that point” have bought a lie. Because if you cannot be strong for God NOW, there is no way you can do it without the grace we depend so greatly on. And who will you be a witness to? As the grace to the gentile will be over. And do you think you can reach a Jew? Haven’t we learned they are too stiff necked for that!! Get your life right with God now, and stop that nonsense. He has 5 churches full of nonsense, you are not called to be in the “many”. You are called to be separate. You are called to be in the faithful church or the persecuted church. And His grace shall complete you.

The rapture is NOT in the book of Revelations, and the seven seals and the seven trumpets are two different descriptions of the tribulation – which is further elaborated by Jesus in the Gospels when the disciple ask about the end of days as well as in other books of prophesy.

If you think the rapture will happen pretribulation, I am right there with you. There is solid biblical evidence of that being the case, but I am not going to make that argument for you – you need to answer that for yourself. Sometimes I think I only believe that because of wishful thinking. My mother raised me to believe the rapture will come mid-tribulation. And there are plenty of verses to support that as well. AND I am a FIRM believer we should ALL be prepared for that! Yes. Be prepared for the worse and hope for the best. I only know of one person who believes post tribulation. And I know of one who sees it as meaning the evil get removed, not the righteous. That is a whole lot of people’s thoughts and not a lot of scripture in these sentences above in this paragraph! It is important to note that. Then since this blog is BIBLE based – not prophesy based. Let us stick with the scriptures even if we do not fully understand.

We know, I hope – at this point in our journey together, that God opens eyes and ears and understanding – That God provides revelation. Not me. Not you, discovering it on your own. No. That, my friends is the entire point of this book! It is the revelation of Jesus! Not the revelation of the end times, and not the revelation of the judgements of God. This book is about getting to know Jesus… so in each and every symbol looks for the “red thread”. Like the tree in the garden of Eden, to the burning bush and Moses’s staff, to the tree with each of the judges, to the branch carved into a sling in the story of David, to the carpenter’s son who hung on the tree as the Lamb sacrificed for our sins…. Follow the symbols. Follow looking for Jesus. DO NOT look for reading into and maybe possibly something or another. This book is called the Revelation of Jesus and if we seek Him first everything else comes together. If 2020, and this year, have taught you anything – especially as we read Jeremiah’s prophesies and saw them come to pass literally. We will know these thing, when they happen. And it will be more literal than we could have ever imagined.

There is a strong delusion in the last days – Jesus said. And so even the obvious literal fulfillment of these things have people blind to it. God’s ways are not our ways.

This is why we must focus on God, on learning to dwell safely in the secret place – inside and under his wing. Looking up and praying for Jesus to come again. Setting our affections on things above. We may believe it is a far ways off… none the less, come Lord Jesus Come.
Just like we are instructed to pray daily for the peace of Jerusalem even as we read the prophecy that there will not be peace. We pray none the less, as we are instructed. Even as Israel poisons its people with the shot and experiments on them like the Holocaust hasn’t ended. Even as they put in place travel bans essentially trapping God’s people in a huge concentration camp they can call their own nation! Why are the eyes of the world blind to the injustice and gross human rights violation?!

If you are in Israel – get into the secret place with God! Get there quickly and stay there – it is your only chance. And quite honestly, all of us should do the same. It is in that secret place that God will protect us and keep us.

Isaiah 55:8

Thank you for reading.
May the God of peace keep you and bless you. May you stay focused on Christ and covered in grace.
Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!

BIBLE READING: Revelations 6-11 NKJV

First Seal: The Conqueror

6 Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the ^[a]seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” ²And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

Second Seal: Conflict on Earth

³When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come ^[b]and see.” ⁴Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.

Third Seal: Scarcity on Earth

⁵When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales^[c] in his hand. ⁶And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A ^[d]quart of wheat for a ^[e]denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

Fourth Seal: Widespread Death on Earth

⁷When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” ⁸So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And ^[f]power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

Fifth Seal: The Cry of the Martyrs

⁹When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. ¹⁰And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” ¹¹Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

Sixth Seal: Cosmic Disturbances

¹²I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and ^[g]behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the ^[h]moon became like blood. ¹³And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. ¹⁴Then the sky ^[i]receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. ¹⁵And the kings of the earth, the great men, ^[j]the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, ¹⁶and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! ¹⁷For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

The Sealed of Israel

7 After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. ²Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, ³saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” ⁴And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:

⁵of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were ^[k]sealed;
of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;
⁶of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;
⁷of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;
⁸of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.

A Multitude from the Great Tribulation

⁹After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” ¹¹All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹²saying:

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,
Thanksgiving and honor and power and might,
Be to our God forever and ever.
Amen.”

¹³Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”

¹⁴And I said to him, ^[l]“Sir, you know.”

So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. ¹⁶They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; ¹⁷for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to ^[m]living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Seventh Seal: Prelude to the Seven Trumpets

8 When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. ²And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. ³Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. ⁴And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. ⁵Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.

⁶So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

First Trumpet: Vegetation Struck

⁷The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the ^[n]earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

Second Trumpet: The Seas Struck

⁸Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. ⁹And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

Third Trumpet: The Waters Struck

¹⁰Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. ¹¹The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.

Fourth Trumpet: The Heavens Struck

¹²Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day ^[o]did not shine, and likewise the night.

¹³And I looked, and I heard an ^[p]angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”

Fifth Trumpet: The Locusts from the Bottomless Pit

9 Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the ^[q]bottomless pit. ²And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. ³Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. ⁴They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵And ^[r]they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. ⁶In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.

⁷The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. ⁸They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. ⁹And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. ¹⁰They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months. ¹¹And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is ^[s]Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name ^[t]Apollyon.

¹²One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things.

Sixth Trumpet: The Angels from the Euphrates

¹³Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, ¹⁴saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” ¹⁵So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. ¹⁶Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. ¹⁷And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. ¹⁸By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed—by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. ¹⁹For ^[u]their power is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm.

²⁰But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. ²¹And they did not repent of their murders or their ^[v]sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

The Mighty Angel with the Little Book

10 I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire. ²He had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, ³and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices. ⁴Now when the seven thunders ^[w]uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying ^[x]to me, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.”

⁵The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his ^[y]hand to heaven ⁶and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer, ⁷but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.

John Eats the Little Book

⁸Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.”

⁹So I went to the angel and said to him, “Give me the little book.”

And he said to me, “Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.”

¹⁰Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. ¹¹And ^[z]he said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”

The Two Witnesses

11 Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. ^[aa]And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. ²But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. [3.5 years] ³And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. [approx. 3.5 years]”

⁴These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the ^[ab]God of the earth. ⁵And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. ⁶These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.

The Witnesses Killed

⁷When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. ⁸And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also ^[ac]our Lord was crucified. ⁹Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations ^[ad]will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. ¹⁰And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.

The Witnesses Resurrected

¹¹Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. ¹²And ^[ae]they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. ¹³In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.

¹⁴The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly.

Seventh Trumpet: The Kingdom Proclaimed

¹⁵Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The ^[af]kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” ¹⁶And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, ¹⁷saying:

“We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
The One who is and who was ^[ag]and who is to come,
Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.
¹⁸The nations were angry, and Your ^[ah]wrath has come,
And the time of the dead, that they should be judged,
And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints,
And those who fear Your name, small and great,
And should destroy those who destroy the earth.”

¹⁹Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of ^[ai]His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.

