tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65110611176043168222024-03-14T00:54:06.330-04:00Vigor of TwelveVigor of Twelve is a play off of the fact that Jesus had twelve disciples. It is a name that helps stress an importance on discipleship. This blog is specifically geared for younger people and mature Christians who don't mind a fresh, bold, and blunt approach to faith. Comments welcome, let's begin the discussion!PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.comBlogger1811125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511061117604316822.post-35039978476571815052016-12-20T03:30:00.000-05:002016-12-20T03:30:16.077-05:00Final PostThis will be my final post for this blog. It's been a fun blog to write. A post went up nearly every day for the last 5 years. The blog started January 1, 2012. It officially ended Dec 19, 2016. There was a total of 1,810 posts.<br />
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This blog started off as an attempt to engage people in discipleship style thinking every day. My hope is that it continued to do that throughout its life. As the blog continued, it also became my own personal commentary on the New Testament. That goal was achieved as well. You can use the "Books Studied" tab at the top of the page to find a link to the first blog post on any book in the New Testament. You can also use the History widget on the right side of the screen to locate a specific set of verses if you know the approximate date that I studied each book.<br />
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I will leave these posts up for as long as allowed. Please continue to use them as needed.PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511061117604316822.post-676868485878680152016-12-19T03:30:00.000-05:002016-12-19T03:30:32.379-05:00Revelation 22:17-21<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Revelation 22:17-21</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And the spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who thirsts come. And let the one who wishes freely take the
water of life. I witness to all who hear
the words of the prophecy of this book.
If someone should place upon them, God will place upon them the plagues
that have been written in this book. And
if someone should remove from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will
remove his share from the of life and out of the holy city that has been
written in this book. The one who
witnesses these things says, “Yes, I come quickly.” Amen, come Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with everyone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Thoughts
for Today</span></h3>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">First
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In this final passage of the New
Testament, we get to hear the famous “Come” passages. There are two ways to take these words. The first, and most straightforward, is that
the followers of Christ are speaking the message for Christ to come
quickly. This is certainly
possible. If this is the intent of the
meaning, then it is our response to this message of hope found in the book of
Revelation. However, it is entirely
possible that the followers of Christ are repeating the message that they have
heard from God. Instead of this being a
call for Christ to come quickly, it is their acknowledgement that they have
been called to come into the presence of God in the first place. We simply don’t know which is the case,
although the simpler reading is the first scenario. In either case, we can see that the proper
position for humanity to take is in response to God’s leading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Do you desire the return of Christ to
happen as soon as possible? How have you
responded to God’s call in your life?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Second
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Next, we hear the warning against
altering the words in this book. We
should not take this warning too literally, especially knowing the context of
this book. Remember that in the ancient
world all copies were done by hand. It
was common that warnings such as this would be placed at the end of books so
that those who are copying would have a final reminder to make sure that their
efforts were reliable. That being said
we should take seriously the reason for such a warning. God wants His message to go out into the
world. He wants people to hear a message
of hope, especially those under persecution.
We should be a people who accurately give the message that God has
called us to give.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Where does your life accurately reflect
God’s desires for your life? What are
the aspects of your faith that ensure as much as possible that your life is
being lived in such a manner?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Third
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> I think that it is neat that the last words of
this book are about grace. In fact, the
word grace in the Greek text is quite literally the word for grace. The last thing that our Bible has to say is
grace. This is a profound message in its
own right, but remember that Revelation is an apocalyptic message to a people
who are in persecution. Grace is what
they need. They have a great need for
their fear to be taken away and cast out.
We all have a similar need to some degree. Our persecution may not be as great, but we
all need grace. God’s grace is extended
to all of us, if we will receive it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How is God’s
grace a part of your life? How do you
extend grace to the people around you?
Will the last word of the testimony of your life be grace?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511061117604316822.post-30347884215722123772016-12-18T03:30:00.000-05:002016-12-18T03:30:05.183-05:00Revelation 22:12-16<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Revelation 22:12-16</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Look! I come quickly, and my reward is with me to
render back to each as is his work. I am
the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the
end. Blessed are the ones who wash their
robes in order that their authority will be upon the tree of life and they
should go into the gateways into the city.
Outside are the corruptors, the sorcerers, the fornicators, the
murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and who does falsehood. I, Jesus, sent my angel to witness these
things to you upon the assemblies. I am
the root and the offspring of David – the shining and morning star.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Thoughts
for Today</span></h3>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">First
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The last speaker, and the speaker upon
whom we will focus entirely today, is Jesus.
Jesus once more reminds us that He is coming quickly. He also says that He is bringing payment for
our deeds, each according to our work.
Once more we hear the message that there will be consequences. While this message is intended to give all of
us pause, it is intended to bring hope and reassurance to the lesser ones in
society: those who are picked on, persecuted, tortured, rejected, and
outcast. This verse is more of a warning
to those who oppress others than it is a generalized warning for all. We can all take pause, of course. But those who are actively seeking to oppress
the followers of Christ should feel the most concern.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What do you think that it means when
Christ says that He is coming quickly?
Having read through the book of Revelation, are you brought more fear or
peace when you hear the promise of Christ to return? Why is it healthy to feel a little of both?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Second
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Next, we hear Jesus say that those who
have washed their robes are to be blessed.
This truly is the key to mitigating the prior thought. Yes, we can all pause and reflect how our
deeds have led to sin. We can certainly
take stock in how our actions have not born out the fruit that God would desire
from us. But that is what repentance is
for. That is why Christ came to
die. When we are humble and acknowledge
that our life is full of sinfulness, we are washing our robes in His blood. When we acknowledge that God’s ways are
better than our ways and try to live that out, we are demonstrating our desire –
however imperfect – to imitate Christ.
These people, in spite of their imperfection, will be granted entrance
into the holy city in order to dwell with God forever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How does this message from Christ
reveal God’s grace and mercy? How does
this passage reveal that God does desire us to respond, even though He did the
work of salvation all by Himself?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Third
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lastly, we
have the warning of judgment upon those who do not repent. They will be banned from the New Jerusalem. The list of sinful behaviors is nearly
identical to the list that we saw in Revelation 21:8. There will be consequences. There will be judgment. Not all people will find admission into life
with God. We do all indeed have free
will. In the end those who are unable to
humble themselves before God will not find access to dwell in the presence of
God. Rather than have God’s perfection
to sustain them, they will have their sinfulness to keep them company.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When you
think about such an existence, what emotions do you feel? Why do you think that God will not allow all
people into His presence, especially since we are all guilty of sin? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Passage for Tomorrow: Revelation
22:17-21<o:p></o:p></span></div>
PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511061117604316822.post-88796928726476979932016-12-17T03:30:00.000-05:002016-12-17T03:30:18.417-05:00Revelation 22:6-11<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Revelation 22:6-11</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And he said to me, “These
words are faithful and true. And the
Lord God of the spirits and prophets sent forth his angel to point out to his
slaves what is necessary to become in short order.” “And look!
I come quickly. Blessed are the
ones who keep the words of the prophecy of this book.” And I, John, am the one who hears and who
sees these things. And when I heard and
saw, I fell down to bow down to worship before the feet of the angel who
pointed out these things to me. And he
said to me, “Do not see. I am your
fellow slave and of your brothers the prophets and of the ones who keep the words
of this book. Bow down to worship
God. And he said to me, “Do not seal up
the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the one who is unjust still be
unjust. And let the defiled one still be
defiled. And let the righteous one still
do righteousness. And let the holy one
still be holy.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Thoughts
for Today</span></h3>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">First
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For the next few days, we’ll be
studying these back and forth speaking passages. Jesus and the angel take turns giving
messages to John. It can be rather
confusing to remember who is speaking, but if we focus on the content of the
message we’ll do fine. The first speaker
is the angel that has been guiding John around.
This angel reminds us that God’s words are faithful and true. In other words, we can trust God. We can place our faith in Him and know that
He will live up to His promises. We also
are reminded by this angel that these words were given to the people in order
that they should know that an end is coming.
Even in a symbolic vision such as this, they cannot know the future
exactly. But they can have hope that an
end is coming. They can have hope that
there is a promise of eternal life which is reliably believed. In this, we are reminded once more that this
is an apocalyptic message designed to bring hope to the people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Do you ever have moments of doubt as to
how you can be sure that God’s promises can be trusted? If so, how do you overcome such doubt? How does a book like Revelation show us that
in most people those moments of doubt are actually quite common?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Second
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The next speaker that we hear is
Jesus. He promises to come quickly. He also offers up a blessing upon the people
who keep the words of the Lord. In other
words, the blessed followers of Christ are the ones who keep an eye on obedience. The best followers of Christ are the ones who
are humbly willing to put their own desires to death and instead fulfill the
passions of Christ and the Father.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why is it important to realize that
some of the last words of Christ in this book are about obedience? How does this match up with the last words of
Christ after the resurrection, when He came to earth the first time?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Third
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The third
speaker is the angel again. In the angel’s
speech we get two very curious messages.
In the first one, we get a reversal of the typical “Seal up this vision”
message. John is told to not seal up
this vision. While there are some parts
of our future that God does not want revealed to us, He absolutely does want
the final state of human existence revealed!
