Month: February 2023

Revelation 20:7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison….

It’s probably not a good thing, but Revelation 20:10 brings me much joy. The devil will be tormented day and night forever and ever? That sounds like righteous justice to me.

Revelation 20:8 …and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.

However, the devil isn’t always the issue. Sometimes (often?) my pride, my anger, my bitterness, my lack of compassion are the issues. I’m not sure what to do with that glaring truth except to keep reading, keep searching, keep praying, keep trying to be more like Jesus.

Revelation 20:9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.

Lord, I want to be more like You and less like this world. Help me. Amen.

Revelation 20:10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Have a blessed day.

Revelation 19:1 After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God….

After all the nightmare images in Revelation, I’m thankful that we are back to something I can understand and fully support—praising God. But, as usual, I’ve got a lot to learn, I’ve got pride to set aside so that I can praise Him fully.

Revelation 19:2 …for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

Because praising Him is what it’s all about, right? But I get caught up in anger, frustration, fear, bitterness with others. So my praise of Him is deferred while I’m disgruntled with my fellow man. Not cool.

Revelation 19:3 And again they shouted: “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”

Lord, You tell us in Matthew 5 that if we are offering our sacrifice to You and realize there is an issue with a brother or sister, we are to leave our offering, go reconcile with our brother or sister, and then come back to offer our gift to You. Forgive me that I let my issues with others hamper my praise of You. Help me to do better, be better, Jesus. Amen.

Revelation 19:5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both great and small!”

Have a blessed day.

Revelation 18:2 With a mighty voice he shouted: “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’ She has become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.

In the beginning of this chapter, God calls His people out of Babylon so they won’t be defiled or destroyed with the city. In the end, merchants—who profited greatly because of corrupt Babylon—stood far off, well out of harm’s way, to lament, but when you look closely, they are lamenting for themselves and all they have lost because of this great city’s fall.

Revelation 18:4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “‘Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues….

Once again, God is trying to shepherd His people in a more positive direction and false friends are doing what false friends do—being selfish and untrue, lamenting not the loss to others but the loss to themselves.

Revelation 18:5 for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.

Lord, Thank You for loving us fiercely, for calling us to You, to right, to good, always. Help us to steer clear of false friends. Help us to seek You, always, with open minds and open hearts. Be with us, Lord. Amen.

Revelation 18:15 The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn….

Have a blessed day.

Revelation 17:1 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters.

Once again Hebrews 4:12 comes to mind as I read Revelation and commentary. The commentator puts forth interpretation as fact, and with scripture that is living and active, hard fact with no room for other interpretations or discussions just feels wrong.

Revelation 17:4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.

There is definitely “sin of certainty,” pride going on here, but the trouble is, whose pride? The commentator’s for purporting so unequivocally that his interpretation is accurate? Mine for being so certain that the commentator’s confidence is wrong? Jesus, Help us.

Revelation 17:6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished.

Lord, I have never attempted Revelation before because it felt so frightening and different. Now, as I read it, I am curious, questioning, wondering what and why and how. Thank You for giving me a heart of wonder for this difficult text. Help me to continue to draw closer to You in my reading. Amen.

Revelation 17:7 Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns.

Have a blessed day.

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

This morning I read through the background material my friend sent on Revelation. The sources reinforced my notion that trying to interpret this book in one specific way is futile based on what it is and how it’s written. It’s not intended for one literal interpretation.

Revelation 16:10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in agony….

Again, I think, it is intended to have us actively seeking God. Where is He in this text? Where is He in our lives? How do the two connect? Intersect? Are we seeking? Knocking? Asking? Is He our goal and focus?

Revelation 16:11 …and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.

Lord, You don’t want to give us neat, pat answers. You want us to seek You—earnestly, passionately, repeatedly. Help me, always, to seek You—in scripture and in life. Amen.

Revelation 16:15 “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.”

Have a blessed day.

Revelation 15:5 After this I looked, and I saw in heaven the temple—that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law—and it was opened.

Tomorrow morning I plan to sit down and comb through the materials my friend sent about Revelation. I’m hopeful that they will contain information that magically makes all of this make sense, though I doubt it will.

Revelation 15:6 Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests.

But it occurs to me this morning that maybe that’s part of the point of Revelation—for us to have to sit with the text, wonder, ponder, seek God’s message. God doesn’t want this scripture to be easily gleaned from the surface. He wants us to intentionally seek Him here.

Revelation 15:7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever.

Lord, I am two weeks into Revelation and still pretty confused about the text, but I know You are here, so I continue to study Your word and seek You wholeheartedly. I look forward to all that You reveal in Your time. Amen.

Revelation 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.

Have a blessed day.

Revelation 14:9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand….

This chapter of Revelation suggests an interesting picture of hell—that God is present. Revelation 14:10 says, “They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.”

Revelation 14:10 …they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.

The idea of hell is frightening enough for me, but the idea that the eternal torment of hell will be overseen by the One who could have saved me from it? The idea that every day of my eternal torture I will know with certainty that I could have prevented this outcome but chose not to? That truly sounds like a living hell.

Revelation 14:11 And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

Lord, You say repeatedly in scripture “let those who have ears hear.” You say this because You don’t want us to know the eternal torment of a hell of our own making, a hell that we can easily avoid. Thank You for Your mercy and compassion. Help me to hear. Help me to see. Help me to understand. Help me to choose You every day. Amen.

Revelation 14:12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.

Have a blessed day.

Revelation 13:2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.

Here are the nightmare images of Revelation in vivid force. A powerful, blaspheming leopard/bear/lion whose power and authority come from Satan and who rules for 42 month? Yep. That’s frightening.

Revelation 13:5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months.

And “the mark of the beast,” 666, which has such evil connotations in our culture. I’ve been guilty of throwing a pack of gum on the conveyor belt when the cost of a few items rang up to $6.66.

Revelation 13:9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.

Lord, Revelation 13:9 makes me think that our fears and superstitions are off base. With the prophetic dream of Revelation, You are trying to get us to see, hear, and understand so that we can draw closer to You. But as so often happens, we get it wrong. We get caught up in fear and superstition. Give us ears to hear You, Lord. Help us to draw near. Amen.

Revelation 13:18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.

Have a blessed day.