Footnotes

Revelation 6:1 NU, M seven seals
Revelation 6:3 NU, M omit and see
Revelation 6:5 balances
Revelation 6:6 Gr. choinix, about 1 quart
Revelation 6:6 About 1 day’s wage for a worker
Revelation 6:8 authority
Revelation 6:12 NU, M omit behold
Revelation 6:12 NU, M whole moon
Revelation 6:14 Or split apart
Revelation 6:15 NU, M the commanders, the rich men,
Revelation 7:5 NU, M omit sealed in vv. 5b–8b.
Revelation 7:14 NU, M My lord
Revelation 7:17 NU, M fountains of the waters of life
Revelation 8:7 NU, M add and a third of the earth was burned up
Revelation 8:12 had no light
Revelation 8:13 NU, M eagle
Revelation 9:1 Lit. shaft of the abyss
Revelation 9:5 The locusts
Revelation 9:11 Lit. Destruction
Revelation 9:11 Lit. Destroyer
Revelation 9:19 NU, M the power of the horses
Revelation 9:21 NU, M drugs
Revelation 10:4 NU, M sounded,
Revelation 10:4 NU, M omit to me
Revelation 10:5 NU, M right hand
Revelation 10:11 NU, M they
Revelation 11:1 NU, M omit And the angel stood
Revelation 11:4 NU, M Lord
Revelation 11:8 NU, M their
Revelation 11:9 NU, M see . . . and will not allow
Revelation 11:12 M I
Revelation 11:15 NU, M kingdom . . . has become the kingdom
Revelation 11:17 NU, M omit and who is to come
Revelation 11:18 anger
Revelation 11:19 M the covenant of the Lord

28 Dec 202128 Dec 2021

The Churches

“John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.” Revelation 1:4-7 NKJV

Revelations (I like the plural version of the various forms of the title), begins with John saying he wrote it and it is written to the seven churches and he first and foremost sends them grace. Before we finish this year, can we all acknowledge how important sending grace was? It is in EVERY epistle – since this blog is titled, “If Not For Grace” and I tend to explore grace throughout the scriptures, having an experience with grace, myself, and having been transformed by it – I tend to wonder when I see it so much – why the modern church dismisses it like an outdated greeting. Do we no longer need to be blessed with more grace?! AND John is not sending just any old grace – but the grace from the throne room itself – just look at the description of the throne room of grace! John’s experience with grace causes him to switch from greeting to worship of the Lord, because the remembrance of the experience with the vision of the throne room is still that powerful! I have had powerful, transformative experiences with grace but I have never seen vision of the throne room. I have read about it, with you, as we have read through the Bible.

Today’s reading is the Book of the Revelations of Jesus Christ (also called Revelations or Revelation), chapters 1 through 5 (embedded below the image below for your convenience). John, the beloved disciple, wrote this book while or after being imprisoned on the island of Patmos where he had visions and revelations of Jesus in the supernatural. Having known Jesus in the flesh, these revelations in the visions would have had to of been extremely convincing for John to say they were true and true enough to record. So, if John said this – I will take his word for it. He knew Jesus in a way I can only long to know him.

This book is NOT scary. Actually, it says there is an extra blessing for those who read through it. When I first saw that (and I was much more zealous than disciplined) I turned it on in audio book on repeat – hoping for all the extra blessings I can get. I didn’t care how scary – I was going to get to heaven with the most crowns! Lol
Believe it or not (even though I am still very zealous), I have calmed quite a bit.
Back to the book – Daniel’s and Ezekiel’s vision were weird like this too. So why were we not scared or forewarned about reading those? Jesus’s discussion of the end times is more perilous and frightening than these dreamlike images that are difficult to understand.

And the timeline seems that the church is only around for the first few chapters and after that there is no mention of it – the rapture must have happened and we are taken away! Most scholars believe we (the church) are not going to experience or see most of this book, while we are here on earth, this time around. And as we see – we come back later. So do not fear when you read it.

John – to the churches. Well, this beginning art hits home. It hits home hard. As we discussed on Monday – the persecution, the jailing, the struggles of the church at the time which John was writing were bad. Worse than the overall current world level of persecution – but it’s getting worse these days and this is more relatable. John wrote to each of these churches about their major sin, which God revealed to him. Read this section carefully. Make sure you aren’t falling into any of these categories and missing the boat. We have to opportunity for deep reflections and self-examination. We have the chance today to repent and get things right!!!

So in easy, quick summary:
First John greets the churches and then explains that he saw a vision of the spirit world. Then he addresses the churches – beginning in Ephesus. On December 16 we read the letter to the Ephesians from Paul. Do you recall what we read? Let me remind you – walking worthy, in unity, in love, in light, in wisdom (wisdom on dealing with each other) – Ephesus is The Loveless Church! Regardless of Paul and John’s writing and a nameless line of evangelists that frequented the church circuit in those days, preaching love and the gospel. Today’s application – love. Just Love and do not fall out of Love.
Next (second) is the Persecuted Church in Smyrna. Basically that they were going to be persecuted to death. Although we all hope we aren’t in that church read it and memorize it that it may comfort you and others if you end up in that church some day. Today’s application – hardships come, so stand even unto death.
3^rd is The Compromising Church (at Pergamos) – The flesh sees temptation and strikes a deal to compromise. We remember the hard words of Paul to the churches who let in sexual immorality, in relation to Balaam! Telling them to cast out the son who was raping his mother, which they boasted that they tolerated in “love” and the men who wanted to be leaders who were going to the pagan temples to have sex because it was culturally acceptable form of worship and a compromise! Yes – kick out those who continue in pagan practices!!! Today’s equivalent might be those who smudge sage and chant affirmations (spells) or those who read their horoscope. Or if you are (as some get) hung up on the word sex – our modern version of pagan sex might be dirty dancing, homosexuality, having multiple partners, or any kink or twisted version of what God intended. We no longer meet in temples to sleep with the temple prostitutes to worship pagan gods. Today’s application: small compromises will lead to corruption – see this next church.
4^th is the Corrupt Church in Thyatira. They became corrupted because of “That woman Jezebel” – That woman. Reference to Elijah and that controlling, manipulative, seductress who would not stop at anything to torment the prophet Elijah. You see that spirit did not die with the original women. And it comes against ministries and it comes against people. And it doesn’t always seduce – and it can come against women as well. The last church was compromising by giving into fleshly temptation – this church was corrupted by the old hag Jezebel. Today’s application: if you feel this spirit is coming against you, I recommend fasting and praying. Go to a pastor or elder and ask them to pray with you and keep you in prayer during this time. Do not compromise and she will have no place to get in.
5^th is the Dead Church in Sardis. These were not a bunch of punks or goths or crazy death cult. No this is a church who fell asleep – like in the book of Romans when Paul said (chapter 13) it is high time to wake up! But they didn’t. They once had good works and once heard and received – but now they are dead.
“He who overcomesshall be clothed in white garments, and I will notblot out his name from theBook of Life; butI will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” Rev. 3:5
And here we see a terrifying concept – we can have our names in the Book of Life, saved, going to heaven, but then… there is this possibility of it being blotted out (unless we repent of this deadness). I know of way too many people who are of the camp “once saved always saved” therefore compromises and flesh abound – sins continue. They easily can slide from compromises to corruption to death. And I fear for their names in the Book. There is, and I have said it a million times, a vast difference in a sin struggle and a compromise or corruption. Have we laid hands on our own and prayed a prayer of deliverance over each of them – why not? Aren’t we overdue for a house cleaning? Today’s application – check your pulse – are you alive?
6^th is The Faithful Church at Philadelphia. Read this section and do it. Be it. Strive for it.
7^th is the Lukewarm Church of the Laodiceans.
“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.So then, because you are lukewarm, and neithercold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” Rev 3:15-16
Today’s application – get on fire for God and don’t be vomit!