God wants us to be able to hope for a blessed future dwelling with
Him! The second message is even more
curious. The angel speaks about human
beings remaining in their same state, for better or for worse. What the angel is saying here is that some
people will never change. Furthermore,
God will not force them to change. There
will be some people who hear the Word of God and feel conviction bite them
deeply. Their lives will change and they
will give fruit of their faith. There
are other people, who even after hearing about the greatness of eternal life
with our creator, who will not change their ways. They will continue in sin. In other words, the angel is telling John
that you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink. Neither is God willing to force such a person
to drink. God will not remove our free
will.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why do you
think some people have an open heart and are willing to repent? Why are some people stubborn in their ways
and not even interested in repentance?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Passage for Tomorrow: Revelation
22:12-16<o:p></o:p></span></div>
PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511061117604316822.post-61793524476571829472016-12-16T07:40:00.000-05:002016-12-16T07:40:00.720-05:00Revelation 22:1-5<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Revelation 22:1-5</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And he pointed out to me a
river of the water of life- clear as crystal – which went out of the throne of
God and of the lamb. In the middle of
its broad street and on each side of the river is the tree of life, which makes
twelve fruits and which renders back its fruit according to each month. And the leaves of the tree are into the healing
of the nations. And everything will not
still be cursed. And the throne of God
and of the lamb will be in it and his slaves will serve him. And they will see His face and His name will
be upon their foreheads. And night will
still not be. And they do not have a
need of the light of a lamp and of the light of the sun since the Lord God will
shine upon them and they will rule into the eras of the eras.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Thoughts
for Today</span></h3>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">First
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In this last chapter, we do what we’ve
been expecting to do all chapter. Now we
get to fully look into the future and see what eternal life is going to be
like. Don’t forget that this is
apocalyptic book. John is still trying
to send a message of hope to the people currently living under persecution. When we look fully into eternal life, what is
the picture that we see? We see a river
flowing out of the throne of God. Take a
moment and read Ezekiel 47. In that
chapter we get the picture that John is likely drawing off. This is the river of life. This is the sustaining power of God, because
it flows directly out of the throne! But
there is a really neat symbolic understanding here. It is most commonly thought that this river
of life imagery is symbolic of the Holy Spirit.
You will notice that as we read through the rest of this chapter that
the Father and Son are mentioned all over the place, but the Holy Spirit is
quite left out. I believe that John has
left this River of Life imagery in this retelling to remind us that it is God’s
Spirit, which comes out of His presence from the throne, that goes into all of
the world and sustains us. We can live
with God only because He has chosen to bring His Spirit to us and let it flow
out of Him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How do you experience the Spirit of
God? How do you talk about God’s Spirit
to the people around you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Second
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The river of life gives the tree of life
its ability to fruit. Do you notice that
there are twelve fruits? While it is
certainly possible to think about this tree giving a different kind of fruit
for each month, remember that this is a symbolic book. I believe what John is getting at is that
there we all have a broad range of needs.
We all have a spectrum of ways that God can come into our life. It is not like God comes to us the same every
time. It is not like our need of God is
the same from person to person. It is
not like each individual person has the same need for God every day! No, the reality is that we all have different
needs. God provides multiple fruit to
sustain our whole life. Having said
this, I think that it is neat that John specifically points out that the leaves
are for the healing of the nations. In
other words, we are reminded here that human beings can be incredibly mean to
each other. Our whole history is filled
with stories of people who used other people to accomplish their own
desires. That is a particular need that
God addresses specifically through this vision.
That is a particular need that we all share.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What harm have you done to others to
accomplish your desires? What harm has
been done to you by others? More
generically, what are your needs that the fruit of the tree of life will sustain
your life and help you find fullness?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Third
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At the end
of this section we get to hear that the curse will not be found there. In other words, we will not experience
death. Naturally, this is true because
God has dealt with both sin and death.
We talked about that several chapters ago when we spoke about the dragon
and the beasts. In the life to come, we
do not need to fear death because the curse will be removed. Even more, we will all belong to God. We will be His slaves. His name will be written upon our
foreheads. However, there is one huge
element that John gives to us. We will
see His face. God’s people will finally
be able to be in face-to-face relationship with God. We will be able to look upon Him and live!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What do you
think it will be like to be in a face-to-ace relationship with the Father? What do you think life will be like without
the temptation and consequences of sin always at hand?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Passage for Tomorrow: Revelation
22:6-10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511061117604316822.post-20216463956023336492016-12-15T03:30:00.000-05:002016-12-15T03:30:22.903-05:00Revelation 21:22-27<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Revelation 21:22-27</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And I did not see a temple
in it, for the Lord the God the Almighty and the lamb is its temple. And the city has no need of sun or moon in
order that they should cause it to shine.
For the glory of God illuminated it and the lamb is its lamp. And the nations walk around through its light
and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it. And its gateways should surely not be shut of
the day, for there will not be night there.
And they will bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. And every profane thing and the one who makes
something detestable and lies should surely not go into it – except the ones
who have been written in book of life of the lamb.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Thoughts
for Today</span></h3>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">First
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There is no need for a temple in the
city. God is His own temple. This takes us back to the imagery from
yesterday. Remember that one of the
symbolic points from yesterday is that Jerusalem is a square so that we are
reminded of worship elements such as the altars of sacrifice and the Holy of
Holies. This truly fits in with the
message from today. There is no need for
a temple because the city itself is the worship space! There is no need for sacrifices because God
Himself is the ultimate sacrifice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What is this passage truly telling us
about the temple of the Lord? What is
this passage teaching us about where those who are in Christ can and should
worship?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Second
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Furthermore, the city has no need for a
light. The gates will never be shut
because it will never be night. God will
be its light. As we continue on in the
symbolic theme of this chapter, we can see that this point also makes
sense. Jesus is the light of the world. He already had that designation when He came
the first time. Jesus is the truth of
God. In the world to come, when the
current existence has been eliminated and we are in a new heaven and earth, we
will only need the truth of God. In
fact, this makes another great symbolic point.
The only light our life needs, the only truth our world needs, is
Christ. He is sufficient.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Is Christ all that you need? How is this truth able to be seen by others
as they look into your life?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Third
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Finally, we
see that the nations will come and go.
At first, it sounds like this passage could be speaking about universal
salvation. After all, wouldn’t the
nations mean all people? It doesn’t
actually. Remember that at this point
the nations have been judged. Those who
are not in Christ are no longer on the scene.
Those who remain are in Christ.
Therefore, what does this passage mean?
This passage is a huge passage for diversity. People from every nation are welcome to dwell
with God. In the end, when only those
who are in Christ remain, there will be people from all nations, all races, all
colors. John is trying to tell us that
God is welcoming to all people who are willing to accept Him and His ways.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How do you
experience God’s acceptance of people of all nationalities? Do you have difficulty imitating this
openness? What does this teach us about
the nature of God?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Passage for Tomorrow: Revelation
22:1-5<o:p></o:p></span></div>
PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511061117604316822.post-46656835279391977782016-12-14T03:30:00.000-05:002016-12-14T03:30:16.746-05:00Revelation 21:15-21<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Revelation 21:15-21</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And the one who calls out
with me was having a golden measuring rod in order that he should measure the
city, its gateways, and its walls. And
the city laid as a square and its length was as much as its breadth. He measured the city by the rod upon 12,000
stadia. The length and the breadth and
its height was equal. And he measured
the wall itself: 144 cubits – a measure of a man, that is of the angel. And the inside of its wall was jasper; the
city was pure gold – of a similar nature to pure glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were
having been adorned by every precious stone.
The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third
chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the
seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase,
the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.
And the twelve gateways were twelve pearls, through the midst of one
each of the gateways were out of one pearl.
And the broad street of the city was pure gold as transparent as glass.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Thoughts
for Today</span></h3>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">First
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Life is really only worth living if we
can have a little fun along the way, right?
I’m not saying that the fun should be the goal, but certainly God
created a marvelous word for it to be enjoyed.
Keep this in mind as we look at this section. John tells us that the length, breadth, and
height of this city is all the same! In
other words, Jerusalem is a giant cube if we take this passage literally! <i>(I can’t
help but think about a Borg Cube from the sci-fi show Star Trek: The Next
Generation.)</i> I personally think that
this is a huge symbolic point. The city
of Jerusalem has three dimension, all of which are equal. God Himself has three persons, all of whom
are equal in the same being. I believe
that John is trying to give us a symbol to understand that God permeates New
Jerusalem, especially since we saw yesterday that this New Jerusalem is itself
a symbol of the people of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Can you see the symbol as it is
presented her by John? What does a
symbolic point such as this show us about the creativity of God? What does it show us about His ability to
conceptualize ideas on many different levels without hesitation?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Second
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There is another possibility as to why
the city could be presented as a cube.
If you look back into the Old Testament when the regulations were being
given to Moses regarding the creation of the Tabernacle, you find that many of
the implements were perfect cubes. The </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">altar of burnt offerings,
the altar of incenses, and the high-priest’s breastplate are all cubes. In fact, even the Holy of Holies in the
Temple was a perfect cube! What does
this tell us? Remember how important the
altar was with respect to righteousness?
Remember how important and pure the Holy of Holies was? God could easily be reminding us that
Jerusalem is to be His ultimate holy place.
Jerusalem is forever to be to God what the Holy of Holies was to Him in
the Old Testament. Jerusalem is the
place bought out of sacrifice where all of His priests can go and commune with
Him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What
does this less symbolic passage teach you about God? Do you think either of these interpretations
is wrong? Do they conflict with one
another?</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Third
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As we look
to the precious gemstones as they are relayed in this passage, there is
something really neat and symbolic that comes out of this reading if we don’t
take it too literally. In the ancient
world, the people believed very much in what we call the Zodiac today. Here is how the ancient people conceived the
Zodiac:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Aries (The Ram) is
amethyst, the Taurus (The Bull) is jacinth, Gemini (The Twins) is chrysoprase, Cancer
(The Crab) is topaz, Leo (The Lion) is beryl, Virgo (The Virgin) is chrysolite,
Libra (The Scales) is carnelian, Scorpio (The Scorpion) is sardonyx,
Sagittarius (The Centaur/Archer) is emerald, Capricorn (The Goat) is
chalcedony, Aquarius (The Water Carrier) is sapphire, and Pisces (The Fish) is
jasper.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">No, I’m not
arguing that God has intentionally connected Himself to the Zodiac. In fact, I’m actually saying the exact
opposite. In the ancient world, people
believed that the way that you undo mystical power is to perform the mystical
power backwards. Do you notice something
about the Zodiac? Not only are all of
the stones the same, they are presented in the exact opposite order! I believe that what we have here is another
symbolic message. God is telling us that
He is far superior to the other gods of the people. God is telling us that He can undo the power
of the other things that people call gods.
