 |
| The Seawall on Galveston Island - Gulf of Mexico - vacation |
My Meditations on Today’s Readings
(Ellipses are mine
and are used for contemplation.)
Key Words/Phrases: In that day (x 10); Awake, O sword, against
My Shepherd, against the Man who is My Companion; 2/3 in it shall be cut off
and die; I will refine and test them; Behold, the day of the LORD is coming;
This honor have all His saints; Open your mouth for the speechless; so that he
should deceive the nations no more; this is the first resurrection; the great
white throne; the Book of Life.
Endings: In that Day
– Zechariah 13 and 14 (Facts: What It
Says – Summarized) Cutting Off / Testing:
In that day…I will cut off…cause to
depart…will no longer be remembered…the idols, the prophets and the unclean
spirits. The prophets…will not
live…because of lies…you have spoken in the name of the LORD. Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Awake…O
sword…against My Shepherd…against the Man…who is My Companion. Strike…the Shepherd…and the sheep will be
scattered. Then…I will turn My hand
against the little ones. And it shall come
to pass in all the land, says the LORD, that…2/3 in it shall be cut off and
die. But…1/3…shall be left in it. I…will bring the 1/3…through the fire…will
refine them…as silver is refined…and…test them…as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer
them. I will say, ‘This is My
people.’ And each one will say, ‘The
LORD is my God.’ Gathering for Battle: For I…will gather all nations…to battle
against Jerusalem. But…the remnant…of
the people shall not be cut off from the city.
Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations. Thus the LORD my God will come…and all the
saints with You. And the LORD shall be
King over all the earth. In that day…it
shall be…’The LORD is one,’ and His name one. Jerusalem shall be raised up and
inhabited. Purification: It shall come to pass…in
that day…that a great panic…from the LORD will be among…the people who fought
against Jerusalem. Those who do not…come
up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts…and to keep the Feast of
the Tabernacles…shall have no rain…and shall receive the plague. Sanctification: In that day…HOLINESS TO THE LORD shall be engraved
on the bells of the horses, and every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be
holiness to the LORD of hosts. In that
day there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts. Principle: The Plan of Salvation and Redemption is
revealed in the OT 1000’s of years before The Revelation given to John. This is
the consistency, the forewarning of prophecy.
But, beloved,
do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a
thousand years as one day. The Lord is
not slack concerning His
promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing
that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 1 Peter 3:8-9.
When He Returns: This Honor Have All His
Saints – Psalm 149:5-9) (Facts: What It Says) The Honor of the Saints: 1) To
execute vengeance on the nations, 2) And punishments on the peoples, 3) To bind the kings with chains, 4) And their
nobles with fetters of iron, 5) To
execute on them the…written…judgment.
Our Preparation and Response: 1) Let
the saints…be joyful…in glory. 2) Let them…sing aloud…on their beds. 3) Let
the high praises of God…be in their mouth, 4) and a two-edged sword in their hand. Principle: …at the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints (2 Thess. 3:13). The
two-edged sword we are to have in our hand is the Word of God. For the
word of God is living and
powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division
of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12). “It cuts
either way. It brings either salvation
or judgment.”
A Queen Mother’s Advice to Her Son - Proverbs 31:1-9 – (Facts:
What It Says) – Note: Some
scholars believe this is Bathsheba speaking to Solomon. Wisdom: What the King Should Avoid: 1)Do not give your strength…to women, 2) nor your ways to that…which destroys kings. 3) It
is not for kings to drink wine…lest…a) they drink and forget…the law; b) and
pervert…the justice…of all the afflicted.
Wisdom: What the King Should Do: 1) Give strong drink to him who is…perishing;
2) and wine to those who are…bitter in
spirit. Let him drink and forget…his
poverty…and remember his misery…no more.
3) Open your mouth for…the
speechless, 4) in the cause of all who are appointed…to die. 5) Open
your mouth…judge…righteously, 6) and plead the cause…of the poor…and needy.
Principle: Supposing this is
Solomon, it highlights the tragedy of his dissolute life – such a godly
beginning and a tragic end that had devastating consequences for the people he
ruled. Note that the first admonition of
the mother is the exact point on which Solomon fell. He disobeyed God and married foreign women
that turned him – and the nation – to idolatry.