Today’s readings conclude with a further description of the throne room, and John falling into worship describing it. Let me suggest you have a heart of worship while reading it. Then he describes a scroll and a Lamb then the revelation (yes there is where the name of the book comes from) that Jesus is the Slain Lamb. John knew Jesus in the flesh and knew him after his death. You would think that he would recognize Jesus in spirit clothed in symbolism – as the sacrifice for our sins. Clothed in the symbols of the very gospel message John committed his life to preaching. Maybe it was because he was overwhelmed by the reverence and fear of being in the great throne room, first described in Job. This is not like meeting Abba Father in the garden and sitting on his lap telling him about your day – although that is a great activity for daily life – but this is The Kings Throne Room and even His children must reverence Him. None the less Jesus is revealed – and revealed within the symbol of the very gospel messages we all cherish, love and worship….. Concluding today’s reading in adoration and worship of how worthy The Lamb is!

See – Revelations is not that scary of a book. And if you already have a relationship with the Father through the Lamb in in the spirit, then you are familiar with these ideas. It is possible to be in the spirit realm, waking and dwelling while your body navigates the fleshly realm. It is possible to experience the throne room and the presence of God. It is possible to go deeper, draw closer, and have a more personal relationship with God so that you can understand these things even further. Some we just say it is so because he believe, have faith, know it is written, therefore it is. And other things we experience. Ask God to open your eyes and ears and understanding and dive into this book expecting an experience. And just like any book of the Bible, Jesus can reveal Himself to you in it and through it.

Isaiah 55:8

Thank you for reading.
May the God of peace keep you and bless you. May you stay focused on Christ and covered in grace.
Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!

BIBLE READING: Revelations 1-5 NKJV

Introduction and Benediction

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must ^[a]shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, ²who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. ³Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

Greeting the Seven Churches

⁴John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, ⁵and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.

To Him who ^[b]loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, ⁶and has made us ^[c]kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

⁷Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

⁸“I am the Alpha and the Omega, ^[d]the Beginning and the End,” says the ^[e]Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Vision of the Son of Man

⁹I, John, ^[f]both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. ¹⁰I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, ¹¹saying, ^[g]“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches ^[h]which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

¹²Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. ¹⁴His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; ¹⁵His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; ¹⁶He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. ¹⁷And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying ^[i]to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. ¹⁸I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of ^[j]Hades and of Death. ¹⁹^[k]Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. ²⁰The ^[l]mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the ^[m]angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands ^[n]which you saw are the seven churches.

The Loveless Church

2 “To the ^[o]angel of the church of Ephesus write,

‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: ²“I know your works, your labor, your ^[p]patience, and that you cannot ^[q]bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; ³and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. ⁴Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. ⁵Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. ⁶But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

⁷“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’

The Persecuted Church

⁸“And to the ^[r]angel of the church in Smyrna write,

‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life: ⁹“I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a ^[s]synagogue of Satan. ¹⁰Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

¹¹“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” ’

The Compromising Church

¹²“And to the ^[t]angel of the church in Pergamos write,

‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: ¹³“I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. ¹⁴But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. ¹⁵Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, ^[u]which thing I hate. ¹⁶Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.

¹⁷“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” ’

The Corrupt Church

¹⁸“And to the ^[v]angel of the church in Thyatira write,

‘These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass: ¹⁹“I know your works, love, ^[w]service, faith, and your ^[x]patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first. ²⁰Nevertheless I have ^[y]a few things against you, because you allow ^[z]that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, ^[aa]to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. ²¹And I gave her time to ^[ab]repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. ²²Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of ^[ac]their deeds. ²³I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches^[ad] the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.

²⁴“Now to you I say, ^[ae]and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I ^[af]will put on you no other burden. ²⁵But hold fast what you have till I come. ²⁶And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—

²⁷‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron;
They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’—

as I also have received from My Father; ²⁸and I will give him the morning star.

²⁹“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’

The Dead Church

3 “And to the ^[ag]angel of the church in Sardis write,

‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. ²Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before ^[ah]God. ³Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. ⁴^[ai]You have a few names ^[aj]even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. ⁵He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

⁶“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’

The Faithful Church

⁷“And to the ^[ak]angel of the church in Philadelphia write,

‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”: ⁸“I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, ^[al]and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. ⁹Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. ¹⁰Because you have kept ^[am]My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. ¹¹^[an]Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. ¹²He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.

¹³“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’

The Lukewarm Church

¹⁴“And to the ^[ao]angel of the church ^[ap]of the Laodiceans write,

‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: ¹⁵“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. ¹⁶So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither ^[aq]cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. ¹⁷Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— ¹⁸I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. ¹⁹As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.^[ar] Therefore be ^[as]zealous and repent. ²⁰Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. ²¹To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

²²“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ ”

The Throne Room of Heaven

4 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”

²Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. ³^[at]And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. ⁴Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white ^[au]robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads. ⁵And from the throne proceeded lightnings, ^[av]thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the^[aw] seven Spirits of God.

⁶Before the throne there ^[ax]was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. ⁷The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. ⁸The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying:

“Holy,^[ay] holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come!”

⁹Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:

¹¹“You are worthy, ^[az]O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they ^[ba]exist and were created.”

The Lamb Takes the Scroll

5 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. ²Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” ³And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.

⁴So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open ^[bb]and read the scroll, or to look at it. ⁵But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and ^[bc]to loose its seven seals.”

⁶And I looked, ^[bd]and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.

Worthy Is the Lamb

⁸Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
¹⁰And have made ^[be]us kings^[bf] and priests to our God;
And ^[bg]we shall reign on the earth.”

¹¹Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, ¹²saying with a loud voice:

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

¹³And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:

“Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ^[bh]ever!”

¹⁴Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the ^[bi]twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped ^[bj]Him who lives forever and ever.

Footnotes

Revelation 1:1 quickly or swiftly
Revelation 1:5 NU loves us and freed; M loves us and washed
Revelation 1:6 NU, M a kingdom
Revelation 1:8 NU, M omit the Beginning and the End
Revelation 1:8 NU, M Lord God
Revelation 1:9 NU, M omit both
Revelation 1:11 NU, M omit “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and,
Revelation 1:11 NU, M omit which are in Asia
Revelation 1:17 NU, M omit to me
Revelation 1:18 Lit. Unseen; the unseen realm
Revelation 1:19 NU, M Therefore, write
Revelation 1:20 hidden truth
Revelation 1:20 Or messengers
Revelation 1:20 NU, M omit which you saw
Revelation 2:1 Or messenger
Revelation 2:2 perseverance
Revelation 2:2 endure
Revelation 2:8 Or messenger
Revelation 2:9 congregation
Revelation 2:12 Or messenger
Revelation 2:15 NU, M likewise.
Revelation 2:18 Or messenger
Revelation 2:19 NU, M faith, service
Revelation 2:19 perseverance
Revelation 2:20 NU, M against you that you tolerate
Revelation 2:20 M your wife Jezebel
Revelation 2:20 NU, M and teaches and seduces
Revelation 2:21 NU, M repent, and she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality.
Revelation 2:22 NU, M her
Revelation 2:23 examines
Revelation 2:24 NU, M omit and
Revelation 2:24 NU, M omit will
Revelation 3:1 Or messenger
Revelation 3:2 NU, M My God
Revelation 3:4 NU, M Nevertheless you
Revelation 3:4 NU, M omit even
Revelation 3:7 Or messenger
Revelation 3:8 NU, M which no one can shut
Revelation 3:10 Lit. the word of My patience
Revelation 3:11 NU, M omit Behold
Revelation 3:14 Or messenger
Revelation 3:14 NU, M in Laodicea
Revelation 3:16 NU, M hot nor cold
Revelation 3:19 discipline
Revelation 3:19 eager
Revelation 4:3 M omits And He who sat there was, making the following a description of the throne.
Revelation 4:4 NU, M robes, with crowns
Revelation 4:5 NU, M voices, and thunderings.
Revelation 4:5 M omits the
Revelation 4:6 NU, M add something like
Revelation 4:8 M has holy nine times.
Revelation 4:11 NU, M our Lord and God
Revelation 4:11 NU, M existed
Revelation 5:4 NU, M omit and read
Revelation 5:5 NU, M omit to loose
Revelation 5:6 NU, M I saw in the midst . . . a Lamb standing
Revelation 5:10 NU, M them
Revelation 5:10 NU a kingdom
Revelation 5:10 NU, M they
Revelation 5:13 M adds Amen
Revelation 5:14 NU, M omit twenty-four
Revelation 5:14 NU, M omit Him who lives forever and ever