He is supreme. His power rules
over everything, even the gods of other people.
These gemstones are a symbolic proclamation to the supremacy of God!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Do you live
as though God is supreme? Do you live
believing that God can undo any evil in the world? How can your life be a witness to the fact
that God can undo anything that works against His power?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Passage for Tomorrow: Revelation
21:22-27<o:p></o:p></span></div>
PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511061117604316822.post-22738545072131544742016-12-13T03:30:00.000-05:002016-12-13T03:30:13.056-05:00Revelation 21:9-14<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Revelation 21:9-14</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And one out of the seven
angels who have the seven bowls that are full of the last seven plagues came
and he called out with me while saying, “Come here, I will point out to you the
bride – the woman of the lamb.” And he
carried me away in the Spirit upon a great and high mountain. And he pointed out to me the holy city
Jerusalem while coming down out of heaven from God while having the glory of
God. Her cause of light is of a similar
nature as precious stone – a jasper stone that is being clear as crystal – while
having a great and high wall, while having twelve gateways – and upon the gateways
are twelve angels and having names been written that are the names of the
twelve tribes of the sons of Israel – three gateways from the east, three
gateways from the north, three gateways from the south, and three gateways from
the west. And the wall of the city while
having twelve foundations and upon the them were the twelve names of the twelve
apostles of the lamb.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Thoughts
for Today</span></h3>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">First
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As I pondered this passage today, I
wondered why it is important to John to tells us that the angel from today is
one of the same angels as brought the last of the plagues upon the earth in
judgment. Could it be just a passing
story detail, one that John uses to make the vision feel continuous? Sure, that is always a possibility. But I think that there is more to learn here. John is showing us that those who do the will
of the Father do both pleasant tasks and unpleasant ones. The same angel that gets to show John the
glorious city in the life eternal is one of the angels who brought the last of
the condemnations upon this earth.
Sometimes we get joy in what we do because the task is fun, pleasing, or
productive. Sometimes we get joy in what
we do not because the task is pleasant but rather because we are doing the will
of the Father. What important is our
obedience, not whether we are getting to do the pleasant or the unpleasant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Do you prefer to do the pleasant or the
unpleasant? What human examples in the
Word of God can you think about who get to do both the pleasant and the unpleasant
tasks in God?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Second
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We now turn our perspective to the
city. There is a good deal of debate
about the cause of light in the city.
Purists, and traditionalists, argue that God is the source of the
light. Certainly that perspective is
supported by other passages in the New Testament. Jesus is the light of the world. However, the passage actually reads more as
though it is the shining has to do with the people dwelling within. After all, the greater context of this
passage is that the angel is showing John the bride of Christ, that is, His
followers. Could it be that the very
glory of God is those who follow Him?
Isn’t that a great thought! We
are the very glory of God. He is not
glorious because of us. But we are the
glory through which He shines!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In what way is God the light of your
life? How is He the light of the
world? In what way does God’s glory
radiate through you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Third
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lastly, let’s
begin to make an analysis of this city. We’re
going to begin by looking at the walls.
The walls are most certainly symbolic representations of faith. Faith is our bastion. Furthermore, look at the foundation of the
walls. We might be surprised to see that
Christ is not labeled the foundation.
Actually, the twelve apostles are called the foundation of these
walls. If we think about it for a
second, though, this should make sense.
After all, where was the origination of the faith that grew into the
church of God? Of course, it was in the
apostles, who through the Spirit of God caused it to spread to others! Naturally, this leads us back to Christ. After all, where did those apostles get their
faith? Of course, they got it from
Christ. Therefore, Christ is actually
the real foundation. It is Christ who
imparted faith into His apostles, who imitated His example and imparted faith
into us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Who has God
used to impart His faith into you? How
does it feel to know that you quite literally are a part of His great city?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Passage for Tomorrow: Revelation
21:15-21<o:p></o:p></span></div>
PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511061117604316822.post-52259929080433970562016-12-12T03:30:00.000-05:002016-12-12T03:30:06.576-05:00Revelation 21:5-8<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Revelation 21:5-8</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And the one who is sitting
upon the throne said, “Look! I make all
things new.” And he said, “Write, since
these words are faithful and true.” And
he said to me, “They have happened. I am
the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give out of the spring of the
water of life to the one who thirsts. The
one who conquers will inherit these things and I will be a God to them and he
will be a son to me. And to the timid
ones, the unbelieving ones, the ones who have detested, the murderous ones, the
fornicating ones, the ones who practice magical arts, the idolatrous ones, and
all the lying ones: their part is in the lake that is being burned by fire and
sulfur – which is the second death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Thoughts
for Today</span></h3>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">First
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Once more in Revelation we encounter
this famous description of God. He is
the alpha and the omega. Yes, what
people teach about this is true. It is
absolutely a claim that God preceded everything, everything came from Him, and
He will be its end as well. However,
remember that this chapter is about eternal life with God. If God is the alpha and omega, then He is
omnipresent now, too. There is a
consistency in God’s presence. He is
present in the very creation that He created.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How is God present with you on a daily
basis? How do you know God will be there
tomorrow and every day in the future?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Second
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Furthermore, we hear that God will give
freely out of the water of life to those who thirst. Notice the quality that God emphasizes in
this passage. Those who thirst will
receive. It isn’t about our own
perfection. It isn’t about our
righteousness. It isn’t about our
deserving nature. It is solely about our
desiring to receive from Him. It is
about our humble confession that we have something outside of us for which we
should thirst. But the good news is that
if we thirst, we will receive freely.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Do you thirst for the water of
life? How do you experience this thirst
in your life? How do you talk about this
thirst to others?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Third
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In contrast
to the new heaven and earth and its water of life, we see that there is the
lake of fire. This is Hell in its proper
understanding. What is it that we can
learn about the people who are there?
These are the unbelieving. These
are the murderers. These are the ones
who fornicate. These are the ones who
practice with unnatural power. These are
the ones who lie. These are the ones who
detest others. Do you hear a similar
trend in each of these traits? These are
people who are unwilling to be humble before God. These are people who seek the desire of their
own heart rather than humbling themselves to seek something outside of
themselves that only God can offer.
These are the people who are destined for the lake of fire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why do you
think the lack of humbleness is such a dangerous trait? Why is it problematic to always pursue the
desires of your own heart?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Passage for Tomorrow: Revelation
21:9-14<o:p></o:p></span></div>
PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511061117604316822.post-18100536542147968922016-12-11T22:10:00.000-05:002016-12-11T22:10:09.397-05:00Revelation 21:1-4<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Revelation 21:1-4</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And I saw a new heaven and
a new earth. For the first heaven and
the first earth went away – and there is no longer any sea. And I saw a new Jerusalem – the holy city –
while coming down out of heaven from God having been prepared as a bride having
been adorned by her man. And I heard a
great voice out of the throne while saying, “Look! The dwelling of God is with mankind, and He
will dwell with them. And they will be
His people and He – God – will be their God with them. And He will wipe away every tear out of their
eyes. And death will no longer be. Neither will there be mourning, crying out,
pain any longer since the first things went away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Thoughts
for Today</span></h3>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">First
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As we truly do turn to the future here,
we can catch a glimpse of life after judgment.
Sin has been dealt with. This is
life after rebellion has been taken away.
God’s enemies, those who desire to interfere with our relationship with
God, are gone. In this context, we
shouldn’t be surprised to find that God has even cast away the current
creation. God will make all things
new. There will be a new heaven and a
new earth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What do you think this new heaven and
new earth will be like? Why do you think
there will be both a new heaven and a new earth?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Second
Thought:</span></i></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We also get a glimpse of the New
Jerusalem. Naturally, Jerusalem
continues to be the holy city.
Furthermore, we see that this city is prepared by God as a gift to His
holy people. God will dwell there with
His people. But for me, what I think is
truly significant about this passage is that in the life to come, God will make
Jerusalem Himself. Human beings built
the Jerusalem that was destroyed by Babylon.
Human built the Jerusalem that was destroyed by Rome. In the day when rebellion has been cast away,
God will rebuild His city with His own hands.
What God creates, nobody can tear down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How does this passage speak to God’s
omnipotence? How does this passage speak
to God’s provision?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Third
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Not only
will we dwell with God, but He will wipe away every tear from our eye. As John writes these words, I’m sure that he
was thinking of Isaiah 25:6-9. Pain,
death, and the other negative aspects of life will be cast away. Imagine living a life where everything that
happens is for our good and we can understand its purpose in our life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: center 3.25in left 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What do you
think a life with ne tears will be like?
Do you think everything will be easy or fun? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: center 3.25in left 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Passage for Tomorrow: Revelation
21:5-8<o:p></o:p></span></div>
PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511061117604316822.post-77031508734976920092016-12-10T03:30:00.000-05:002016-12-10T03:30:15.556-05:00Revelation 20:7-15<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Revelation 20:7-15</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And whenever the thousand
years should be concluded, Satan will be loosed out of his prison. And he will go out to lead the nations astray
– the nations in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog – to gather them
together into the war. Their number is
as the sand of the sea. And they went
upon the breadth of the earth. They
encircled the encampment of the holy ones and the city that has been
loved. And fire came down out of heaven
and devoured them. And the devil – the
one who leads them astray – was being thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur –
where the beast and the false prophet were also thrown. And they will be tormented day and night into
the eras of the eras. And I saw a great,
brilliant throne and the one who sits upon it.
