SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
09/17/2005
My Worship Time Focus: Sixth Vial Judgment
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: Revelations 16: 12-16
Message of the verse: “12
The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way
would be prepared for the kings from the east.
13 And I saw coming out of the
mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of
the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; 14 for they are spirits of demons, performing
signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together
for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. 15
("Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays
awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will
not see his shame.") 16 And they gathered them together to the place
which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon.
As I go
through this wonderful study of this wonderful book of Revelations the Lord is
teaching me more and more about this book, and one of the things that I see is
you have to piece things together from one chapter to another in order to see
the whole picture that is being painted.
That is what has to be done with these verses, for these verse tell only
part of the story of the last battle here on earth, the battle that most people
call Armageddon. “The name Armageddon comes from two Hebrew words, har Megiddo. The word Megiddo means “place of troops” or “place of
slaughter.” It is also called the Plain
of Esdraelon and the Valley
of Jezreel.” (From Warren Wiersbe’s book “Be
Victorious.) There have been many
battles fought in this area of the world, but the most famous of them is still
to come and these verses help to describe what will take place there in what
could be not to far off.
Verse
twelve describes the beginning of this judgment when the sixth angel pours out
his vial on the river Euphrates and dries up the river so that the kings of the
east can pass through it without any trouble, for you see God is the One who is
putting this whole thing into motion, for He is in total control of it. Verse thirteen and fourteen describes how
antichrist gets all of the people to come there and fight as the unholy trinity
takes part in this gathering. They are
doing what seems natural and right for them to do, yet God has planned all of
this to happen long ago.
In verse
fifteen the Lord gives a warning to those who will listen, telling His
listeners to keep awake and be ready for His soon return. This warning is not
just for those who will be alive at this time, but for all generations who have
had the privilege of reading this book.
Verse
sixteen is one of the most read and quoted verses in the Bible as it talks
about the men being gathered in a place called Armageddon. This name Armageddon has come to mean the end
of the world to many who have read this and not really understood it, for it
may be the last battle, but it is surely not the end of the world, and it is
not the last battle either for after the 1000 year reign of Christ upon planet
earth Satan will be let out of his captivity to once again entice men to fight
again, but this will be a short battle and end quickly.
There are
parallel passages to this battle of Armageddon in other parts of the Scriptures,
for instance Zechariah twelve and fourteen describe this battle from Israel’s point
of view. “Joel 3:9-21 parallels the
Zechariah references, and verse 19 there makes clear that God will punish the
Gentiles for the way they have treated the Jews. (See also Zeph. 3:8ff; Isa. 24.)” “Warren Wiersbe’s book.)
The outcome
of this battle is seen in Revelations 19, which is about the return of Jesus
Christ to earth, and at that time He will end this battle even though thoughts
who are fighting each other will begin to fight against the Lord, but to no
avail.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: As said above concerning this passage God is
in control of all of this even though these plans to carry out seem to be
coming from the unholy trinity. What I
can see in these verses can possibility relate to things that are going on in
my life today, and that is that I believe that God is surely orchestrated all
of this seemingly bad things that are going on in my life at this time and according
to Romans 8:28 will work them out for my good and for His glory, and because of
this I do trust Him with the outcome of all of these events. With that been said I am hear to say that I
do not act like I am trusting Him with the outcome of this all of the time, yet
in my heart of hearts I do trust Him with the outcome. It has been three plus years since all of
this began, and God has taught me many lessons, and continues to teach me
lessons throughout this event and I do not know how it will be that God will
work this out, but I still must trust Him to work it out in the way He sees fit
to do it, even though I hope and pray that someday real soon I will get those
funds paid back to me that people owe me.
The Word of God has been challenging to my heart and also it
has been refreshing to my heart as I read it and studied it this morning.
My Steps of Faith
Today: Continue to trust the Lord
for His solution to the trials that I am going through.
Memory verses for the week:
Psalm 27:1-3
The Lord is my light and my salvation; who shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; in whom shall I be
afraid?
When evildoers assail me to eat my flesh;
My adversaries and foes, it is they who will stumble and
fall.
Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;
Though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.
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