Introduction to Rev. 14:14-20 (Rev. 14:14-20)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/25/2015 8:39 AM

My Worship Time                                                               Focus:  Introduction to Rev. 14:14-20

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                            Reference:  Rev. 14:14-20

                 Message of the verses:  “14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, "Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe." 16 Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped. 17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. 18  Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, "Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe." 19 So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. 20 And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.”

                 As we look at these verses we will see that they are about the judgment at the end of the Tribulation period, a judgment that is seen in different parts of the Bible, some of them we will look at today.  First let us compare the first coming of Jesus Christ to the earth with the second coming of Him to the earth at the end of the Tribulation period.  First we can look at a section from the book of Philippians, a section that speaks of the humiliation of our Savior when He first came to planet earth:  “6 Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”  (Phil. 2:6-8)

                 John MacArthur summarizes the two appearances of Jesus Christ to planet earth:  “Jesus came the first time as a servant; He will return as the sovereign King.  In His first coming, He came in humility; in His second coming, He will come in majesty and splendor.  The first time He came to earth, ‘the Son of Man [came] to seek and to save that which was lost’ (Luke 19:10); when He returns, to will be to ‘judge the living and the dead’ (2 Tim. 4:1).  Jesus came the first time as the sower; He will come again as the reaper.”  As we begin to study these verses from the book of Revelation we could say that the theme of them is reaping, reaping the lost who, although they have had time to repent, they have not and now judgment is coming to them.  We can even say that what we are looking at in this passage can be defined as “The Day of the Lord,” and this is not the only place where this is spoken of in the Word of God.

                 Let us take a look at some of the verses in the Word of God that speak of this time of judgment beginning with what John the Baptist said in Matthew 3:7b “"You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”  We can see here that John knew of the judgment that would come upon the earth.  Next we can look at some of the things that Jesus said about this coming judgment:  Matthew 10:15 “"Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.’”  Matthew 11:22 and 24 “22 “Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.”  “24  "Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you."”  Matthew 12:36 and 41-42 “36  "But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.”  “41 “The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42  "The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.”  John 5:28-29 “28  "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, 29  and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”  Romans 1:18 “18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,” and Romans 2:5-6 “5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”  2 Thessalonians 1:6-9 “6 For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, 8 dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.”  Hebrews 10:26-27 “26  For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27  but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.”  Next we will look at 2 Peter 2:9 and also 3:7 “9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,”  “7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.”

                 Now we will look at some OT verses that speak of this judgment:  Isaiah 13:11-13 “light. 11 Thus I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless. 12 I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold And mankind than the gold of Ophir. 13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, And the earth will be shaken from its place At the fury of the LORD of hosts In the day of His burning anger.”  Next Isaiah 24:21-23 “21 So it will happen in that day, That the LORD will punish the host of heaven on high, And the kings of the earth on earth. 22 They will be gathered together Like prisoners in the dungeon, And will be confined in prison; And after many days they will be punished. 23 Then the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed, For the LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, And His glory will be before His elders.”

                 John MacArthur writes that “Two Old Testament passages present striking parallels with Revelation 14.  Isaiah 63:1-6 records a fascinating soliloquy of Messiah as He comes to execute the bloody final judgment of the unbelieving world:  ‘1 Who is this who comes from Edom, With garments of glowing colors from Bozrah, This One who is majestic in His apparel, Marching in the greatness of His strength? "It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save." 2 Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press? 3 “I have trodden the wine trough alone, And from the peoples there was no man with Me. I also trod them in My anger And trampled them in My wrath; And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, And I stained all My raiment. 4 “For the day of vengeance was in My heart, And My year of redemption has come. 5 "I looked, and there was no one to help, And I was astonished and there was no one to uphold; So My own arm brought salvation to Me, And My wrath upheld Me. 6  "I trod down the peoples in My anger And made them drunk in My wrath, And I poured out their lifeblood on the earth."

                 “This passage, like Revelation 14:19-20, uses the metaphor of trampling grapes in a winepress to depict the devastation of God’s final judgment.”