27 Dec 202127 Dec 2021

Walking in Truth

“Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father” 2^nd John 1:3-4 NKJV

Today’s reading is the Second and Third book of John, all the chapters (embedded below the image below for your convenience).

Some believe that 2^nd and 3^rd John were penned after the book of Revelations and that these are the last penned words of John.
Friday we read the last penned words of Paul – a letter to a young disciple, passing the mantle and imparting knowledge. Paul was often direct and to the point in his letters, but this one is full of love and supernatural power.
John is the beloved disciple, and the youngest. He was also the last to die, having survived being boiled in oil and sent to a prison island, Patmos – where he had the Revelations he wrote in the book of Revelations. John is the “beloved disciple”. His message is love, love, love and that the gospel IS LOVE. John’s last known penned letters are not written to a young disciple – nor is he passing a mantle. AND most surprisingly He is direct, to the point and very firm or hard on the reader! He seems a little frustrated that the “elect lady and her children” (meaning the church and the people who attend it) have taken the message of love and become tolerant of sin, humanism, pagans, the ways of the flesh, etc. And John sets the example of if you have to give a strong message, do it in genuine love. And to the Elder Gaius, He wrote with similar tone – and pointed direction in relations to very specific problems in the church.

The early church was struggling with the disciples being drawn away and enticed by the world as well as division in the church body – JUST LIKE TODAY. It would seem the enemy continues to use the same tactics – because sadly we humans keep falling for it.
Remember in the beginning of the year when we read about Moses and the children wandering the wilderness? The children were enticed by the idolatry of the world and they had bitter complaining that lead to divisions. This is not a new thing. When we read it, we thought: “oh well, I wouldn’t have been a wayward child. Not me. I would be smarter than that.” Yet every generation seems to have this problem.
And God sent prophets to warn them that he will judge them, and it will get bad so they should repent. Prophet after prophet – and judge after judge!! Yet they did not turn, they fell into the hard times and even then there were some who didn’t turn back to God and you and I were reading it dumbfounded by their pride and ignorance.
And now, here we are again. God has started to roll out the judgment on us all. If we are unrighteous, oppression and captivity like Babylon will come. If we are righteous, then when we are judged we will be counted as faithful and blessed even in captivity – like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

What a fitting ending to reading the Bible through in a Year, pointing out how God hasn’t changed, but he did change the way he held covenants with us and told us that in the future, he will change it again – but people haven’t changed and God still have to use extreme methods to get our attention as a whole and turn us back on the right path (oh wait, this plan left Revelations for last – stick with me for that, it is not as scary as people think).

Back to John – this was written during persecution, when instead of love and dying for one another, they were turning each other in to save their own lives. This is a concept that is getting very real, right now, in nations that never imagined it happening there. Canada, Australia, Israel and Germany – citizens are forfeiting freedom rights for lock-downs, travel bans and “show me your papers”. When we read the Old Testament we said: “we wouldn’t.” When we sat in history class and were taught the signs that lead up to the holocaust, we said: “We wouldn’t have let it happen!” Well, we have let them lock down Australia, and they’ve built the camps and have already started moving people around regardless of human rights. AND they have told us – but the popular news stations are not running the stories. We are guilty of not helping them! AND NOW, Canada, Israel and Germany are following suit. New York State is not far behind (I know, I am here – masked, in need of papers I do not have) – the whole USA is in danger and posting and fighting over augmented reality toys for Christmas on social media instead of waking up.

I also see you! The faithful readers – the likes, the frequent clicks from various countries. Although this blog has grown to the GLORY of GOD and has shared the gospel message of salvation with more and more countries… Our faithful reader from Kazakhstan and another from Pakistan haven’t been back since the nightmare in Iran. I notice. I see when you like daily and then do not. I follow your comments. I pray for all of you. How is it there? I am so very thankful for each of you that continue to like – in my mind you are not “liking” the post – but participating in a roll call saying “I am still here, still standing, still with access to the internet.”

It seems I am finishing the year with a heavy heart. I am going to change the format next year – I think we will do a read through of the New Testament but waiting on confirmation. I know it needs to be more about how and why we are “saved”, as well as the discipleship growth, study and learning. But we are the light in an ever darkening world and must shine THE WAY for the lost.

Oh wait – I was supposed to give you some insight on today’s reading…

2^nd John – after the greetings we are told to walk in Christ’s commandments – walk in Love, which is not new – but John like to say one thing in another (like Jesus is the Word) so here he is saying LOVE and TRUTH are one and the same. Love is truth and truth is love. Ever wonder why relationships are so easily destroyed by infidelity, lies, manipulations and deception…. All works of the father of lies…. The worlds curse corrupted love – and now, by the time it has reached us, it is unrecognizable as truth. Even then, when John was writing truth was separated from love. Truth walks and it is time it walked right back into its self, LOVE.

Beware of Antichrist Deceivers is the rest of the book – which at this point we have all had first hand experiences with. The specific one, also one we have today is the one that says Jesus did not come in the flesh and is NOT the way the truth and the life. And today we have people like my biological sister saying there are many ways to get to a heaven and trying to be good isn’t even necessary.
From verse 7, I have watched people confuse it and think that everyone who can confess Jesus is saved and you are demonic if you don’t. But the demons also believe and tremble (remember that verse?). So, do not be deceived by preachers who confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, but are giving and teaching you a false doctrine. Read this book for yourselves. Read it and study it. Learn it. Memorize it.

3^rd John – we have a problem in 3^rd John with church elders. Gaius is generous and commended and Diotrephes seem to have fallen into a snare of false doctrine and Demetrius is good. These are leaders – this is NOT how we handle and talk about the people in the church, but how we handle the leadership of the church who is called to a higher standard.

In simplicity – be generous. The gold and silver are God’s, He said in Haggai 2:8. You cannot out give God. So give. Give Time to study and give time to service. Give finances. Give hospitality. Give the coat off your back if you have to! Be like Gaius. Giving is truth.

Now, Diotrephes, seems to be controlling. Maybe out of fear of the persecutions? Maybe to be protective? Maybe he was once hurt? Maybe offences came and set him off the path? Whatever it is, it caused him to be the opposite of generous. He controls who is part of the church and who is thrown out. Maybe he read Paul’s harsh letters and misunderstood them – as they are still being miss understood today and people are not forbearing with those who struggle. Whatever Diotrephes issues are – John very sternly addresses and anyone else in the future who acts like it:
“¹¹Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.”

