Spiking the football.  The victory lap.  The evil beast killed two of God’s finest.  Acting like “Ding Dong the witch is dead!”, people all over decide to treat the dead with indecent indignity. They begin celebrating. 

“Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city– which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt– where also their Lord was crucified.  For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial.  The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.  (Revelation 11:7-10)

Refusing burial in the Ancient Near East was considered indecent, an indignity one only did to true enemies. 

So, these two of God’s finest, the “two witnesses” having done such powerful preaching, are now left as corpses to be baked in the hot sun and turn to carrion for vultures.  I don’t read that any vultures came.  Do you?

But people came from all over and gazed at them.  Gloated over them. 
And celebrated their death. 
They even sent “Beast Wins over Witness” gifts,
believing they had been liberated
from those prophets who had tormented everyone. 

Liberated? Tormented.  Really?

Their bodies were in the streets of a place (fortunately referred to as figuratively) called Sodom (land of sexual perversion) and Egypt (land of idolatry).  Three and a half days was enough time for the two witnesses to be truly dead.  And the whole world came to gloat.

Sometimes gloating is short-lived.

Thoughts for today:

Why would it be important to God that these witnesses would have been persecuted to death, actual death, and by standards of that day be observed by people (from every corner of the world) as dead?  For a hint, jump ahead to Revelation 11:11 “But after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet.”

Why would doing nothing more than simple, powerful preaching feel like “torment” to the inhabitants of the world?  In what way does this show it is a spiritual battle, a holy war? See Matthew 9:29-34

The witnesses are dead.  The infidels desecrate, celebrate, and gloat!  The beast (evil personified and someday an actual person) made his chess move. 

God’s turn…

In the big picture of Revelation so far, we’ve seen that seven churches received letters from God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) as warning and encouragement for the days to come.  Why warning? Ah, those “last days”.  The churches are instructed that those who overcome will inherit various blessings belonging to the righteous in heaven.  Overcoming.  Hold that thought.

Then John is whisked up to the throne room of God to see one of the combatants in the great spiritual battle: God Himself who (spoiler alert) wins.  But who exactly is God triumphing over? 

In the heavenly chess match, God made another move:
two witnesses who preach with power from on high.
But this is no actual chess match. 
It’s war.

Revelation 11:7 Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them.

Today we have our first introduction to one of the other combatants in the spiritual battle.  John describes it as a beast that comes up from the Abyss. The pit of hell.

Evil personified.

Rather than a pixelated dig into the nuances of who this beast is or speculate who may be or have been the beast in history, let’s let the words of Revelation speak for themselves.  Big picture. He’s evil personified, from the pit of hell and he’s powerful enough to be a real enemy of those who witness.  He attacks.  He overpowers.  And he kills them.

Thought for today:

Digging into the nuances of who this may be…while interesting to speculate… don’t do it. In truth, it serves a very negative purpose and plays into the hands of Satan: It frightens.  Fear is his turf.  Don’t play there.

I do not want you to believe this book of Revelation (and particularly any passage explicitly referencing evil) will be simple, casual reading.  It’s not. 

It’s spiritual and my nightmares for many days writing this particular episode exposed something very important to me:  God wanted me to tell you that words have power to build or destroy.

Fear is a powerful enemy of the Church, of God’s people,
and frankly of people in general.  

How many times in Scripture does God tell His people not to fear?  You may have heard 365, one for every day, but there’s a bit of creative license going on there depending on the translation you use.  Let’s just say, God repeats Himself… a lot… because we need it.

Think back over the past couple years of COVID.  How did fear cause people to do things, think things, close churches, and abandon hope in life that they wouldn’t have done were it not for a pandemic?  A plague giving reason to fear death?

Reading Revelation (even seeing the spiritual battle ahead of us)
should give the Christian hope.  Not fear. 
Hope.  For when all seems lost, it’s not.  God wins this battle and it’s not even close. 
God wins.  Eternal life is real.  And there is hope for you and me.

===

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.

While Revelation was not written as a secret code to predict Jesus’ return, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t mean to inspire study.  Intensive study.  Today’s passage sends us deep into Ezekiel to see how John is recreating a vision and then expanding it. 

Revelation 11:1 I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers.  2 But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months.”

Wait, I’m a Gentile.  Am I excluded?  Don’t worry, what’s pictured here is a subset of Gentile worshipers of Christ to be distinct from “the Gentiles” used in today’s passage to mean the nations. 

God will protect His people
(both Jewish Christian from covenant promise and Gentile Christian by grace). 
Simple: Christian=protected; unbelieving nations=evil
and the nations will trample God’s people in the last day.