                 “The prophet Joel recorded the devastation caused in Israel by drought, fire, and a massive invasion of locusts (Joel 1:1-2:11).   Then the prophet used those temporal judgments to warn of even more devastating judgment of the Day of the Lord (2:18-3:21).  In Joel 3:12-13 that judgment is described using the same imagery found in Revelation 14:  ‘12 Let the nations be aroused And come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, For there I will sit to judge All the surrounding nations. 13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full; The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.’”

                 Next we want to look at a parable that the Lord gave in the book of Matthew about the wheat and the tares.  It is found in Matthew chapter 13 and after the parallel is given the disciples asked the Lord to explain it and He said the following in Matthew 13:39-42 “39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40 “So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. 41  "The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42  and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

                 John MacArthur concludes his introductory commentary with the following paragraph which gives us the outline we will follow as we conclude this 14^th chapter of the book of Revelation, a chapter we began to look at on the 5^th of July.  “This passage pictures the final harvest of divine wrath in two agricultural motifs:  the grain harvest (vv. 14-16) and the grape harvest (vv. 17-20), raising the question as to why John recorded two visions of the same event.  There are many depictions of this event by the prophets, including those mentioned above, so it is not unusual for John to record two visions of it.  But there is also a specific situation at this point in the book of Revelation that suggests a purpose behind the repetition.  As the Tribulation nears its climax, two main aspects of God’s eschatological wrath remain to be poured out on the sinful world.  The first aspect involves the seven bowl judgments 16:1-21), a rapid-fire sequence of frightening and deadly worldwide judgments that will destroy the final Babylon—the Antichrist’s empire.  The second aspect in the Battle of Armageddon, at which point Jesus Christ returns to judge and destroy His enemies (19:11-21).”

                 Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I can’t help but look again at a verse from the book of Second Peter who after writing that there will come a day when the entire universe will be burned up with fire he writes “11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12  looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!”

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To live that way that Peter describes.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Italy” (Acts 27:6).

Today’s Bible question:  “What woman and her family were saved when Jericho was destroyed?”

Answer in our next SD.

7/25/2015 10:08 AM

                

Because Rebellion is Ended (Rev. 19:3)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/17/2015 9:06 AM

My Worship Time                                                                 Focus:  Because Rebellion is Ended

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Revelation 19:3

            Message of the verses:  “3 And a second time they said, "Hallelujah! HER SMOKE RISES UP FOREVER AND EVER."”

            We see the second time that the word Hallelujah is used in chapter 19 and the reason is for the aftermath of the destruction of Babylon.  When we were studying the 17^th and 18^th chapter we saw the destruction of both the religious and economical Babylon, and now we see in this verse from chapter nineteen the aftermath of what happened to Babylon, that is that “Her smoke rises up forever and ever.”  What exactly does that mean?  John MacArthur tells us that this speaks of the permanence of her destruction.  We can look at a couple of verses in the OT that are similar in the permanence of the destruction of both Sodom and Gomorrah and also Edom.  “27 Now Abraham arose early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before the LORD; 28  and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the valley, and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land ascended like the smoke of a furnace (Genesis 29:27-28).”  “9  Its streams will be turned into pitch, And its loose earth into brimstone, And its land will become burning pitch. 10 It will not be quenched night or day; Its smoke will go up forever. From generation to generation it will be desolate; None will pass through it forever and ever (Isa. 34:9-10).” These two verses speak of Edom’s destruction.  John MacArthur writes “The flames and smoke will eventually die out, but the judgment is eternal on the souls of the sinners destroyed.  And hell is a place ‘where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched’ (Mark. 9:48), where the damned ‘will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.  And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever’ (14:10-11).”

            I have one more paragraph to quote from John MacArthur and then I want to also quote what I wrote in 2005.  “The destruction of the last and most powerful empire in human history marks the end of man’s day.  The rebellion that began long ago in the Garden of Eden is finally ended (apart from the futile, short-lived revolt at the end of the Millennium; 20:7-10).  There will be no more false religion, worldly philosophy, injustice, unrighteousness; all the sorry results of human depravity will be vanquished.”

            “As stated in a previous SD there are two types of Babylon’s, one is the religious Babylon, which Antichrist destroyed when he set up the worship of him, and the other Babylon is the satanic economic-political system which God destroyed as recorded in chapter 18.  The words in verse 1 “after these things” refers to the destruction of this political Babylon.  Even though religious Babylon has been referred to as a harlot it seems that this time it is referring to the political Babylon, or it may be referring to both.  At any rate these is a celebration in heaven over this event, and it is important to note that these beings are celebrating because of the attributes of God, and one of them is that His judgments are righteous, as Psalm 19:9b describes them, “The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.”