The earth and heaven fled from his face and a place was not being found
for them. And I saw the dead, the great
and the small, having set in the presence of the throne. And books were being opened. And another book that is of the life was
being opened. And the dead were being
judged according to their works out of the ones having been written in the
books. And the sea gave the dead in
it. And death and Hades gave the dead in
them. And they were being judged each
according to their works. And death and
Hades were being thrown into the lake of fire.
This is the second death – the lake of fire. And if someone was not being found having
been written in the book of life, he was being thrown into the lake of fire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Thoughts
for Today</span></h3>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">First
Thought:</span></i></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Today we get to deal with the third
prong of God’s judgment: Satan, the dragon, and his followers. After Christ’s kingdom has been established,
Satan is released. Satan does what Satan
has always done. Satan goes throughout
the world, pulling people away from God.
Satan goes throughout the world sowing seeds of deception. Satan tries to break the relationship between
God and His creation. But once more we
see God take things into his own hands.
It is fire that comes out of heaven that provides victory after God’s
city is encircled. God will get the
final victory over Satan. He will bring
Satan under judgment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Are you surprised to see Satan lead
rebellion after being restrained for so long?
Are you surprised by the fact that even with Christ reigning directly
that there will still be people who join Satan’s rebellion? What does it say about the consistent nature
of God that He continues to be the source of power that defeats His opponents?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Second
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Once Satan has been dealt with, true
judgment begins. Books, plural, are
opened. Many of the books contain the
deeds of mankind. The dead were being
weighed by what they did. Of course, we
should recognize that there will be good things that we did. However, the books will also likely contain
the evil done and selfishness lived. For
this reason, pay attention that John is clear to mention another book that is
opened. The book of life is opened. This is the book that symbolically represents
the census records that all rulers kept.
This s the book that all rulers would have that would not record deeds,
but rather it would record citizenship.
This is the book that shows who belongs to God. This is the truly important book. This is the book that determines where a
person belongs. The other books show the
deeds we’ve done; this book shows with whom it is that our heart resides.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What do you think about the books that
record your deeds? What will be said
about you in those books? What do you
think about the book of life? What will
it show about the focus of your heart?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Third
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Finally, we
hear about the lake of fire. This is
best associated with Hell. Death and
Hades are tossed in with the dragon, the beast, and those who supported him. It is at this point that we see the final
victory by God. Once the three-pronged
victory is accomplished, there will be no sign of the rebellion against
God. Death will be tossed away, along
with the place that the dead went while waiting for judgment. Human rebellion will also be tossed
away. Satan himself will be tossed
away. At the end of this chapter we see
the completed story of this world. At
the end of this chapter we see the end of the story of creation. Then it will have come full circle. We will have gone from creation to
judgment. The only thing that will
remain is God and those with Him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: center 3.25in left 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What do you
think life will be like with God once death, rebellion, and Satan are cast
away? Why do you have these beliefs?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: center 3.25in left 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Passage for Tomorrow: Revelation
21:1-4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511061117604316822.post-7840756296994142016-12-09T03:30:00.000-05:002016-12-09T03:30:12.993-05:00Revelation 20:1-6<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Revelation 20:1-6</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And I saw an angel while
coming down out of heaven while having the key to the Abyss and a great chain
upon his hand. And he seized the dragon
– the ancient serpent who is a devil and Satan – and he bound him for a
thousand years. And he threw him into
the Abyss. And he shut it and placed a
seal upon him in order that he should not lead the nations any further astray
until the thousand years should be finished.
After these years it is necessary to let him loose for a short time. And I saw thrones, those who sat upon them -
and judgment was being given to them, the souls of the ones who have been
beheaded for the sake of the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and
those who did not bow down to worship neither the beast nor his image – and
they did not take the mark upon the forehead and upon their hand. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a
thousand years. The remaining ones of
the dead did not live until the thousand years should be concluded. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are the ones who have a part
in the first resurrection. Upon these
the second death does not have any authority.
But they will be priests of God and of Christ. And they will reign with him for a thousand
years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Thoughts
for Today</span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">First
Thought:</span></i></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Today we begin to see the downfall of
the dragon itself. Yesterday we talked
about the three-pronged plan of God to deal with sin and its effects upon the
world. This chapter is the end of that
very story. An angel comes down with
chains and a key and binds him up. God
has dealt with sin in Christ on the cross.
By this point in the story, God will have dealt with humanity as
well. With both of these things taken
care of, God can now remove Satan in order to show us what life without the
temptation of sin will be like. For this
reason, Satan is bound. He is thrown
into Abyss for a fair amount of time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Are you surprised to see God seemingly
put off the final judgment on Satan for a time?
Why do you think God would bind Satan rather than judge Him now? What does this chapter have to say about God’s
power in comparison to Satan’s power?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Second
Thought:</span></i></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Once Satan is bound, the kingdom of
Christ is established. Those who are in
Christ rule with Him. That doesn’t mean
that we rule. Christ rules. Christ is in charge. As is the case with all that Christ does, He
invites us to participate with Him. He
desires His followers to participate with Him.
That is simply how God works, and it is good to see His consistency in
the Old Testament, the Gospels, and even into the time eternal. God does not abandon us; He is continually
inviting us to participate in His work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Where has God invited you to
participate in His kingdom? What do you
think it will be like to rule with Christ?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Third
Thought:</span></i></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: center 3.25in left 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We also
have the verses regarding the second death and those who are not a part of the
first resurrection. At this point, we
should come back and talk about why vocabulary is important. It is important to understand that Satan is
thrown into the Abyss, not Hell. The
Abyss is the place of the dead. The
Abyss is the place in ancient mythologies where dead people go in order to
await judgment. It is not the place
where the people go after being judged; that would be Hell. What this means is that at this point of the
story Satan has been locked up in the Abyss with those who have no place with
God. The part of the story that deals
with them will be told soon enough. For
now, Christ will reign with those who are in Him while Satan is locked up in
the Abyss with those who have no place in Christ. The second death, which will not touch those
who are in Christ, will be reserved for those who are not in Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Are you
surprised to see what appears to be a double time for judgment? Why do you think God would separate the times
of judgment for those who are in Christ and those who are not in Christ?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Passage for Tomorrow: Revelation
20:7-15<o:p></o:p></span></div>
PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511061117604316822.post-53906528724716244662016-12-08T03:30:00.000-05:002016-12-08T03:30:19.551-05:00Revelation 19:14-21<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Revelation 19:14-21</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And the army – the one in
heaven – was following him upon brilliant horses having dressed themselves in
brilliant and clean fine linen. And a
sharp broad sword goes out from out of his mouth in order that he should smite
the nations with it. And he will rule
them in a staff made of iron. And he
will tread upon the winepress of the wine of the strong passionate anger of God
Almighty. And he has his name having
been written upon the garment and upon his thigh: “King of kings and King of
kings.” And I saw one angel in heaven
having set in the sun and he cried out in a great voice while saying to all the
birds that fly in midair, “Come! Gather
into the great principal meal of God in order that you all should eat the flesh
of kings, the flesh of commanders, the flesh of the strong, the flesh of horses
and the ones who are sitting upon them, and the flesh of all the ones who are
free and even of the slaves – both the small and the great. And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth,
and their armies having been gathered to make war with the one who is sitting
upon the horse and with his army. And
the beast was seized – and with him the false prophet who did the signs in the
presence of him – in whom he led astray the ones who took the mark of the beast
and the ones who bow down to worship his image while living. And the two were thrown into the lake of fire
which is burning in sulfur. And the
remaining ones were killed in the broad sword of the one who sits upon the
horse, the one that went out of his mouth.
And all the birds were feeding out of their flesh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Thoughts
for Today</span></h3>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">First
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The heavenly host is a fascinating
image. One of the main reasons that I
find it fascinating is because we never hear of the host actually participating
in the fight. Jesus invites them to
come. They follow Him willingly. But the opponents of Christ are actually
slain by the sword that comes out of the mouth of Christ! The reason that I think this is a neat point
is because I truly believe it reflects Christ’s first coming. When Christ came to conquer death and sin, He
came and invited disciples to follow Him.
But He conquered sin and death by Himself. The same thing is true here. When Christ comes to put human rebellion
behind Him, He invites His followers to participate. But He does all the meaningful work
Himself. This is how God works. He is capable of doing all of the meaningful
work Himself, but He welcomes our participation. He wants us to be included and play our role
as His disciples.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How does this passage reveal part of
God’s character to us? How does this
passage speak to us about God’s power and how God uses power with respect to
His disciples?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Second
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If we look closely at Christ’s image,
we do see that this image of Christ is vastly different from the portrayal of
Christ than we see in the Gospels. When
Jesus came to conquer sin, He came as a baby and taught human beings to follow
God. His ways were peaceful. He did not offer up resistance to the humans
who desired to harm Him because He knew that God would require a sacrifice to
destroy sin and death. This time, when
human rebellion is His foe, Christ comes with a sword and iron scepter. He comes with the implements of battle. Before, He came as a baby to save. Now, He comes as a warrior king to conquer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What does it say about God in that His
methods change based upon the goal and objective? Which image of Christ do you prefer, the
teacher or the warrior-king? Why?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Third
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The beast
and his followers gather in conflict with God.
This is the final product of human rebellion. Sinfulness, and our focus upon ourselves,
leads to rebellion against God. In the spirit
of noticing interesting details in the passage, though, notice that while the
beast and his followers are defeated there is no mention of the dragon in this
section. The beast and his rebellion is
defeated. The dragon will wait. It seems
likely that the plan of God’s display of dominion will come in three stages. Truthfully, this isn’t really surprising
given that three is a significant number in God’s Word. First, God conquered the effects of sin and
death by having Christ die on the cross.