Now be like a good Hebrew who read and studied Job and understand what GOOD is in this verse. God is good. Good is God. Yes, John is saying one thing is another again. It is in this understanding that we reach the profoundly simple and powerful truths of the scripture and the mysteries of God. It is in this that we grow in our relationship with God.

And finally Demetrius – He is good. John could have said these character traits are good and these are bad – so your leaders who do this follow and that don’t follow… but John is short and to the point. Be like Gaius in generosity and like Demetrius in good testimony and do not confuse evil with good like Diotrephes.

Farewell. And that is it. These books are short and not so sweet. They do contain gems as all scripture is profitable for growth – but they are also very specific. Do not fail to come back tomorrow, I promise Revelation will not be nearly as difficult as you think and the book says there is an added blessing for those who read it! Besides it will help you draw closer to God – which of course is our primary goal. Then we lead others to this relationship…

Isaiah 55:8

Thank you for reading.
May the God of peace keep you and bless you. May you stay focused on Christ and covered in grace.
Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!

BIBLE READING: 2 and 3 John NKJV

Greeting the Elect Lady

¹The Elder,

To the ^[a]elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all those who have known the truth, ²because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever:

³Grace, mercy, and peace will be with ^[b]you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

Walk in Christ’s Commandments

⁴I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father. ⁵And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another. ⁶This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.

Beware of Antichrist Deceivers

⁷For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. ⁸Look to yourselves, that ^[c]we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward.

⁹Whoever ^[d]transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; ¹¹for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.

John’s Farewell Greeting

¹²Having many things to write to you, I did not wish to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.

¹³The children of your elect sister greet you. Amen.

Footnotes

2 John 1:1 chosen
2 John 1:3 NU, M us
2 John 1:8 NU you
2 John 1:9 NU goes ahead

3 John

Greeting to Gaius

¹The Elder,

To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth:

²Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. ³For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. ⁴I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in ^[a]truth.

Gaius Commended for Generosity

⁵Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren ^[b]and for strangers, ⁶who have borne witness of your love before the church. If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well, ⁷because they went forth for His name’s sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles. ⁸We therefore ought to receive^[c] such, that we may become fellow workers for the truth.

Diotrephes and Demetrius

⁹I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. ¹⁰Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating^[d] against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.

¹¹Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, ^[e]but he who does evil has not seen God.

¹²Demetrius has a good testimony from all, and from the truth itself. And we also ^[f]bear witness, and you know that our testimony is true.

Farewell Greeting

¹³I had many things to write, but I do not wish to write to you with pen and ink; ¹⁴but I hope to see you shortly, and we shall speak face to face.

Peace to you. Our friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.

Footnotes

3 John 1:4 NU the truth
3 John 1:5 NU and especially for
3 John 1:8 NU support
3 John 1:10 talking nonsense
3 John 1:11 NU, M omit but
3 John 1:12 testify

26 Dec 202122 Dec 2021

Weekend Reading (December 26th)

Isaiah 55:8

Thank you for reading.
May the God of peace keep you and bless you. May you stay focused on Christ and covered in grace.
Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!

BIBLE READING: 1 John 1-5 NKJV

What Was Heard, Seen, and Touched

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— ²the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— ³that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. ⁴And these things we write to you that ^[a]your joy may be full.

Fellowship with Him and One Another

⁵This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. ⁶If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

⁸If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

The Test of Knowing Christ

2 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. ²And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

The Test of Knowing Him

³Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. ⁴He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God ^[b]is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. ⁶He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

⁷^[c]Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard ^[d]from the beginning. ⁸Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.

⁹He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. ¹⁰He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. ¹¹But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Their Spiritual State

¹²I write to you, little children,
Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.
¹³I write to you, fathers,
Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
Because you have overcome the wicked one.
I write to you, little children,
Because you have known the Father.
¹⁴I have written to you, fathers,
Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men,
Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you,
And you have overcome the wicked one.

Do Not Love the World

¹⁵Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. ¹⁷And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Deceptions of the Last Hour

¹⁸Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the^[e] Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. ¹⁹They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

²⁰But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you^[f] know all things. ²¹I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

²²Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. ²³Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

Let Truth Abide in You

²⁴Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.

²⁶These things I have written to you concerning those who try to ^[g]deceive you. ²⁷But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you ^[h]will abide in Him.

The Children of God

²⁸And now, little children, abide in Him, that ^[i]when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. ²⁹If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.

The Command to Love

3 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of ^[j]God! Therefore the world does not know ^[k]us, because it did not know Him. ²Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. ³And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Sin and the Child of God

⁴Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. ⁵And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. ⁶Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

⁷Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. ⁸He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. ⁹Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

The Imperative of Love

¹⁰In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. ¹¹For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, ¹²not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.

¹³Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. ¹⁴We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love ^[l]his brother abides in death. ¹⁵Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

The Outworking of Love

¹⁶By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. ¹⁷But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

¹⁸My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. ¹⁹And by this we ^[m]know that we are of the truth, and shall ^[n]assure our hearts before Him. ²⁰For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. ²¹Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. ²²And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. ²³And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave ^[o]us commandment.

The Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error

²⁴Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

Love for God and One Another

4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ²By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, ³and every spirit that does not confess ^[p]that Jesus ^[q]Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

⁴You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. ⁵They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. ⁶We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Knowing God Through Love

⁷Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. ¹⁰In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Seeing God Through Love

¹²No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. ¹³By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. ¹⁴And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. ¹⁵Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

The Consummation of Love

¹⁷Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. ¹⁹We love ^[r]Him because He first loved us.

Obedience by Faith

²⁰If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, ^[s]how can he love God whom he has not seen? ²¹And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

Obedience by Faith

5 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. ²By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. ³For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. ⁴For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—^[t]our faith. ⁵Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

The Certainty of God’s Witness

⁶This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. ⁷For there are three that bear witness ^[u]in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. ⁸And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.

⁹If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of ^[v]God which He has testified of His Son. ¹⁰He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. ¹¹And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ¹²He who has the Son has ^[w]life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. ¹³These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, ^[x]and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

Confidence and Compassion in Prayer

¹⁴Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

¹⁶If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. ¹⁷All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

Knowing the True—Rejecting the False

¹⁸We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps^[y] ^[z]himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.

¹⁹We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

²⁰And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

²¹Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

Footnotes

1 John 1:4 NU, M our
1 John 2:5 has been completed
1 John 2:7 NU Beloved
1 John 2:7 NU omits from the beginning
1 John 2:18 NU omits the
1 John 2:20 NU you all know.
1 John 2:26 lead you astray
1 John 2:27 NU omits will
1 John 2:28 NU if
1 John 3:1 NU adds And we are.
1 John 3:1 M you
1 John 3:14 NU omits his brother
1 John 3:19 NU shall know
1 John 3:19 persuade, set at rest
1 John 3:23 M omits us
1 John 4:3 NU omits that
1 John 4:3 NU omits Christ has come in the flesh
1 John 4:19 NU omits Him
1 John 4:20 NU he cannot
1 John 5:4 M your
1 John 5:7 NU, M omit the words from in heaven (v. 7) through on earth (v. 8). Only 4 or 5 very late mss. contain these words in Greek.
1 John 5:9 NU God, that
1 John 5:12 Or the life
1 John 5:13 NU omits the rest of v. 13.
1 John 5:18 guards
1 John 5:18 NU him

25 Dec 202122 Dec 2021

Weekend Reading (December 25th)

Merry Christmas!!!