            Verse 2 speaks of God avenging the blood of His Bond-servants on this great harlot.  The word translated avenged has this meaning:  “to protect, defend, one person from another.”  God does take care of His own and even though He most always does not pay His bills at the end of the week, He will pay them at the correct time set up by Him.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful to better understand what the Lord will be doing in the future to stop the sin problem on earth.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Carnal”  (1 Corinthians 3:1).

Today’s Bible question: “Who refused to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead until he saw Him?”

Answer in our next SD.

9/17/2015 10:00 AM

 

           

Because Justice is Meted Out (Rev. 19:2)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/16/2015 8:08 AM

My Worship Time                                                               Focus:  Because Justice is Meted Out

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                           Reference:  Revelation 19:2

            Message of the verse:  “2  BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER."”

“because His judgments are true and righteous,  because He has judged the notorious prostitute  who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality;  and He has avenged the blood of His servants that was on her hands (HSCB).”

            I don’t think that I have ever heard of the word meted and so I looked it up and this is what I found “dispense or allot justice, a punishment, or harsh treatment.”

 

            Let us compare this verse with Revelation 16:7 “And I heard the altar saying, "Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments."”  What we see here is that heaven is rejoicing because God’s judgments are true and righteous, and this is evidenced by the destruction of wicked, deserving Babylon. 

 

            I think that people who are true believers have always longed for justice to be served and look forward to a coming day when the Lord will rule in righteousness which will happen during the millennial kingdom.  Isaiah looked forward to this day as seen in Isaiah 9:6-7 “6  For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”

           

            Jeremiah 23:5 “"Behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land.”

 

            In an earlier verse we looked at in Revelation (6:10) we read the following as a cry from the martyrs:  “and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"”

 

            John MacArthur writes “God’s people hate sin because it mocks God and love righteousness because it exalts Him.  They long for world characterized by holiness and justice.  But that will only happen when Christ establishes His righteous kingdom and rules with a rod of iron (cf. v.15; 2:27; 12:5; Ps. 2:9).”

 

            We have already studied how the Lord judged the great harlot in chapters 17 and 18, and this set the stage for establishing the kingdom of the Lord which will soon take place after that event as we are learning in chapter 19.  Again it is good to remember that when we study the book of Revelation we are studying about Jesus Christ and we also must remember that in eternity past that God the Father promised a kingdom for His Son and when He came the first time He died for the sins of those who would participate in His kingdom, and when He comes again as we will see later on in chapter 19 He will set up His kingdom.  We have been stating throughout this study of Revelation that we find in this book that God is taking back control of planet earth and will give it to His Son to rule over and that since sin entered the world in Genesis chapter three that Satan has been ruler of the world system that is thriving on planet earth at this time.  Once Babylon, the system of Babylon is destroyed this as stated sets the stage for the return of Jesus Christ to planet earth.

 

            John MacArthur writes “A further reason for Babylon’s judgment was her maltreatment of God’s people (cf. 18:24).  As a result, ‘He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.’  That God will exact vengeance for His people is clearly taught in Scripture.  Deuteronomy 23:42-43 reads:  “42  ’I will make My arrows drunk with blood, And My sword will devour flesh, With the blood of the slain and the captives, From the long-haired leaders of the enemy.’ 43  "Rejoice, O nations, with His people; For He will avenge the blood of His servants, And will render vengeance on His adversaries, And will atone for His land and His people."””

 

            Another verse that we studied when we looked at Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians fits in here:  “6 For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, 8 dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.”

 

            The Bible has much to say about God’s justice and as we look at this second verse in chapter nineteen we too can praise the Lord for the justice that He will bring upon those who disobey Him, especially what we have seen in chapters 17-18 of Revelation

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  When I think about what we call the “Lord’s Prayer” it makes me think of a part that says “thy kingdom come” and when I pray for that I am actually praying that God will bring justice to those who are preventing this to happen, but in His time will bring it about.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Remember what Paul wrote in Ro 12:19  Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY," says the Lord.”