Second, God will conquer humanity and our rebellion when He
returns. Third, which we will study in
the next chapter, God will deal with the dragon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Are you
surprised to see a pattern of three in what appears to be God’s plan to conquer
the rebellion of creation? Why do you
think God would tackle this issue in the order that He appears to be doing?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Passage for Tomorrow: Revelation
20:1-6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511061117604316822.post-49088557899289869222016-12-07T03:30:00.000-05:002016-12-07T03:30:02.744-05:00Revelation 19:11-13<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Revelation 19:11-13</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And I saw heaven having
been opened and look – a brilliant horse!
And the one who was sitting upon it is being called faithful and
true. And he judges in righteousness and
makes war. And his eyes were as a flame
of fire and upon his head were many crowns while having a name that has been written
that nobody except him has known. And
having been clothed in a garment having been dipped in blood and his name has
been called the Word of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Thoughts
for Today</span></h3>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">First
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As John writes this passage, he knows
his history and the political environment around him. John knows that in the Roman Empire when a
territory was conquered the winning general would ride through the territory on
a white horse. When you add this
knowledge to the context of the passage, John’s point is clear. The brilliant rider on the white horse that
comes down from heaven is a conqueror.
He will defeat the dragon and the beast.
Victory is assured if you are on the side of the white rider. Naturally, this would be a passage that is
filled with hope for the Hebrew people.
As they are oppressed by Rome, as their life is threatened because of
their faith, they would know that the ultimate victory is assured.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Where does your victory reside? How do you live in such a fashion as to
proclaim this reality?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Second
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Reading about the rider, we see three
mentions of names. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li>The first is that the rider is called
faithful and true.<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">This is a demarcation
of identity.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Jesus is faithful.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">He keeps His word.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">When Jesus makes a promise, He fulfills the
promise.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">When the Father assigns a task
to Him, Jesus fulfills the will of the Father.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">In this faithfulness, He is also true.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">He can be believed and trusted.</span></li>
<li>The second – the third in the passage –
is that He is called the Word of God.<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">This hearkens back to the opening verses of the Gospel of John.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">However, this is far more than a simple
reference to an earlier letter than John wrote.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">John is reminding us that words bring forth ideas.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">When we say that Jesus is the Word of God, we
are saying Jesus is the personification of God’s plan of salvation.</span></li>
<li>The third name, and perhaps the most
intriguing, is the name that nobody knows.<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">In the ancient world, names are power.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Knowing a person’s name implies power over them.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">This is why the Hebrew people, and many
Christians, will never speak out loud the name of the Lord that comes from the tetragram,
YHWH.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Therefore, to have a name that
nobody knows means that Jesus is the pinnacle of power.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">There is nobody that has power over Him.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Which name of Jesus in this passage
brings you the most comfort? Which
brings the most interest out of you?
Which currently speaks to you the most?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Third
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lastly, we have
the description of Jesus. His eyes are
fire. He wears many crowns. He is clothed in clothing dipped in
blood. All of these point us even more
to the conquering nature of Jesus. The eyes of fire were already discussed when
we spoke about Revelation 1 & 2, and it is a symbol of His conquering power. The many crowns are John’s way of telling us
that Jesus has conquered many spheres of influence. Jesus isn’t just a victor; He is the
victor. Finally, we have the clothing
dipped in blood. We don’t know whose
blood this is. If this is the blood of
His enemies, then it is clearly a symbol of His conquering power. However, it could be that the blood is dipped
in His own blood. If this is true, then
it is a reminder of Jesus’ victory over death for our sake. In any case, we see that Jesus is indeed the
conquering victor in many senses of the words.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What has
Jesus conquered within you? What sphere
of influence has Jesus conquered for you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Passage for Tomorrow: Revelation
19:14-21<o:p></o:p></span></div>
PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511061117604316822.post-80534008125980861292016-12-06T03:30:00.000-05:002016-12-06T03:30:18.326-05:00Revelation 19:9-10<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Revelation 19:9-10</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And he says to me, “Write:
Blessed are the ones who have been called into the principal meal of the
wedding of the lamb.” And he says to me,
“These words are the truth of God.” And
I fell before his feet to bow down to worship him. And he says, “You do not see. I am your fellow slave and your brothers are
the ones who have the testimony of Jesus.
Bow down to worship God. For the
testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Thoughts
for Today</span></h3>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">First
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When John speaks about the wedding
feast in this passage, he is no doubt looking back to passages such as Isaiah 25:6-9. In that very famous passage, God tells us of
a time when He will wipe away every tear.
He tells us that He will swallow up death forever. It is into this rich history that John is
writing. John sees the wedding feast of
the lamb. John sees the ones who are
brought forth to be the bride of God. He
sees the ones who are to live with God forever.
John is told to call them blessed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Are you called to be with God at the
wedding feast? How does it feel to be
called blessed?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Second
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I love the
little snippets of false worship that we occasionally get throughout the book
of Revelation. Remember, this is
John. I write from the perspective that
the author of this book is the same John as who was the disciple of Jesus. John is a spiritual head of the church in
Asia Minor. You would think that he
would know who to worship. But what does
John do? He turns and worships his
guide, who has to very subtly correct him.
Why do I love passages like this?
John was a spiritual elder, yet he made mistakes. Being a spiritual elder doesn’t make us free
from error at all! What it actually does
is make it so that we should be quick to be humble when we do err. Also notice that John isn’t kicked out of God’s
presence for his mistake. God is a loving
and forgiving God, able to forgive the humble and contrite. Finally, notice that John doesn’t cover over
his mistake and leave it out of his writing.
Instead, he leaves it in as a teaching moment for us to realize that he
is human. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Where are you prone to making
mistakes? How easy is it for you to
receive correction and fix your mistakes?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Third
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As we get
to the end of the passage, we have a really neat expression: the testimony of
Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. It
could be that we are being told that our testimony about Jesus happens when God
speaks through us. In other words, we can
testify about Jesus because God has placed within us the ability to
believe. However, it could also be
saying that Jesus’ words are the spirit of prophecy. In other words, this could be an expression saying
that Jesus’ testimony is believable. The
question is, which one is right? Of
course, I also have to wonder why it is necessary to choose. Both of these interpretations could be
right. God, in His infinite wisdom,
could have easily meant both of these ideas.
Jesus’ words are believable and we can indeed only speak truth when God
empowers us to do so. Why choose between
those thoughts?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Which do
you think is the more important interpretation for you in your life right
now? Why is your perspective on this
question bound to change and fluctuate over the span of your life?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: center 3.25in left 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Passage for Tomorrow: Revelation
19:11-13<o:p></o:p></span></div>
PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511061117604316822.post-83762272293209096172016-12-05T03:30:00.000-05:002016-12-05T03:30:03.540-05:00Revelation 19:3-8<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Revelation 19:3-8</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And a second voice has
said, “Alleluia! Even her smoke goes up
into the eras of the eras.” And the twenty-four
elders and the four living beings fell and they bowed down to worship the God –
the one who sits upon the throne – while saying, “Amen, alleluia!” And a voice went out from the throne while
saying, “Praise our God, all His slaves and the ones who are fearing him – the
small and the great.” And I heard many
as a voice of a crowd and a voice as of much water and as a voice of strong
thunder while saying, “Alleluia! Since
the Lord our God the Almighty reigned! We should rejoice and we should exult
and we should give glory to him since the wedding of the lamb came and his
bride made herself ready. And it was
given to her in order that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright and
clean, for the fine linen is the acts of justice of the holy ones.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Thoughts
for Today</span></h3>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">First
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Today were will study the remaining
three alleluias. In the second alleluia,
we hear a voice giving praise because the smoke of Babylon goes up forever. At
first, this sounds like a rather vengeful saying. Is heaven truly rejoicing at the eternal desolation
of something? In a way, yes. But it isn’t meant to sound so vengeful. Remember that Babylon represents humanity and
its sinful compulsions. What heaven is
rejoicing is that human sinfulness will be dealt with forever. There will come a time when human sinfulness
will be beaten. There will come a time when
the sinfulness of humanity will not rise again.
That is something to rejoice!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How does it feel to be a part of existence
where we know that we should praise God, but we still find ourselves sinning
day after day? Why do we have reason to
rejoice about a time coming when our sin will be dealt with permanently?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Second
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the third alleluia, we hear that the
twenty-four elders (that’s the twelve tribes of Israel and the 12 disciples)
coming together to give praise to God.
But they are joined by the four living creatures, who are typically thought
of as representing nature. In other
words, in this alleluia we have all of the faithful parts of God’s creation
coming to worship Him and give Him praise.
We have the pure portions of creation, the faithful who anticipated
Christ, and the faithful who knew Christ and taught about Him. In other words, God’s who plan of salvation
unites in His praise, as it should be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What does this passage teach us about
unity under God? Do you see yourself most
as a part of the church (the 12 disciples) or the greater creation that loves
Him? Which is more important?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Third
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The last of
the alleluias introduces the idea of the marriage supper of the lamb, which we’ll
talk about more tomorrow. For today,
though, we will focus on the bride. The
alleluia tells us that the feast is ready and the bride has made herself ready. She is clothed in white, which is a symbol of
purity. It is significant to note that
this story is told to us after Babylon s destroyed. How can the bride be pure before sin is dealt
with? How can the bride wear white
before Babylon is in ruins? However,
after God deals with sin, then the bride of Christ can wear white, for then she
will be pure and ready for the presence of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When you
think about the day that Christ’s followers will be united with God in person,
what do you think that day will be like?