Isaiah 55:8

Thank you for reading.
May the God of peace keep you and bless you. May you stay focused on Christ and covered in grace.
Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!

BIBLE READING: 2 Peter 1-3 & Jude 1 NKJV

2 Peter 1-3

Greeting the Faithful

1 Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have ^[^a^]obtained like^[^b^] precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:

²Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, ³as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, ⁴by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the ^[^c^]corruption that is in the world through lust.

Fruitful Growth in the Faith

⁵But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, ⁶to knowledge self-control, to self-control ^[^d^]perseverance, to perseverance godliness, ⁷to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. ⁸For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither ^[^e^]barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

¹⁰Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; ¹¹for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Peter’s Approaching Death

¹²For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. ¹³Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this ^[^f^]tent, to stir you up by reminding you, ¹⁴knowing that shortly I must ^[^g^]put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. ¹⁵Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my ^[^h^]decease.

The Trustworthy Prophetic Word

¹⁶For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. ¹⁷For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” ¹⁸And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

¹⁹^[ⁱ^]And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; ²⁰knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private ^[^j^]interpretation, ²¹for prophecy never came by the will of man, but ^[^k^]holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

Destructive Doctrines

2 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. ²And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. ³By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction ^[^l^]does not slumber.

Doom of False Teachers

⁴For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to ^[^m^]hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; ⁵and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; ⁶and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; ⁷and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked ⁸(for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)— ⁹then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, ¹⁰and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of ^[ⁿ^]dignitaries, ¹¹whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord.

Depravity of False Teachers

¹²But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption, ¹³and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to ^[^o^]carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, ^[^p^]carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you, ¹⁴having eyes full of ^[^q^]adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. ¹⁵They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; ¹⁶but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet.

¹⁷These are wells without water, ^[^r^]clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness ^[^s^]forever.

Deceptions of False Teachers

¹⁸For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who ^[^t^]have actually escaped from those who live in error. ¹⁹While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of ^[^u^]corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into ^[^v^]bondage. ²⁰For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. ²¹For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. ²²But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”

God’s Promise Is Not Slack

3 Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), ²that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of ^[^w^]us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, ³knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, ⁴and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” ⁵For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, ⁶by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. ⁷But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and ^[^x^]perdition of ungodly men.

⁸But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward ^[^y^]us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

The Day of the Lord

¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be ^[^z^]burned up. ¹¹Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, ¹²looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? ¹³Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Be Steadfast

¹⁴Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; ¹⁵and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, ¹⁶as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.

¹⁷You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; ¹⁸but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

Footnotes

2 Peter 1:1 received
2 Peter 1:1 faith of the same value
2 Peter 1:4 depravity
2 Peter 1:6 patience
2 Peter 1:8 useless
2 Peter 1:13 Body
2 Peter 1:14 Die and leave this body
2 Peter 1:15 Lit. exodus, departure
2 Peter 1:19 Or We also have the more sure prophetic word
2 Peter 1:20 Or origin
2 Peter 1:21 NU men spoke from God
2 Peter 2:3 M will not
2 Peter 2:4 Lit. Tartarus
2 Peter 2:10 glorious ones, lit. glories
2 Peter 2:13 revel
2 Peter 2:13 reveling
2 Peter 2:14 Lit. an adulteress
2 Peter 2:17 NU and mists
2 Peter 2:17 NU omits forever
2 Peter 2:18 NU are barely escaping
2 Peter 2:19 depravity
2 Peter 2:19 slavery
2 Peter 3:2 NU, M the apostles of your Lord and Savior or your apostles of the Lord and Savior
2 Peter 3:7 destruction
2 Peter 3:9 NU you
2 Peter 3:10 NU laid bare, lit. found

Jude 1

Greeting to the Called

¹Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,

To those who are called, ^[^a^]sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:

²Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

Contend for the Faith

³Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. ⁴For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord ^[^b^]God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Old and New Apostates

⁵But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. ⁶And the angels who did not keep their ^[^c^]proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; ⁷as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the ^[^d^]vengeance of eternal fire.

⁸Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of ^[^e^]dignitaries. ⁹Yet Michael the archangel, in ^[^f^]contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” ¹⁰But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. ¹¹Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

Apostates Depraved and Doomed

¹²These are ^[^g^]spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried ^[^h^]about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; ¹³raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.

¹⁴Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, ¹⁵to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

Apostates Predicted

¹⁶These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. ¹⁷But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: ¹⁸how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. ¹⁹These are ^[ⁱ^]sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.

Maintain Your Life with God

²⁰But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

²²And on some have compassion, ^[^j^]making a distinction; ²³but others save ^[^k^]with fear, pulling them out of the ^[^l^]fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

Glory to God

²⁴Now to Him who is able to keep ^[^m^]you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
²⁵To ^[ⁿ^]God our Savior,
^[^o^]Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and ^[^p^]power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Footnotes

Jude 1:1 NU beloved
Jude 1:4 NU omits God
Jude 1:6 own
Jude 1:7 punishment
Jude 1:8 glorious ones, lit. glories
Jude 1:9 arguing
Jude 1:12 stains, or hidden reefs
Jude 1:12 NU, M along
Jude 1:19 soulish or worldly
Jude 1:22 NU who are doubting (or making distinctions)
Jude 1:23 NU omits with fear
Jude 1:23 NU adds and on some have mercy with fear
Jude 1:24 M them
Jude 1:25 NU the only God our
Jude 1:25 NU Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Be glory
Jude 1:25 NU adds Before all time,

24 Dec 202124 Dec 2021

A Bold Night before Christmas

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God,who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.” 2 Timothy 1:7-12 NKJV

Verse 8 starts with the word “therefore” – so what is it there for? It is there continuing verse 7 which we have isolated and quoted to the point that even the world can quote is – but no one believes it. Or they falsely understand it. This may not be the typical “Christmas” post – but it is the PURE GOSPEL TRUTH OF CHRISTMAS. Look it up for yourself and see.

Today’s reading is from the Second book of Timothy chapters 1 through 4 (embedded below the image below for your convenience). The last words penned out by Paul is this book – and it is a summary of all the things he wanted to impart to Timothy before he passed away.

Thank you Jesus that this section of the Bible lands on a day I write the devo’s on it – because you all know how much I LOVE 2 Timothy 1:7 and 2 Timothy 1:12. And to be able to run with the verses in between and preceding and proceeding!!!! Do yourself a favor and soak in this book for a little bit! So good! So very good!!! I think we have already discussed Timothy – a young man with a Jewish mother called to pastor a church and a disciple of Paul. Timothy first traveled with Paul until he was placed as a shepherded a church. But Timothy was not mature enough as we saw in First Timothy which essentially said: Get your act together. But this book, there is no time left for that – there is only time left for the passing of the mantle.

Speaking of – It isn’t published on this site – but once I did a paralleled study of this passing of the mantle and the one of Elijah to Elisha. There are some interesting and subtle similarities. Someone remind me to someday upload it here.

But today is Christmas Eve and no one needed to pass a mantle to our Creator who came to us as a babe in the manger. So with just deciding to believe and follow like in Hebrews 11 – and understanding the beginning of Hebrews – that Jesus was both 100% man and 100% God. Let us not ever stop telling the story – sharing the gospel. It is within that gospel story that the spirit of fear is overcome with power, love and a sound mind.