 

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “600,000” (Exodus 12:37).

 

Today’s Bible question:  “The Corinthians, being babes in Christ, were also what?”

 

Answer in our next SD.

 

9/16/2015 8:45 AM

 

Because Full Salvation Has Come (Rev. 19:1)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/15/2015 10:09 AM

My Worship Time                                                         Focus:  Because Full Salvation Has Come

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Revelation 19:1

            Message of the verses:  “1 After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.”

            A short reminder that we are looking at the first of five reasons for heaven’s joy has become evident and the first on is seen with the first “hallelujah” in chapter 19.

            First we want to look at a familiar phrase “After these things,” as this has been in 4:1; 7:9; 15:5; 18:1 also and this marks the beginning of a new vision that John is now seeing.  John MacArthur writes that “This new vision takes place after the destruction of Babylon (chapts. 17-18) and before the triumphant return of Jesus Christ (19:11-21) to establish the Millennial Kingdom (20:1-10).  As the loud laments over Babylon’s destruction fade into silence, loud hallelujah’s ring out in heaven.”

            When we first began our study in the book of Revelation I mentioned that the words like and as are used many times in the book.  I believe the reason that these similes are used so often is that John is seeing things that he has a difficult time describing and thus uses familiar things that he knows to help his readers understand what he is seeing.  We see an example in verse one when John writes “I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven.”  MacArthur writes “The text does not identify those whose composite voices make up the ‘loud voice’ John heard, but they are likely angels.  This ‘great multitude’ does not appear to include the redeemed saints, since they are encouraged to join in the praise later (vv. 5-8).  The uncounted millions of holy angels make up a majestic, awe-inspiriting choir.”

            Now we come to the word “hallelujah” in this verse which is an exclamation of praise to God.  MacArthur explains “The Greek word Allelouia is a transliteration of the Hebrew phrase comprised of the verb halal (‘to praise’) and the noun Yah (‘God’).  It appears only in this chapter in the New Testament (cf. vv. 3:3-4, 6).  The Hebrew phrase first appears in Psalm 104:35, ‘Let sinners be consumed from the earth and let the wicked be no more.  Bless the Lord, O my soul.  Praise the Lord!’  In its first Old Testament appearance, as in its first New Testament appearance, ‘Hallelujah’ expresses praise for God’s judgment on the wicked oppressors of His people.  The Hebrew phrase is associated with God’s deliverance of His people from Egypt in Psalms 113-18, which are know collectively as the Egyptian Hallel.  It is a word often associated with both judgment of the ungodly and the salvation of God’s people.”

            In our verse today this hallelujah is specifically used because of salvation and this salvation has come for God’s people, and with it we see the glory and power of our God to which it belongs.  “"Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all (1 Chronicles 29:11).”  MacArthur writes “The word salvation does not focus on justification or sanctification, but celebrates the final aspect of salvation history, the glorification of the saints in the kingdom of Christ.  The imminent coming of Jesus Christ prompts this praise as the angels anticipate the glory of His kingdom.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It seems that in the books that I am reading and the sermons that I have listened to lately that they focus in on praising the Lord and this theme continues today.  In the book “Before Amen” that I am reading Max Lucado goes through the alphabet giving praise to the Lord for each letter.  In Psalm 119 the writer does something similar as he writes about the Law of the Lord and uses the Hebrew alphabet in a series of 13 verses each for each letter do this.  I am told that there are only three verses in all of the 176 verses of Psalm 119 that do not have a reference to the Word of God.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to experience peace as we get ready for our company.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Daniel.”

Today’s Bible question:  “How many men were in the group when the Israelites left Egypt?”

Answer in our next SD.

9/15/2015 10:45 AM 

           

PT-2 of Introduction to Rev. 19:1-10 (Rev. 19:1-10)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/14/2015 10:44 AM

My Worship Time                                                   Focus:   PT-2 of Introduction to Rev. 19:1-10

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                        Reference:  Revelation 19:1-10

            Message of the verses:  “1 After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; 2  BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER." 3 And a second time they said, "Hallelujah! HER SMOKE RISES UP FOREVER AND EVER." 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, "Amen. Hallelujah!"