What emotions are evoked by a passage like this?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Passage for Tomorrow: Revelation
19:9-10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511061117604316822.post-82371847109317372862016-12-04T03:30:00.000-05:002016-12-04T08:47:54.651-05:00Revelation 19:1-2<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Revelation 19:1-2</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">After this I heard many as
a great crowd in heaven while saying, “Alleluia! Salvation, glory, and power is of our God. Since his judgments are true and righteous,
he judged the great prostitute who was corrupting the earth in her fornication
and he avenged the blood of his slaves from out of her hands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Thoughts
for Today</span></h3>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">First
Thought:</span></i></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In Revelation 19 we have a series of
Alleluias. Know that the word Alleluia
literally means “Praise God.” This
praise happens after Babylon is judged.
John’s message to us should be clear.
Judgment is a cause to give praise to God. The natural result of judgment is God being
given glory. This can feel a bit out of
place, because we tend to fear judgment.
This is John’s point. If we are
in God, we will be judged. But we should
not fear it, because God’s judgment ultimately leads to Him being glorified,
not use cowering in fear of Him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Do you fear God? How do you explain “fear of the Lord” to
others? How can you learn to let the
places of your fear of God lead to praise?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Second
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">God is given praise because of several
things. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<br />
<ol>
<li>First of all, salvation comes from
Him. He alone can save us from
judgment. That is a reason to give Him
praise.</li>
<li>Second, glory comes from Him. When something good happens, it comes from
God’s hand. When I do something good and
praiseworthy, the strength to do it in the first place come from Him. Anytime something positive of note happens,
it is rooted in God.</li>
<li>Third, power comes from Him. He gives us the ability to act. He gives us the ability to overcome our
sinful nature. When we cannot, He gives
us the ability to repent of it and know it is wrong. It is God who is the source of all
power. That is why He deserves praise.</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Where do you live out God’s salvation
for others to see? Where are you
glorifying God in your life? Where has
God’s power come upon you to live?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Third
Thought:</span></i></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: center 3.25in left 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We also
hear that God’s judgments are righteous and true. He is the only one capable of giving righteous
and true judgments. He is the only one
who has true and complete perspective over the world to be able to give a
righteous judgment! He is the only one
who is capable of judging with a purity of mind and without an inherent
prejudice! He is the only one with true
wisdom. Each of these characteristics
play an important role in saying that God is righteous and true in His
judgments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: center 3.25in left 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Where are
the prejudices in your life that cloud your judgment? Where do you lack wisdom in order to make
sound judgments? Where is your
perspective limited and not allowing you to make sound judgments?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: center 3.25in left 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Passage for Tomorrow: Revelation
19:3-10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511061117604316822.post-34854944792552588552016-12-03T07:38:00.000-05:002016-12-03T07:38:02.280-05:00Revelation 18:21-24<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Revelation 18:21-24</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And one strong angel took
up a stone as belonging to a great mill and he threw it into the sea while
saying, “Similarly Babylon the great city will be thrown by violence. And she should surely not be found still!” And a voice of harpists, those skilled in
music, flute-players, and trumpeters should surely not be heard in you
again. And every tradesman of every
trade should surely not be found in you again.
And a voice of a millstone should surely not be heard in you again. And the light of a lamp should surely not
shine in you again. And a voice of a
bridegroom and a bride should surely not be heard in you again. Since your sea-faring merchants were the nobles
of the earth and since in your sorcery all the nations were being led astray. And the blood of the prophets and holy ones
and everyone who has been slaughtered upon the earth was being found in her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Thoughts
for Today</span></h3>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">First
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As we come to the conclusion of this
passage, we finally hear a great opportunity to talk about how this vision is
rooted in John’s history. Babylon itself
was thrown down. Remember the history of
Babylon. Babylon was called by God to
conquer the Hebrew people in Judah and lead them into captivity. But seventy years later they themselves went
into captivity underneath the Persians.
They went into captivity because they went about God’s business in a
very unfaithful way. They were cruel to
the Hebrew people. They took advantage
of the Hebrew people. Because of this,
they were overthrown themselves. This
truly fits in this chapter. What has
John’s point been all along? Human
beings are sinful and selfish. They
think of themselves and their own gain before anything else. It is the selfishness and sinfulness of
Babylon that caused them to be torn down; it is the sinfulness and selfishness
in humanity that causes us to face judgment from God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Where is the rebellion in your
life? Where has God called you in this
life, yet you are still desiring your own sinfulness?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Second
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There is something greatly symbolic
about a millstone being thrown in water.
First of all, millstones are big and heavy. You don’t randomly pick up a millstone and
throw it around. However, as big and
impressive as a millstone may be, if you throw it in a lake the water will
completely cover over it and remove any sign of its existence. This is what God is saying will happen to
humanity – especially the parts of humanity that are in rebellion against
God. When we look at the world, we have
to acknowledge that the sinfulness of humanity is rather oppressive. It seems like an impossible task to combat
against it because everywhere we turn we can see its influence. Yet, God will be able to deal with it. God will be able to remove it. God will be able to cast it so completely out
of His presence that it will be as though it was never there in the first
place. That’s an incredible message of
hope!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How does this message fall upon your
ears? How does it know to realize that
God will deal with your sinfulness and the sinfulness of all of humanity? What elements of fear are in this
message? What elements of joy are in
this message?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Third
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Notice that
when this is done, John reports that the musicians won’t be heard from
again. The tradesmen won’t be heard from
again. Light will be removed. Marriage will be removed. God’s judgment is final. God’s judgment is real. For those people who find themselves under
judgment and not also within God’s forgiveness, life will be miserable. When we are cast out of God’s presence
because of our rebellion, the joyous things in this life go away, too. God brings joy into our life. We should want to remain in God because He is
the one who truly gives meaning to our day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why is it
important to realize that all good things come from God? How can this passage influence how you think
about judgment and life eternal, both for those who are in god and those who
are not?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Passage for Tomorrow: Revelation
19:1-10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511061117604316822.post-38636688992490431932016-12-02T03:30:00.000-05:002016-12-02T03:30:11.600-05:00Revelation 18:9-20<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Revelation 18:9-20</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And the kings of the earth
– the ones who fornicated with her and who lived wantonly – will weep and
lament upon her when they should see the smoke of her burning. Having sat at a distance for the sake of the
fear of her torment saying, “Woe, woe!
The great city, Babylon the strong city!
Since your judgment came by one hour.”
And the sea-faring merchants of the earth weep and mourn upon her since
nobody purchases her merchandise any longer: merchandise of gold, silver,
precious stone, pearls, made of fine linen, purple cloth, silk, crimson,
everything of a cedar-like wood, every ivory vessel, every vessel out of
precious wood, bronze, iron, marble,<sup> </sup>cinnamon, amomum, incense,
myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses,
carriages, bodies, and souls of mankind.
And your fruit of the lust of the soul went out from you and every
sumptuousness and splendor was ruined from you.
And they will surely not find them any longer. The sea-faring merchants of these things –
the ones who were becoming rich from her – will sit at a distance for the sake
of the fear of her torment while weeping and mourning while saying, “Woe! Woe!
The great city – the one that is clothed in fine linen, purple, crimson,
and which has been gilded in gold, precious stone, and pearl - since the great
riches was being brought to ruin in one hour!
And every helmsman, everyone who sails upon the sea, sailors, and as
many who work the sea – they sat from a distance. And they were crying out while seeing the
smoke of her burning while saying, ‘What is similar to the great city?’” And they threw dust upon their heads and they
were crying out while weeping and mourning while saying, “Woe! Woe! The great
city! In whom everyone who has ships in the sea were made rich out of her
valuable merchandise since she was being ruined in one hour! Rejoice upon her – heaven, holy ones,
apostles, and prophets – since God judged your judgment out of her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Thoughts
for Today</span></h3>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">First
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In this passage we get the pleasure of
reading several laments. First of all,
we hear the laments of the kings. Notice
that they stand from far off. They are
powerless to do anything about the downfall of the woman. No amount of power, wealth, or prestige can
alleviate the downfall that comes from sinful behavior. You can’t buy your way into
righteousness. You can influence your
way into righteousness. Humanity in all
of its power cannot prevent sin’s destruction and judgment. Furthermore, though, notice the lament of the
kings. They were willing
participants. They are mourning the
destruction of the woman – of the temptation and pull of sin. It is so easy to get caught up into the
pursuit of our own desires that we mourn our loss of them even when they prove
to be unhealthy for us!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Are there any sinful behaviors that you
mourn not being able to pursue because of your faith? Why does this element of our humanity make it
difficult to confront our sin?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Second
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The weeping from the merchants isn’t
really much better. Notice that the
merchants aren’t really weeping the destruction of the woman. They are weeping and mourning over the loss
of income. They are weeping and mourning
the loss of their ability to increase their own wealth. They are weeping and mourning because their
good thing is coming to an end. Their
mourning isn’t a genuine mourning for Babylon, it is a selfish mourning for
themselves! What an incredibly sad
perspective on humanity. We can get so
engrossed in our own personal gain that we weep for our loss, even when sin is
being conquered! What an incredible
perspective on selfishness!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Where have you mourned because one
person’s freedom from sin meant a loss for you?
What role do you think feelings like this play in people convincing
other people to sin for their own benefit?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Third
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Naturally,
this passage calls human judgment into perspective. Do you hear the reflection of the
people? They ask if there was ever as
great of a place as this. They see the
destruction of Babylon as a reason to consider its greatness! Human beings place value and prioritization
upon things that God sees as reason for judgment. Human beings think things are great while God
sees them as the reasons to intervene on our behalf.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What do you
value that God sees as reason for judgment?