Verse 7 – “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

Not a mind that is trusting and at peace with a lie – but one that heard the voice of the spirit and headed it. A mind sound in gospel and sound and sturdy in doctrine. A mind that knows the Bible and how to rightly divide it. A mind grounded in LOVE knowing God IS Love. And it is in the establish love – that Paul warns Timothy and I warn you – it’s getting bad out there. This is not going to be easy – we are not called to easy – we are called to be blessed.

Verse 8 & 9 – “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, ⁹who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,”

Prisons. Suffering. Having to be saved. Sacrificing our own purpose for ourselves for His! But, there is grace. Grace that is sufficient. Grace given to us before time began. We are able because grace transforms us in the revelation of our Savior Jesus Christ – Born a man and died to, as God, abolish death…

Verse 10 – “but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,”

As grace transformed Him into our propitiation for our crimes and sins, a sinless man. Yet as God then brought life and immortality to light! Paul wrote, “Through the Gospel” But it was the Gospel that the transforming power of Grace made for our way. Just like it is through Jesus – but it is Jesus who is the way the truth and the life.

Verse 12 – in sections because each is so perfect alone and the put together with Love, Power and a Sound Mind it is the Grace and Power of the Gospel and our fulfillment of “overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of our Testimony and loving NOT our lives:
“For this reason I also suffer these things;” I suffer – I count it all joy to participate in the cross – the suffering is direct reference to the part of the Gospel which is the cross, the death and the overcoming of death!
“nevertheless I am not ashamed,” – do not be ashamed, embarrassed, inhibited, oppressed by the pressure to be liked (see suffering above). As we are locking down everywhere – who really cares anymore what anyone else thinks – we do not even see them. Be bold and empowered to overcome shame and fear. Lord – fill us with the holy Ghost Boldness! We ask in the name of Jesus.
“for I know whom I have believed” – Do you? DO you know Him. I know Him. I know when it isn’t Him. I know when it is Him. I know His voice – John 10:27-28.
“for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded” I am persuaded, confident, I know that I know that I know, that I know!!! You cannot convince me otherwise!!
“for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able” HE IS ABLE> No matter what we face or will face or have faced – HE is able. He is able to do whatever He needs to do to be glorified in our weakness, in our sickness, in our pain, etc. He is able to intercede in situations and change both me and the others in those situations. He is able to do what He is famous for. He is able to keep us from covid. He is able to eliminate it from Earth. He is able to overthrow these evil governments, and even though He will not – but He is work it for His glory and for a great revival to turn the hearts of men to Him!!!
“for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.” I have committed it all to him.

This is the gospel story. That Jesus came to set us free from sin, save us from hell, and transform us into something blessed and new and amazing. All because God wants to restore what He originally intended – us to have a personal relationship with HIM.

Isaiah 55:8

Thank you for reading.
May the God of peace keep you and bless you. May you stay focused on Christ and covered in grace.
Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!

BIBLE READING: 2 Timothy 1-4 NKJV

Greeting

1 Paul, an apostle of ^[^a^]Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,

²To Timothy, a beloved son:

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Timothy’s Faith and Heritage

³I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, ⁴greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, ⁵when I call to remembrance the ^[^b^]genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. ⁶Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Not Ashamed of the Gospel

⁸Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, ⁹who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, ¹⁰but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, ¹¹to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher ^[^c^]of the Gentiles. ¹²For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

Be Loyal to the Faith

¹³Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

¹⁵This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. ¹⁶The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; ¹⁷but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me. ¹⁸The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day—and you know very well how many ways he ministered ^[^d^]to me at Ephesus.

Be Strong in Grace

2 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ²And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. ³You therefore must endure^[^e^] hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. ⁴No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. ⁵And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops. ⁷Consider what I say, and ^[^f^]may the Lord give you understanding in all things.

⁸Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, ⁹for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained. ¹⁰Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the ^[^g^]elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

¹¹This is a faithful saying:

For if we died with Him,
We shall also live with Him.
¹²If we endure,
We shall also reign with Him.
If we deny Him,
He also will deny us.
¹³If we are faithless,
He remains faithful;
He cannot deny Himself.

Approved and Disapproved Workers

¹⁴Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to ^[^h^]strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. ¹⁵Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. ¹⁶But shun profane and ^[ⁱ^]idle babblings, for they will ^[^j^]increase to more ungodliness. ¹⁷And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, ¹⁸who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some. ¹⁹Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of ^[^k^]Christ depart from iniquity.”

²⁰But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. ²¹Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, ^[^l^]sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. ²²Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. ²³But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. ²⁴And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, ²⁵in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, ²⁶and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

Perilous Times and Perilous Men

3 But know this, that in the last days ^[^m^]perilous times will come: ²For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, ³unloving, ^[ⁿ^]unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, ⁴traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! ⁶For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, ⁷always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁸Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; ⁹but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.

The Man of God and the Word of God

¹⁰But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, ¹¹persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. ¹²Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. ¹³But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, ¹⁵and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁶All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for ^[^o^]instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Preach the Word

4 I charge you ^[^p^]therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead ^[^q^]at His appearing and His kingdom: ²Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. ³For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; ⁴and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. ⁵But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Paul’s Valedictory

⁶For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. ⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

The Abandoned Apostle

⁹Be diligent to come to me quickly; ¹⁰for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica—Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia. ¹¹Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry. ¹²And Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. ¹³Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come—and the books, especially the parchments.

¹⁴Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works. ¹⁵You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words.

¹⁶At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them.

The Lord Is Faithful

¹⁷But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. ¹⁸And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!

Come Before Winter

¹⁹Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. ²⁰Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick.

²¹Do your utmost to come before winter.

Eubulus greets you, as well as Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brethren.

Farewell

²²The Lord ^[^r^]Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.

Footnotes

2 Timothy 1:1 NU, M Christ Jesus
2 Timothy 1:5 Lit. unhypocritical
2 Timothy 1:11 NU omits of the Gentiles
2 Timothy 1:18 to me from Vg., a few Gr. mss.
2 Timothy 2:3 NU You must share
2 Timothy 2:7 NU the Lord will give you
2 Timothy 2:10 chosen ones
2 Timothy 2:14 battle
2 Timothy 2:16 empty chatter
2 Timothy 2:16 lead
2 Timothy 2:19 NU, M the Lord
2 Timothy 2:21 set apart
2 Timothy 3:1 times of stress
2 Timothy 3:3 irreconcilable
2 Timothy 3:16 training, discipline
2 Timothy 4:1 NU omits therefore
2 Timothy 4:1 NU and by
2 Timothy 4:22 NU omits Jesus Christ

23 Dec 202122 Dec 2021

Faith

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrew 12:1-2 NKJV

Faith. Faith. Faith.

Today’s reading is from the book of Hebrews chapters 11 through 13 (embedded below the image below for your convenience). As we are getting so close to the holidays – I am trying to keep this brief and give you something to think on, something learned, and let you go get everything ready for the holiday – but those who have gotten to know me, know it is terribly hard for me!!! Especially in a book full of faith and grace!

Let’s start with learning about the book and transition into something to think on.

The end of chapter 13 is why some people contribute the Book to Paul – the similarity in wording of wanting to see them. The reference to being in Rome – well Paul says there is a whole council of believing Jews in Rome, maybe they wrote it. Luke is in Rome with them – although he is a gentile, there is a remote chance he wrote it on behalf of a Jewish counsel. And the reference to Timothy also lends people to think it is Paul. But Timothy was brought into the church leadership and became part of it so anyone in leadership might refer to Timothy. So the author of the book remains a mystery.