    5 And a voice came from the throne, saying, "Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great." 6 Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. 7 “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready." 8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9  Then he said to me, "Write, ’Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’" And he said to me, "These are true words of God." 10 Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.’”

            John MacArthur writes “As that long-awaited time approaches, the scene in Revelation shifts from earth, where it has been since chapter 6, to heaven.  The intervening chapters have detailed God’s cataclysmic explosion of judgmental fury on the sinful world.  That fury began to be poured out when the Lord Jesus Christ, the rightful heir to the universe, received the title deed to the earth from His Father (5:1-14).  As He unrolled that scroll and broke its seven seals, terrifying judgments struck the earth.  The seal judgments were followed by the equally devastating trumpet and bowl judgments.”  The long awaited time of having the enemies of God defeated is what MacArthur is writing about here and because they are defeated heaven sends out its hallelujahs.

            As stated we have learned that the target of God’s wrath was Antichrist’s worldwide religious, political, and economic empire and also the capital city of Babylon a symbol of what this evil empire represents.  We have mentioned also that this system began back in Genesis chapters 10-11 a time after the flood had been used to judge the world the first time, and now even after that horrible judgment mankind goes back to doing the same things of rejecting God and trying to bring about their own worship system.

            MacArthur continues “Some might think heaven’s rejoicing over Babylon’s destruction to be insensitive and uncaring.  But that shortsighted view ignores the reality that those sinners will have had the greatest opportunity to repent of any people who have ever lived.  They will have experienced the unprecedented disasters of the Tribulation, which they will acknowledge to be God’s judgments (6:17).  They will also have heard the most powerful preaching of the gospel in history, from the 144,000 Jewish evangelists, the two witnesses, the host of the redeemed saved during the Tribulation, and even a powerful angel (14:6-7).  Yet despite all that, they will remain unrepentant to the very end (9:20-21; 16:9, 11), hardened into irreversible unbelief and defiant hatred of God.” 

            As we have been looking at the different chapters in Revelation we have seen much praise that has gone on.  Sometimes it begins with a seemingly small group like the four living beings and then goes to the twenty-four elders and then the angels and saints and then all who are believers get into the act of praising the Lord.  There is nothing wrong with praising the Lord over the destruction of the wicked.  Can you imagine how people celebrated after the victories of WWII came about against two wicked empires, and this was just done by people, and it may have also had praises in heaven too, but people were happy that these two evil empires were defeated just the same.  Ezekiel writes some things that we need to look at showing us that this heavenly rejoicing is not over the damnation of those who reject God “"23 Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked," declares the Lord GOD, "rather than that he should turn from his ways and live?”  “32 “For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies," declares the Lord GOD. "Therefore, repent and live."”  “11 “Say to them, ’As I live!’ declares the Lord GOD, ’I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’”  (Ezekiel 18:23, 32; 33:11)  This is a difficult thing to understand, but knowing God’s attributes helps me understand it better.

            MacArthur gives us a preview of what we are going to look at in these ten verses:  “As the text unfolds, five reasons for heaven’s joy become evident, Heaven rejoices because full salvation has come, because justice is meted out, because rebellion is ended, because God is in control, and because the marriage of the Lamb is completed.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I know that there are times when I study the Word of God that I do not fully understand what I am studying, but one of the things that helps me in these situations is that God is holy and can never do anything wrong even if I don’t fully understand all of it.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to help us get things ready for our company in a peaceful way.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Esau” (Genesis 27:19).

Today’s Bible question:  Which book describes Gentile rule from the rise of the new Babylon empire to the time of the settlement of Messiah’s kingdom?”

Answer in our next SD.

9/14/2015 11:17 AM

             

Introduction to Revelation 19 PT-1 (Rev. 19:1-10)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/13/2015 9:17 PM

My Worship Time                                                       Focus:  Introduction to Revelation 19 PT-1

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                     Reference:  Revelation 19:1-10

            Message of the verses:  “1 After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; 2  BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER." 3 And a second time they said, "Hallelujah! HER SMOKE RISES UP FOREVER AND EVER." 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, "Amen. Hallelujah!"

    “5 And a voice came from the throne, saying, "Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great." 6 Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. 7 “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready." 8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, "Write, ’Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’" And he said to me, "These are true words of God." 10 Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.’”