What priorities in your life does God not share?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Passage for Tomorrow: Revelation
18:21-24<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511061117604316822.post-54688404848267934992016-12-01T03:30:00.000-05:002016-12-01T03:30:03.677-05:00Revelation 18:4-8<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Revelation 18:4-8</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And I heard another voice
out of heaven while saying, “Come out, my people, out of her in order that you
all should not participate with her sins and in order that you all should not
receive out of her plagues.” Since the
sins were being united with her until heaven and God called to mind her crimes. Give to her even as she gave and pay back
double the doubled things according to her works. Mix for her in her cup a double portion that
she mixed. As much as she glorified
herself and she wantonly lived, give to her as much torture and mourning. Since she says in her heart that, “I sit as a
queen, I am not a widow, and I should surely not see mourning.” For this sake her plagues will arrive in one
day: death, mourning, and famine. And
she will be burned up in fire, since the Lord God who judged her is strong. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Thoughts
for Today</span></h3>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">First
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As Babylon is condemned and consumed,
God calls His people out of her. There
is a message her that reaches to the core of what it means to be a
Christian. Grace is costly. God does not bid a man to accept him
academically and remain the same. God did
not send His Son to die for our sake so that we would go on sinning. God bids us to be changed. He calls us out of our sinfulness. He calls us away from the metaphorical
Babylon. We need not share in the fate
of sin and those who abide in in. But that
inherently means receiving the call away from our sin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Where has God called you to
change? Where has God called you to
abandon your sinfulness and come to Him?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Second
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Within this passage we can also see a
very prominent theme in God’s Word. We
reap what we sow. Babylon is paid back according
to what she has done. There are
consequences for every choice that we make.
Some consequences are more severe than others. But the Bible is clear over and over. One day, judgment will come. One day, our deeds will be repaid.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When have you ever reaped good
consequences from making good choices?
When have your choices led to bad consequences?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Third
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Third,
notice John’s warning against the sin of pride.
Not only has the symbolic woman tempted humanity to participate into
sinfulness, but she has allowed that to cause her to swell with pride. She has come to see herself as queen because
she has dominated over so many for so long.
John’s message is clear. It’s bad
enough to sin, knowing that we reap what we sow. However, it is so much worse to become proud
when we make choices and don’t get immediately get caught!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How often
do you think pride is a danger when we sin and seemingly get away with it? How does this help us understand another
dimension about why it is better to receive correction in our sin before things
have an ability to snowball?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: center 3.25in left 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Passage for Tomorrow: Revelation
18:9-20<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511061117604316822.post-63758552728852859652016-11-30T03:30:00.000-05:002016-11-30T03:30:19.671-05:00Revelation 18:1-3<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Revelation 18:1-3</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">After this I saw another
angel who comes down out of heaven who has great authority, and the earth was
being illuminated out of his glory. And
he cried out in a strong voice, “Babylon the great fell! She fell!
And she became a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean
spirit, every unclean bird, and of every unclean beast also having been
abhorred. Since all the nations have
drank out of the wine of her strong passions of fornication, the kings of the
earth fornicated with her, and the sea-faring merchants of the earth became
rich out of her wanton power.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Thoughts
for Today</span></h3>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">First
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We open today with what is typically
referred to as a doom song. Doom songs
are quite common in prophetic and apocalyptic literature. For people who are focused entirely on grace,
they seem out of place. It is quite easy
to find ourselves falling into the trap of asking, “What place is there in
Christianity for celebrating the fall and judgment of the enemy?” However, doom songs play an important role in
identifying with the victim – or even more importantly, giving the victim a
place with which they identify! No,
there is no grace extended to the woman (Babylon) as she falls into
judgment. But John isn’t writing to Babylon,
is he? John is writing to the people who
are being persecuted for their faith.
John is writing to the people whose lives are being torn apart and whose
loved ones are dying because they believe in God. When those people hear the celebration of the
fall of Babylon, they will know that they can identify with God. They will feel welcome in God, as though they
have a place to belong forever. It isn’t
about forcing grace upon the one who seeks to refuse it! It is about extending hope to the one who is
willing to embrace it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Where has grace been extended to you in
your time of persecution? Do you ever
feel in conflict as you celebrate inside knowing that a person got their
due? In what way can this be
righteous? In what way can this lead to
sin if we are not careful?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Second
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If we take this thought even further to
its limit, realize what this doom song is about. This doom song is about the celebration of
the fall of the unclean things. This
doom song is about the fall of people who refused God. It is about the fall of human sinfulness. It is about the conquest of those who oppose
God. In its heart, this song is about
the victory that God will ultimately have over His fallen creation. This song is not about an all-inclusive open
love. This song is about warfare and
bitter struggle and taking sides and knowing that God’s side will come out to
be the victor. This song is about
knowing that life is a constant fight against the temptations of our
heart. But this song is about the fact
that this fight is very much worth it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Where do you live out this fight? Have you ever celebrated in your victory over
sin and human rebellion? How quick are
you to give glory to God at those moments?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Third
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There is a
very hidden point that I think is quite important to not overlook. We are not told about the identity of the
angel who delivers this doom song. But I
think the identity is there for those who care to look for it. This message is delivered by a messenger of
God who comes down from heaven with great authority. This messenger is said to illuminate all of
the earth. In other words, doesn’t it
sound like John is calling this messenger the light of the world? The identity is hidden, but I believe there
are enough clues for us to take a pretty good guess that this doom song is
delivered to us by none other than Jesus Christ Himself. It is Jesus who celebrates His victory over
sin and those who chose sin. It is Jesus
who celebrates the fall of the woman (Babylon).
And why shouldn’t He? Didn’t
Jesus come to earth to conquer death by dying on the cross? Why shouldn’t he celebrate the final
completion of that victory?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Are you
surprised to think that the identity of this messenger may be none other than
Jesus Christ? What does it say to you to
realize that Jesus celebrates His victories over those who genuinely oppose
Him?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Passage for Tomorrow: Revelation
18:4-8</span></div>
PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511061117604316822.post-86083392623264620322016-11-29T03:30:00.000-05:002016-11-29T03:30:06.911-05:00Revelation 17:7-18<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Revelation 17:7-18</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And the angel said to me,
“For what reason did you wonder? I will
speak to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast – the one that carries
her, the one that has seven heads and ten horns. The beast that you saw was, is not, and will
be about to go up out of the Abyss and depart into destruction. And the ones who inhabit the earth – of whom
the name has not been written upon the book of life from the foundation of the
world – will wonder while seeing the beast that was, and is not, and will
become. Here is the understanding that
as wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains, where the woman sits upon
them. And they are seven kings. The five fell, the one is, the other did not
yet come. And whenever he should come it
is necessary for him to remain for a little while. And the beast that was and is not, he is also
an eighth king and he is out of the seven.
And he departs into destruction. And
the ten horns that you saw are ten kings, who did not yet receive a
kingdom. But they receive authority as a
king for one hour with the beast. These
have one mind, and they give their power and authority to the beast. These will battle with the lamb and the lamb
will conquer them since he is Lord of lords and King of kings. And the one with him are called, chosen, and
faithful.” And he says to me, “The
waters that you saw where the prostitute sits are people, crowds, nations, and
tongues. And the ten horns and the beast
that you saw, these will hate the prostitute.
And having been lain to waste, they will make her naked, they will eat
her flesh, and they will burn her up in fire.
For God gave into their hearts to do the mind of Him and to do in one
mind and to give their kingdom to the beast until the Word of God will be
completed. And the woman whom you saw is
the great city – the one that has a kingdom upon the kings of the earth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Thoughts
for Today</span></h3>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Admittedly, we have a very large
reading for today. The good news,
though, this that most of it is information that we already covered yesterday
as we talked about this passage. I’ll
try not to repeat myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">First
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The main focus of this passage is the
beast. From an historical perspective,
the beast sure sounds like Rome. All
throughout this blog I’ve commented about John’s desire to paint Rome in a
negative spiritual light. As we listen
to this description, we hear more of this rhetoric. One of Rome’s historical claim to fame was
that it was built on seven mountains. We’ve
already talked about the number of kings and the matching of the heads to the
emperors. What’s new for today? Notice that the beast was, is not, and will
be. That kind of sounds like the
description of Jesus as He lived, died, and was raised into new life! No, I’m not trying to equate the beast to
Jesus. What I am trying to do is point
out that the powers of evil mimic the powers of good, the powers of God. Evil is a force of deception. Evil tricks you, making you think that you
are doing the right thing without seeing that you are wrong. Evil deceives, causing you to not realize the
wrong that you are doing. Evil also
mystifies. Do you see how the angel is
specific in saying that the world – those who do not have the name of God
written upon their forehead – will be amazed by the beast? Evil often lures us in, tempting us to choose
our passion over our logic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How does evil influence you in your
life? Where does evil try to deceive
you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Second
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I also find it interesting that the
beasts will devour the woman and utterly destroy her. Many people explain this away as a prediction
that Rome will be devoured internally, as most major civilizations are when
their internal politics, nepotism, and greed cause collapse. While there is no denying this, I think that
there is a bit of a deeper message.
Considering that the woman represents our sinful lust for the passions
of our heart, I think John is trying to remind us that it is sin that is our
undoing. Our sinful desires are not
something to be loved, coddled, hidden, or protected. Our sin will cause our life to be
devoured. Our sin will cause our life to
be destroyed. Our sinfulness should be
resisted at every turn because of what it can and will do to our life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Where are you resisting sin within
you? When in your life has your
sinfulness devoured you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Third
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Finally, we
hear that the beast and those who worship him will wage war against the
lamb. What is really telling to me, though,
is how little space John devotes to this idea.
He simply says that the lamb will win because He is the Lord of lords
and the King of kings. There isn’t a
great big explanation. There isn’t a
need to go into detail about how the lamb will win. He will win.