Endings and Judgments Before a New
Beginning – Revelation 20
– (Facts: What It Says) Bound and Chained for a Time: Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven…having the key to the
bottomless pit. He laid hold of…the
dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a
1000 years; and he cast him into...the bottomless pit…shut him up…and put a
seal on him…so that…he should…deceive…the nations no more…till…the 1000 years
were finished. But after these things he must be released…for a little while. Judgment: And
I saw thrones…and they sat on them…and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had
been…beheaded…for their witness…to Jesus…and…for the Word of God…who had not
worshiped the beast or his image, nor received his mark on their foreheads or
hands. And they…lived and reigned with
Christ for a 1000 years. The First Resurrection: But the rest of the dead…did not live again…until…the 1000 years were
finished. This is the first
resurrection. Blessed…and holy…is he who
has part in the first resurrection. Over
such…death has no power…but…they shall be…priests of God and Christ…and shall
reign with Him a 1000 years. Final Return and
End of Satan: Now when the 1000 years have expired, Satan will
be released…from his prison…and will go out and…deceive the nations…and gather
them together to battle…whose number is the sand of the sea. Attack Against and
Rescue of the Saints: They went up
on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the
beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven…and devoured them. The devil…who deceived them…was cast into the
lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented forever and ever.
The Great White Throne Judgment: Then I saw a great white throne…and Him
who sat on it. And I saw the dead…small
and great…standing before God…and books…were opened. And another book was opened…which is the Book
of Life. And the dead were
judged…according to their works…by the things which were written in the
books. The sea gave up the dead who were
in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged…each one according
to…his works. Then Death and Hades…were
cast into the lake of fire. The Second Death:
This is the second death. And anyone…not found…in the Book of Life…was
cast into the lake of fire. Principle: Romans
14:10-12 says, “For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat…so
then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.” Second Corinthians 5:10 tells us, “For we must
all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what
is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” For a further
discussion on the whole of Scripture concerning salvation and judgment of
believers, you might want to consider this further writing: http://www.gotquestions.org/judgment-seat-Christ.html#ixzz2oyZlk48m
My Lessons and Applications:
This is my final post during this year of committed daily study of the
Bible. Another layperson will write
tomorrow’s final post on “Through the Bible in a Year.” It is important to note that this is our
shared personal meditations, lessons and applications as laypersons as the Holy
Spirit spoke to us in our time of communion with Him. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has
come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He
will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
(John 16:13).
These were the
primary burdens I felt God leading me to carefully consider this year in my
study. These are not necessarily my
tenets of belief, but areas that have weighed upon my spirit. 1) Corruption:
The earth has been corrupted by the evil world system of idolatry – of self, of
materialism, of a host of other idols that take precedence over God. This is not popular, of course, in our “Life
is Good” modality of the day. Life can
and is good in many ways, but it is also fundamentally corrupt according to
Scripture. 2) Suffering is the mark of a saint in New Testament teaching and,
essentially, throughout the whole of the Bible.
We are at enmity with the world because of Christ’s spirit within
us. This is also a topic that is rarely
preached from the pulpit but is paramount in Christ’s teachings and in His life
as well as that of the apostles. 3) Sanctity
of Marriage and Family and Its Dissolution – Reread the last words of
prophecy in Malachi before the 4-500 year Intertestamental Period. Reread Malachi 2 and Jesus’s comments on this
as well as Leviticus and Deuteronomy.
Note how man has corrupted the purpose of marriage and “becoming one.” –
“He seeks godly offspring.” 4) The Worthless Shepherds vs. The Good Shepherd– this is in all
areas of leadership - political, religious, familial, corporate – in every
aspect of life 5) How Much I Don’t Know
– Deuteronomy 29:29 The
secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are
revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we
may…do…all the words of this law. 6) Spiritual Warfare 7) My Need to Praise Him More Frequently and
More Effectively – in all things, at all times.
Blessings and
God Speed to each of you as you begin a new study through the Bible in 2014.
The Prayer of Jesus for Us as Believers –
John 17:20-26
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe
in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are
in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may
believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them,
that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they
may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me,
and have loved them as You have loved Me.
“Father,
I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they
may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the
foundation of the world. O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I
have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to
them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved
Me may be in them, and I in them.
No comments:
Post a Comment