Protection spiritually (measurement of the temple and altar) doesn’t mean physical protection from persecution which Scripture amply indicates will occur. Enter the two witnesses who are two specific faithful ones: 

Revelation 11: 3 And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”  4 They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.” 5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die.  6 They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.  7 Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them.  8 Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city– which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt– where also their Lord was crucified.  9 For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial.  10 The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.  11 But after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.”

Thoughts for today:

Big picture: There is a faithful group of worshipers whom God preserves. 

Big picture: In the end, witnesses bring testimony which results in judgment.  God saves His people yet their testimony—rejected—compiles evidence against the enemies of God’s people.

Big picture:  Remember, the seventh trumpet has not yet sounded.  There are a few things in this passage that display the cruel, irreverent arrogance of God’s enemies which will come in the last days.  How does displaying this treatment of God’s people further harden the hearts of enemies of God and provide the burden of evidence for their receiving the wrath of God and prove how His judgments are just? 

Big picture: God wins and even death is no problem for people who trust the Giver of life. 

Do you see an interesting pattern of three and a half days then the breath of life from God resurrects them?  Three days was assurance that someone was truly dead.  A significance that cannot be overlooked is: How is this similar, but in what ways does this differ from Jesus with the empty tomb?  How was Jesus’ resurrection different?  How was His ascension/timing different?

===

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.

“7 But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.” (Revelation 10:7)

Continuing our study of Revelation in 40, there are enough odd statements in the lines of Scripture that we don’t need to read between the lines to have our curiosity kindled. “Mystery of God” sounds so…mysterious! What is this mystery of God?  According to this verse, God has already announced it to His servants the prophets.

One cannot read about this little scroll (Revelation 10:8) now unsealed in the hand of a mighty angel of God without thinking of Daniel, who, yes, was a prophet. Daniel did not understand the visions and messages he was given but was commanded to roll up and seal the scroll until the time of the end. It would remain a mystery until God partially unveiled it in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, Son of God and powerfully at His resurrection. I wonder if Jesus had a twinkle in His eye when He said, “Go your way, Daniel…”

Daniel 12:1 “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people– everyone whose name is found written in the book– will be delivered.  2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.  3 Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.  4 But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.”… 8 I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?”  9 He replied, “Go your way, Daniel, because the words are rolled up and sealed until the time of the end.”

Ah, but now they’ve been unsealed in John’s vision. 
Okay, what is the mystery?  The hidden plan of God?

Daniel 12 continues…. 10 Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.

Thoughts for today:

Read Peter’s assessment:  “Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.(1 Peter 1:10-12)

At the time of Daniel, it looked like humanity was totally in a losing game of chess. It was mortality’s checkmate because of sin, and there was no other hope for humanity. No one had the slightest hint that God Himself, in the person of Jesus Christ would suffer and die for His beloved Image bearers.  That God Himself would provide (indeed BE) the perfect sacrifice. The Lamb of God sent from God and God’s only Son would receive God’s holy wrath against sin and by His grace, through our faith, many will be purified.  The Gospel-a hidden and awesome plan of God. It is amazing grace!

The verse from today says the “mystery of God will be accomplished.”  In what way has the Gospel been revealed, but not yet been fully accomplished (reserved for the very end as the seventh trumpet is about to sound)?

===

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.

Revelation 10:1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. 2 He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, 3 and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. 4 And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.” 5 Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. 6 And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay!”

Uh-oh.  The roar like a lion announces that it’s happening. 
For all those out there who scoff at end times,
there will be a time they will be silenced
as even they will know when it is upon us. 

“There will be no more delay!” 
Yeah, among the scariest words in all of Scripture.

The angel is standing on land and sea.  It’s the whole world.  “There will be no more delay!”  But then the angel continues, “7 But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.” (Revelation 10:7)

Then the cliffhanger hangs for a few chapters while the scroll (remember it had been closed with a weeping John distraught that no one could bring about the restoration and vindication of Israel), now appears opened by the Lamb who was worthy.  Now this little scroll rests open in the hand of this magnificent angel and the scroll’s contents are about to be revealed…bittersweet.

To be continued…

Thoughts for today:

“Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow” is the procrastinator’s pledge.  Based upon today’s passage, why is it better to do it now?  Salvation is not something to put off.

“As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” (John 9:4) How does the angel’s pronouncement, “There will be no more delay!”, reiterate the urgency with which we must share the Gospel?

===

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.

Let’s take a quick moment to point out that Revelation (that we’re studying for Lent) is not a strict chronology.  We can’t follow it like numbered connect-the-dots to form the picture.  We’re passing through an interlude describing the spiritual battle.  The seventh seal is open, and five trumpets have sounded. 