That’s all we need to know. We
can be sure of that more than anything else in this chapter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Do you live
remembering that the lamb will be victorious?
How is this evident in your life?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Passage for Tomorrow: Revelation
18:1-3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511061117604316822.post-19466428140079798042016-11-28T03:30:00.000-05:002016-11-28T03:30:18.105-05:00Revelation 17:4-6<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Revelation 17:4-6</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And the woman was having
been clothed in purple and scarlet, having been gilded in gold, precious
stones, and pearls, and while having a golden cup in her hand which was full of
abominable things and the unclean things of her fornication. And upon her forehead was a name having been
written. Mystery: “Babylon the Great,
the mother of all the prostitutes and the abominable things of the earth.” And I saw the woman while getting intoxicated
out of the blood of the holy ones and out of the blood of the witnesses of
Jesus. And after seeing her I wondered
with great marvel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Thoughts
for Today</span></h3>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">First
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Let’s
look even more closely at the woman.
Today we see that she is clothed in purple and scarlet. Purple is the color of royalty. Scarlet is the color of blood, which evokes
images of sacrifice. She also is wearing
all kinds of precious materials. The
gemstones are a representation of wealth.
The woman is dressed in such a way as to demonstrate her full
representation of sin, that which pulls us away from God. This is the idea that I was dancing around
yesterday, saving it for today. The
woman truly is a symbolic representation of sin. She is our rebellion against God. She is the power, authority, and
seductiveness we seek. She is the goal
of our human appetite, ambition, and approval.
In her hand is a cup full of sinful rebellion, of which we love nothing
more than to drink. When we are not
careful, we are seduced away from God by her offerings of power, wealth,
status, and the things that go with them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What trappings are you seduced by the
most often? Are you surprised to see
that God causes John to symbolize human sinfulness by a female prostitute? Why or why not?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Second
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There was a name written upon her
forehead. In Roman culture, having a
name written upon one’s forehead was a symbol of ownership or possession. Specifically, with women, having a name
written upon the forehead was usually a symbol of prostitution. John is doing two things here. First, and most obviously, John is making
sure that we know that this woman is undesirable to us in spite of the fact
that she looks to be a person with much to offer. She is shrouded in wealth and power and
prestige, many things that we desire.
John wants to make sure we are not fooled. However, I think there is a secondary, and probably
more important, distinction being made here.
God’s people have His name written upon their foreheads. This woman has another name written upon her
forehead. John wants to draw a sharp and
undeniable distinction between this woman, with those who follower her, and God’s
people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What name is upon your forehead? How do you know? How can you be confident that you are truly
one of God’s people and not pursuing the trappings of the world?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Third
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Finally,
notice upon what the woman is in the act of getting drunk. She is being intoxicated upon the blood of
the holy people who follow Christ. It is
one thing to try and pull people away from God’s ways. Human rebellion is what it is; we’ll never
get rid of it until God gives us new life after death. However, what we learn here is that sin
spreads itself at the sacrifice of the righteous. If you think about it, this makes sense. If you are doing something that someone
around you condemns, don’t you desire to get rid of such people? This is the true nature of sin. This is why human beings often have to go out
to sow their wild oats. When we are
intoxicated in sin, we don’t want righteous people around making us feel guilty! When society takes the pursuit of human
sinfulness too seriously, the followers of God do find themselves persecuted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What kinds
of persecutions do you face as the people around you pursue their sinful
desires? What kind of persecution have
you not had to face? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Passage for Tomorrow: Revelation
17:7-18</span></div>
PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511061117604316822.post-88619691747799368292016-11-27T08:40:00.000-05:002016-11-27T08:40:03.483-05:00Revelation 17:1-3<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Revelation 17:1-3</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And one out of the seven
angels – the ones who have seven bowls – came and called out with me while
saying, “Come here! I will permit you to
see the judgment of the great prostitute, the one who sits upon many waters with
whom the kings of the earth committed fornication and the ones who inhabit the
earth were being intoxicated out of the wine of her fornication. And he carried me into a wilderness in the
spirit. And I saw a woman who sat upon a
crimson beast, while being full of blasphemous names and having seven heads and
ten horns.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Thoughts
for Today</span></h3>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">First
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Let’s set the context of this vision,
which appears to be connected to the prior visions but separate from them at
the same time. Notice that the angel who
comes out to get John carries him into the wilderness. Remember the Gospel accounts. Where was John the Baptizer to be found
teaching? In the wilderness! Where did Jesus teach and pray to God most of
the time? In the wilderness. The wilderness is often thought of by the
world as an undesirable place of nothing.
However, in the Bible the wilderness is a place where human beings often
go to find God because it removes them from the distractions of human
civilization. In other words, if we want
to find God, it makes sense that we move ourselves to a place where the
distractions of the world don’t get in our way.
I believe this same message is true here with John. As God turns John from seeing visions based
upon the past into visions of judgment and even eternal life, God pulls John
into the wilderness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Where do you go to find God? Do you find that the trappings of life and
the presence of other human people provide distractions to you being able to
commune with God? Do human beings ever
help you get closer to God? How do we
find balance between these concepts?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Second
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The woman in the vision is not to be
confused with the woman that we saw in an earlier vision with the dragon. In that vision, the woman was pursued by the
dragon. In this vision, the woman sits
atop the beast. We spoke about it
earlier and we’ll talk more tomorrow, but this beast likely represents
Rome. When we add to it that this woman
sits atop the waters – and later in this chapter we’ll realize that the waters
represent a multitude of people in the world – it makes sense to furthermore
identify this woman and her beast as belonging to Rome. When John was writing this, Rome was
considered as being the nation that had conquered the known world. This point will become even more important
tomorrow, but for today it is enough to associate this woman with the part of
human civilization that it built upon its own strength while denying the power
of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why do human beings tend to rely less
upon God the more they identify with the human society around them? What parts of human society are beneficial to
living and a part of God’s design? What
parts of human society help to take us away from God and allow us to put our
trust in our human wisdom and strength?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 310.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Third
Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The woman
is said to have committed fornication with the kings of the earth around
her. This section also tells us that the
kings of the earth were intoxicated with her.
Clearly this is the language of analogy and comparison. What is John trying to tell us? This woman represents the parts of human
society that intoxicate. She represents
the parts of human society that consume us and cause us to live out of our
passion more than our logic and rational thought. She represents the parts of society that
cause us to believe more in ourselves and less in God. This woman could represent a number of
things, probably a different thing for each person. She could be money, power, material
possessions, slothful lifestyle, gluttony, personal achievements, technology,
etc. Each of those things, and many others
that I did not list, can draw us away from God and intoxicate us with
possession of them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What are
the things in your life that can intoxicate you and cause you to forget about
God? Why might John classify these
things as fornication, as he does in verse 2?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Passage for Tomorrow: Revelation
17:4-6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511061117604316822.post-44549192114160528192016-11-26T03:30:00.000-05:002016-11-26T03:30:01.499-05:00Revelation 16:17-21<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Revelation 16:17-21</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And the seventh one poured his bowl upon
the air and a great voice went out of the temple from the throne while saying,
“It is finished.” And lightning, a
voice, thunder, and a great earthquake became – the sort of which did not
become from when mankind has become upon the earth. So great was the earthquake in this great
manner. And the great city became into
three parts and the cities of the nations fell.
And Babylon the Great was being remembered in God’s presence to give to
it the cup of the wine of the strong passions of His anger. And every island fled and mountains could not
be found. And great hail – weighing as a
talent – comes down out of heaven upon mankind.
And mankind blasphemed God out of the plague of hail since its plague is
exceedingly great.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Thoughts for
Today</span></h3>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">First Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As the seventh bowl is poured out, we get a story that
parallels the death of Christ. Remember,
John was at the cross. He – and likely
the other disciples as well – saw what happened first hand. At Jesus’ death, an earthquake occurred as
the temple curtain was torn. Jesus
Himself spoke the words, “It is finished,” just before dying. In this passage, the last bowl of wrath is
poured out. Once more it is
finished. Once more an earthquake marks
the event. God is consistent. At Christ’s death, mankind found
salvation. When it was finished, there
was an earthquake. Here in this passage,
mankind finds judgment. It is also
finished and unavoidable. There is an earthquake
to mark the time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Have you ever noticed the symmetry between the events
surrounding the salvation of mankind and the judgment of mankind? What does this symmetry tell you about God
and His ways?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Second Thought:</span></i></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As God comes in judgment, the creation gives witness to the
inescapable nature of judgment.
Earthquakes tear down the glory of mankind, our progress. Islands flee away into the sea, likely being
swallowed up by the water as the violent earthquakes happen. Incredible hail strikes down from the
heavens, damaging everything in its path. Creation knows what is coming, it
testifies to its greatness and its ferocity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What do you think it will be like to live in this time? Do you think most human beings even have a
frame of reference for what will occur?
Why do you think God has this time of judgment framed by such dramatic
events?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Third Thought:</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Finally, we see humanity’s
reaction. Humanity curses God. Humanity doesn’t repent. We aren’t humble. We don’t know when we are beaten. We look up and curse because we are powerless
to do anything else. I find this to be a
sad, but reasonable, commentary upon humanity.
So often when we are beaten we don’t think about acknowledging that we
are the lesser party. We usually get mad
at the victor and go off to pout or plan revenge. Repentance is not a natural part off our human
make-up. Repentance is something God
gives us power to do, but only f we are willing to respond to His calling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How easily do you repent? When are you able to repent the best? Are there any circumstances in which you do
not repent easily? Why?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Georgia\,Times New Roman";">Passage
for Tomorrow: Revelation 17:1-6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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PJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10053648533736270662noreply@blogger.com0