Chapter 11 is the “Faith Hall of Fame” – most simple idea is that faith was an action that was counted as faith and these people are the examples of the faith we must strive for. Most notably to me is – first and foremost, they have a relationship with God. Secondly, their faith amounts to obedience. Because they had a relationship, they knew and understood what God wanted and they obeyed. Faith equivalent to these people is not some sort of unattainable magical level of supernatural faith – no. it is simple and much less complicated than people make it. We can have the mustard seed level of faith – the small faith that moves mountains, when we stop making it harder than it is. Faith is simply, God said it and I believe it and so I do it. Done. ß and that is the part you should think on. And ask God to show you where to be obedient and to help you obey.

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.” Heb. 12:28-29

With Bill Gate announcing that the worst is coming – remember, we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken! Bill gates does not shake God!

Do not fear man – fear God. God is a consuming FIRE and fire is about to fall from the heavens!! With the White house placing the curse on America – saying we will all fall terribly sick, I have prayed to break that curse proclaim the work of the Lord and I counter with blessing all who believe with Mark 16:17-18!!! It is time for the fire of our God to flow through us and out over the people with healings!!! Play time is over. Jesus came for THIS reason!

Do we believe or don’t we? Is what the Bible says true? All of it? Of course. Period. The end. No more thought or doubt or philosophical reasoning on the matter. Decide today it is true and move on. Stop letting that be your stumbling block!

You have met the Lord – You have a relationship with Him – you KNOW Him. No one with an argument is at your mercy – YOU HAVE AN EXPERIENCE! However, there is a very real possibility you do not have a relationship and you do not have an experience (don’t stop reading yet). Please do not let another day or another moment go by without getting yourself right with God. Hell is very real and not meant for you. (Keep reading – do not be tempted to stop) Repent and get humble and ask God to forgive you through Christ Jesus and enter into a relationship – more on that will follow.

KEEP READING THIS = If you are remotely unsure (ask God to remove any unsureness)… If you have any doubt (caste off the spirit of doubt in the name of Jesus)… If you do not have an experience that causes you to say you not only know, but you KNOW that you know (ask)… If you need God to move and you need an experience (ask, ask, ask!)… Now is the time to pray and seek it. Chase it. Beg for it. Persist like the persistent widow. Ask, seek and knock! I promise you it is worth it. But you need to be quiet desperate for it and truly seeking it. God doesn’t just give out experiences like a circus show for unbelievers who aren’t truly seeking Him! He is NOT a genie in a bottle. So have faith that God answers when called because His word says so – realize the problem is you. That is hard, but you may have unrepented sin in the way? Or Doubt that need repenting of. Or you might be too proud. Are you too loud to hear? Are you too insistent on your own way?
It is time! Time for the Fire of God to fall on us all and move – for the sake of our dying world, for the sake of the last of the lost who will turn to Christ, for the sake of those who need to be saved!

Isaiah 55:8

Thank you for reading.
May the God of peace keep you and bless you. May you stay focused on Christ and covered in grace.
Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!

BIBLE READING: Hebrews 11-13 NKJV

By Faith We Understand

11 Now faith is the ^[^a^]substance of things hoped for, the ^[^b^]evidence of things not seen. ²For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.

³By faith we understand that the ^[^c^]worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

Faith at the Dawn of History

⁴By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.

⁵By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. ⁶But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

⁷By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

Faithful Abraham

⁸By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; ¹⁰for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

¹¹By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she^[^d^] bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. ¹²Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

The Heavenly Hope

¹³These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off ^[^e^]were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. ¹⁴For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. ¹⁵And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

The Faith of the Patriarchs

¹⁷By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, ¹⁸^[^f^]of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” ¹⁹concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

²⁰By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

²¹By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

²²By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.

The Faith of Moses

²³By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command.

²⁴By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the ^[^g^]passing pleasures of sin, ²⁶esteeming the ^[^h^]reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures ^[ⁱ^]in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.

²⁷By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. ²⁸By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

²⁹By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.

By Faith They Overcame

³⁰By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. ³¹By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who ^[^j^]did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.

³²And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: ³³who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, ³⁴quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. ³⁵Women received their dead raised to life again.

Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. ³⁶Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. ³⁷They were stoned, they were sawn in two, ^[^k^]were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— ³⁸of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.

³⁹And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, ⁴⁰God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

The Race of Faith

12 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ²looking unto Jesus, the ^[^l^]author and ^[^m^]finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The Discipline of God

³For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. ⁴You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. ⁵And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:

“My son, do not despise the ^[ⁿ^]chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
⁶For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”

⁷If^[^o^] you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? ⁸But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. ⁹Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. ¹¹Now no ^[^p^]chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Renew Your Spiritual Vitality

¹²Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, ¹³and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

¹⁴Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: ¹⁵looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; ¹⁶lest there be any fornicator or ^[^q^]profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. ¹⁷For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

The Glorious Company

¹⁸For you have not come ^[^r^]to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and ^[^s^]darkness and tempest, ¹⁹and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. ²⁰(For they could not endure what was commanded: “And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned ^[^t^]or shot with an arrow.” ²¹And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”)

²²But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, ²³to the ^[^u^]general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, ²⁴to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

Hear the Heavenly Voice

²⁵See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, ²⁶whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I ^[^v^]shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” ²⁷Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

²⁸Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we ^[^w^]may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. ²⁹For our God is a consuming fire.

Concluding Moral Directions

13 Let brotherly love continue. ²Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. ³Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also.

⁴Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

⁵Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” ⁶So we may boldly say:

“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?”

Concluding Religious Directions

⁷Remember those who ^[^x^]rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. ⁸Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. ⁹Do not be carried ^[^y^]about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.

¹⁰We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. ¹¹For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. ¹²Therefore Jesus also, that He might ^[^z^]sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. ¹³Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. ¹⁴For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. ¹⁵Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, ^[^aa^]giving thanks to His name. ¹⁶But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

¹⁷Obey those who ^[^ab^]rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

Prayer Requested

¹⁸Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably. ¹⁹But I especially urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.

Benediction, Final Exhortation, Farewell

²⁰Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, ²¹make you ^[^ac^]complete in every good work to do His will, working in ^[^ad^]you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

²²And I appeal to you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation, for I have written to you in few words. ²³Know that our brother Timothy has been set free, with whom I shall see you if he comes shortly.

²⁴Greet all those who ^[^ae^]rule over you, and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you.

²⁵Grace be with you all. Amen.

Footnotes

Hebrews 11:1 realization
Hebrews 11:1 Or confidence
Hebrews 11:3 Or ages, Gr. aiones, aeons
Hebrews 11:11 NU omits she bore a child
Hebrews 11:13 NU, M omit were assured of them
Hebrews 11:18 to
Hebrews 11:25 temporary
Hebrews 11:26 reviling because of
Hebrews 11:26 NU, M of
Hebrews 11:31 were disobedient
Hebrews 11:37 NU omits were tempted
Hebrews 12:2 originator
Hebrews 12:2 perfecter
Hebrews 12:5 discipline
Hebrews 12:7 NU, M It is for discipline that you endure; God
Hebrews 12:11 discipline
Hebrews 12:16 godless
Hebrews 12:18 NU to that which
Hebrews 12:18 NU gloom
Hebrews 12:20 NU, M omit the rest of v. 20.
Hebrews 12:23 festal gathering
Hebrews 12:26 NU will shake
Hebrews 12:28 M omits may
Hebrews 13:7 lead
Hebrews 13:9 NU, M away
Hebrews 13:12 set apart
Hebrews 13:15 Lit. confessing
Hebrews 13:17 lead
Hebrews 13:21 perfect
Hebrews 13:21 NU, M us
Hebrews 13:24 lead

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