Where are we?  John gives us clues.  Revelation 9:12 “The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come.”  This tells us we’re transitioning from the first woe which told of the death of one quarter of humanity (as people killed each other and plagues swept the earth) to something else. Something worse than the four horsemen.  One fourth was bad enough, remember?

Revelation 6:8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

…but now it’s ratcheted up to one third.

Revelation 9: 13 “The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar that is before God.  14 It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, ‘Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.’”  15 And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind.

Worth noting is that the locusts came from the Abyss. A key kept them locked there until the right time.  Locusts, agents of Satan.  Now, there are four angels who had been “kept ready” until their time (which is specified as hour, day, month, and year). They’re released to kill a third of mankind.

Revelation 9:16 The number of the mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard their number.

Time out.  This is not John making it up.  A 20 million army is their number.  He heard it. 

Revelation 9:17 The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur.  18 A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths.  19 The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.

Time out.  It’s hard to know what John is describing, but whatever it is, clearly it is injuring people. Killing people.  A third of mankind was killed.  And here’s the point outside of the pixelated view:

Revelation 9:20 The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood– idols that cannot see or hear or walk. 21 Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.

Thoughts for today:

This is one of the saddest descriptions in all of Scripture. People witness this destruction with their own eyes but fail to see that they are in the death throes of sin. (Oh, wake up!!! Realize you’re in real trouble and repent!). Nope. They double down, and dig in their heels.

These events are still future.  Compare these to modern culture. 

They did not repent of proud human achievements (denying God and exalting man)

They did not stop worshiping false gods and satanic forces (maybe our devotion to celebrities, entertainment watched on TV, or the Internet)

Nor did they repent of their murders. Before you think, “Hey, that’s not widespread”, there is one death that is widely accepted in westernized countries.  It starts with an “a” and impacts the most innocent.

Magic arts, sometimes translated sorcery, is actually the Greek word φάρμακον (pharmakon) meaning a drug; magic potion, etc.  It’s the Greek root of our word pharmaceutical.  Do we diminish the problems of opioids, prevalence of recreational drugs, drug abuse, or addiction in relation to its spiritual connections? Has there been a recent push for legalization of various recreational drugs?  How should we view that biblically? What does the culture tell us?

===

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.

It’s good–after a week of world tumult that seems out of control, and when the vignettes in our Revelation Lenten study have turned to thoughts of judgment–to remember that the results are not up to us.

God wins. That’s assured.

And His character ensures the judgments will be just in the Last Day. Here is a Sabbath rest to comfort your soul and refresh your spirit in remembering who He is.

“‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.”
(Revelation 4:8)

This year’s Lent Devotional Series “Revelation in 40” resumes tomorrow after today’s Sabbath rest to meditate and worship as they are presently doing in heaven.

An eagle appears and indicates the progression is now to the inhabitants…mankind.  “As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!” (Revelation 8:13)

Revelation 9:1 The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss.  2 When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss.  3 And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth.  4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

I don’t know about you, but I’d really want to be one of those
with the seal on my forehead. These locusts are nasty.

Revelation 9:5 “They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes.”

Thought for today:

Surely God would not allow torture!  I know. It’s hard to understand.  What if this is a preview, a movie trailer, or a sample taste of what hell is going to be like? 

How does an anthropomorphic view (making a man) of God Almighty make torture seem unthinkable? 

When we overlay human views/sentiments over God’s, we are likely more than a few degrees off of true center.  God knows everything.  We know only in part.  We’re likely to be wrong in our judgments.  God never is.

A star falls and is given a key to the Abyss.  That’s the home of demons.

Like the torture God allowed of Job (by Satan importantly), there is limit (not allowed to kill) and the result is one wishing he could die and get it over with. Compare Job 6:8-9 “Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant what I hope for, 9 that God would be willing to crush me, to let loose his hand and cut off my life!”  And “During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.” (Revelation 9:6)

Now might also be a good time to address “locusts” like horses with faces –the whole image is weird.  Professional theologians take thoughts of tanks and drones as being fantasy and dismiss this as missing the theological importance of John’s writing as it relates to persecution by Rome. Maybe I’m too simple, but I’m not ready to ignore that a first century John is trying to describe events that haven’t happened for us yet.  Imagine how hard it would be to describe technology you’ve never seen that blows your mind.  Do you think the locusts are actual locusts when they don’t eat plants?  It’s figurative in some sense, but in fighting over images, we lose the big picture: there is a legion of evil and the spiritual battle is real.  Some people will be casualties. War always does.