            Now we have mentioned the following in previous SD’s, but I think that it bears repeating as we begin to look at this 19^th chapter of Revelation.  This is the chapter when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to take control of planet earth from the usurper Satan who got control way back in the third chapter of the book of Genesis.  Now we know that God is always in control of even the things that He allows Satan to do, but as we mentioned at the very beginning of our study of Revelation was that one of the purposes of the things that John sees will happen was to show us that the Lord Jesus Christ will bring about judgment upon those who are not believers during the tribulation period in order to come back to earth to set up His promised Kingdom that has been promised to Israel.  We have to remember the Lord’s prayer as we call it and Jesus tells His disciples to pray “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done.”

            John MacArthur entitles this first chapter in his book on the 19^th chapter of Revelation “Heavenly Hallelujahs” which covers the first ten verses of the chapter, and then he entitles the second chapter in his commentary on the 19^th chapter of Revelation “The Glorious Return of Jesus Christ.”  We will probably have introductory comments on that chapter as well.

            We can see the word “Hallelujah” four times in this section and we will have more things to say about that in our SD’s on this 19^th chapter of Revelation.

            John MacArthur writes that there are a number of things in the Bible where we see that we are to praise the Lord for and I will try and give the list that he has in a shortened way.  God is to be praised for “the perfections of His glorious being.”  “Give thanks for His name,” next we are to give thanks for His holiness, and this is a wonderful thing to praise the Lord for, for He is the only One who has perfect holiness.  Next he writes we are to praise the Lord for His mercies, and then we are to extol God’s goodness, and finally he says that the Bible tells us to give thanks to the Lord for the comforting knowledge of “God’s nearness.”

            I have mentioned that we are to praise the Lord for each and every one of His attributes as they all give Him glory.  We are also to praise the Lord for His works and the first work we are to praise Him for is His creation, for without that none of us would be here.  Now since we are here as a result of His creation we must praise the Lord for sending His Son to care for our sin problem, for that is the only way it could ever be cared for.  Praise the Lord of His Holy Spirit and the fact that He indwells us and seals us and will bring all of us safely to heaven.  Praise Him for His wonderful grace and mercy that He gives to us.  We can praise Him for the basic things He gives us for life like air to breathe and food to eat and water to drink.  MacArthur writes “In summary, giving thanks to God is to be done always (Eph. 5:20) and for everything (1 Thessalonians 5:18).”

            Now what I am going to mention now has been mentioned before and for some it will be hard to understand.  I have mentioned the wonderful book on the attributes of God that I have read and reread, “The Joy of Knowing God,” and in that book the author Richard Strauss writes that we are to not turn away from new things that we learn about God as we study the Scriptures.  God is to be praised for His destruction of the wicked:  “"Rejoice, O nations, with His people; For He will avenge the blood of His servants, And will render vengeance on His adversaries, And will atone for His land and His people’ (Deu. 32:43).”  Psalm 48:11 “Let Mount Zion be glad, Let the daughters of Judah rejoice Because of Your judgments.”  Psalm 58:10-11 “10  The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11  And men will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely there is a God who judges on earth!"”  Psalm 96:11-13 “11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; Let the sea roar, and all it contains; 12 Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy 13 Before the LORD, for He is coming, For He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness And the peoples in His faithfulness.”  John MacArthur writes “As man’s day draws to a close and the true King prepares to return to earth, heaven will rejoice.  Heavenly hallelujahs ring out in chapter 19 over the final destruction of the evil world system and the glorious victory of the returning Messiah (cf. 5:9-14).”  We will pick up on the remainder of this introduction in our next SD on Revelation 19.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful that one day the Lord Jesus Christ will return to judge the wicked who have been causing trouble for a long time.  I have to wait and that is something that no one likes to do.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  In our Sunday school class today our instruction mentioned that no one likes to wait, but we all know that waiting causes us to learn patience.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Bethany” (John 12:1-3).

Today’s Bible question:  “Whom did Jacob pretend to be before his father?”

Answer in our next SD.