How is the authority over life and death connected to the authority to judge?  Read John 5:21-27.  ” For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. ” And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. (John 5:26-27)

I confess, I’m among those who wish for the Return of Christ.  Passages like this one disturb me for my loved ones.  What about you?

===

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.

The trumpets do not bring judgment, only herald it.  The angels do not inflict judgment on their own choice.  As created beings, they cannot be the source.  You see, it’s a holy war and only God has the authority to send judgment upon mankind.  Everything else is created by God and therefore has no authority in this holy war.  Creation must solely obey God who commissioned them.

Revelation 8: 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.   6 Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.

And there came. “There came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.”  It repeats.  The first was in 4:5 when we entered the throne room and saw “From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder” (Revelation 4:5).  God is the source.  It’s here in 8:5, again in 11:19, and it is repeated one more time in 16:18-21.

That’s John’s Jewish background, his reluctance to mention God, or permit any man-like resemblance to God the Father.   But “there came” tells us the Almighty is the source.  It tells us that all the judgment is coming from the same divine holiness from 4:5—God’s holiness—which must judge evil. 

There is no other way to remain holy than to wage war against evil.  God can do no other.

The trumpets herald plagues that point the reader
toward the plagues upon Egypt
which became progressively more intense and dire: 
water turning to blood, frogs, lice, flies, livestock pestilence, boils, hail, locusts,
darkness and finally, the killing of firstborn children.

Thunder from heaven.  Plagues like Egypt. 

Worth noting is that so far, the destruction announced by trumpet blasts, shofar of the holy war, harms only creation apart from mankind.  Humanity, the pinnacle of creation, is reserved for last.

The first 4 trumpets result in 1/3 level destruction.

Trumpet #1  Hail and fire mixed with blood, Result: 1/3 of the earth and trees were burned, and all the green grass.

Trumpet #2 Huge mountain ablaze thrown into the sea.  1/3 of sea became blood, 1/3 of sea creatures died, and 1/3 of the ships were destroyed.

Trumpet #3 Great star blazing like torch falling from sky.  Result 1/3 of rivers, springs of waters turned bitter.

Trumpet #4 Celestial events 1/3 of sun, moon, stars turned black.  1/3 day without light and 1/3 of night starless.

Then the 1/3 destruction notation pauses as an eagle appears and called to the earth’s inhabitants. 

“As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!” (Revelation 8:13)

To be continued…

Thought for today:

In the days of Moses in Egypt, the plagues only hardened Pharaoh’s heart.  What is served by having 1/3 of creation apart from man afflicted?

See Exodus 8:15,32; 9:12, 34; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:8

Why would God reserve the most severe of judgments, delaying until the last? 
In the flood, He reserved a remnant.  Why would destruction of man, wiping man off the face of the earth, be so grievous to God?

If you read the accounts in Exodus above you will see that Pharaoh hardened his own heart, but the Lord also hardened his heart.  How is that possible?

Think about that pattern of hardened hearts.  How does that inform that 1/3 destruction? 

===

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.

The shofar, or trumpet as it’s often translated, was sounded repeatedly in Scripture.  It was used for many reasons such as sounding an alarm, announcing a battle, engaging in spiritual warfare, honoring holy days like Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, worshiping God, heralding the Return of Christ, and proclaiming Judgment to come.  Often it was associated with God’s victory, whether past, present, or anticipated.   What else would you expect from God, the Alpha and Omega, “who is and who was and who is to come” (Revelation 1:8)?

In Revelation, there are seven shofars or trumpets announcing 7 plagues.  They don’t get sounded until the seventh seal is broken.  I try to picture it like nested boxes or those matryoshka dolls where smaller ones are nested inside the bigger one.  Only the closer to the core of this nesting, the power is more destructive.  

Seals 1-6 have been opened and then heaven stands silent in holy awe upon the judgments about to be commissioned from the throne. 

Revelation 8:1 When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.  2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them…5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.   6 Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.

I can’t say it any better than Richard Bauckham in his book “The Theology of the Book of Revelation”.  He writes,

“There are three series of judgments, the seven seal-openings…the seven trumpets…and the seven bowls.  As seven is the number of completeness, in some sense each series completes God’s judgment on the unrighteous world…
…The three series are so connected that the seventh seal-opening includes the seven trumpets and the seventh trumpet includes the seven bowls. Thus each series reaches the same end, but from starting points progressively closer to the end. This is why the three series of judgments are of progressive severity: the judgments…a quarter…a third… and those of the bowls are unlimited.” 

And evil, in the end, is utterly destroyed as a final act of divine judgment.

Thought for today:

The seventh seal has not been opened in our human timeline.  The seven trumpets have yet to sound. Are you ready for Judgment Day?

===

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.