9/13/2015 9:57 PM

             

Judgment Justified (Rev. 18:23b-24)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/12/2015 11:36 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                Focus:  Judgment Justified

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  Revelation 18:23b-24

            Message of the verses:  “for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery. 24 “And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.’”

            The following is what I wrote on October 25, 2005 which pertains to verses 22-24: “The destruction or the judgment of Babylon will happen near the end of the tribulation period and some of these things that are written in these three verses are things that happen in a normal society, but whatever normality there was in the world at this time will be gone, and the end will not be far off.

            “Verses 22 & 23 do speak of normal everyday things that happen in a society, and for sure God’s people have done them ever since the world began, but it was not these things that were done that was sinful, it was the hearts of the people who did them that were utterly sinful, and therefore when God judges Babylon these things will not be seen in her streets anymore.

            “Verse 24 tells of sinful things that her people have done and they will be judged for these things.  These people have killed the prophets of God and the people of God  because they hated God, for Jesus said that this would happen, and also said that it happened before He came to earth so what we are talking about here is a system that has been in operation since Genesis 10 & 11.  This system has always been anti God and it will culminate with Antichrist as it head and will be destroyed and never again be seen, because shortly after its destruction the King of Kings and Lord of Lords will return to planet earth and destroy all the evilness that He finds when He returns.  Praise the Lord!”

            As we look at this verse and a half verse we can see that there are three final reasons given for Babylon’s judgment.  We will look at them one at a time and the first one comes from verse 23b “for your merchants were the great men of the earth.”  As we can see in our country today many politicians use their money to ascend to positions of power, prominence, and influence.”  They will continue to do the same during this time.  Because of their wealth and power they take advantage of the poor something that we can read about from the pen of the Apostle James:  “6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court?”  “4  Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. 5 You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you (James 2:6 and 5:4-6).”  Here are some other verses to look at (Isa. 3:14-15; 5:8; Amos 4:1; 5:11; 8:4-6).  We have just been looking at Amos 4:1-3 in the Spiritual Diaries I post from that book.

Second reason:  “all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.”  John MacArthur writes something very interesting about this word “sorcery” and a number of years ago when we were living in Hawaii, the island of Kauai, I had the opportunity to speak to a group of prisoners and I actually brought up the meaning of this word to them.  MacArthur writes “Sorcery is from pharmakeia, the root word of the English words ‘pharmacy’ and ‘pharmaceuticals.’  The word is used in the New Testament to refer to magic and occult practices (9:21; Gal. 5:20).  Babylon’s hold on the world will not be entirely due to her military and economic power, but also to her occult influence.”  When I had the opportunity to speak to the prisoner’s one of the Pastors who was with me had a version of the Bible called the “Prison NLT Bible,” and he read some verses that contained the word sorcery and it was translated drugs.

The final reason for Babylons judgment comes from the following “in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.”  John MacArthur points out that similar verses to look up to go along with this one are from Rev. 6:10; 11:7; 13:7, 15, 16:6; and 17:6).  We have already looked at and will also look at this subject again of rejoicing over the judgments that were given to Babylon.  And as we look at verse 24 we can see that we can rejoice over this because God’s justice will be fulfilled.  We will begin chapter 19 in our next SD and the first two verses of that chapter are “1 After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; 2  BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER."”  Jesus speaks the following in Luke 12:16-21 “16 And He told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man was very productive. 17 “And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ’What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ 18 “Then he said, ’This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19  ’And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry."’ 20 “But God said to him, ’You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ 21 “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.’”  John MacArthur writes the following concerning these verses from Luke:  “The words of Jesus in Luke 12:16-21 form a fitting conclusion to the message of judgment on commercial Babylon.”  Indeed they do!

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The study of Revelation has given me a better prospective on life as I understand better what is going on in the world today.  I understand that back in Genesis 10-11 began a system that was against God and will always be against God and that I need to be careful that I don’t fall into this system which we call the world system.  I also better understand that one of the main reasons for studying the book of Revelation is to see that God is going to end this system put the leader of this system in the lake of fire and then come back to earth to set up His promised Kingdom.  By realizing these truths it should help me to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To love the Lord with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “The Pharisee” (Luke 18:11).

Today’s Bible question:  “In what city did Mary anoint Jesus with costly ointment?”

Answer in our next SD.

9/12/2015 12:15 PM