DECEMBER 25
Merry Christmas! Everyone thinks of
peace and silence when they celebrate Christmas. Even if they don't believe in
Jesus, they think of peace. They like the festive atmosphere, and they like the
day off of work. It really is too bad that they don't get what is going on.
Jesus' second coming will have peace and silence only after the dust has
settled, and that is putting it lightly. Today I was reading about Jesus
evading arrest in the temple around Hanukkah (around Dec. 25th, just months
before His sacrifice), and later saying to some Pharisees who were trying to
scare Him in Luke 13:34-35, O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to
it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her
brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Behold, your house is
forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, "Blessed is
he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
The offer of peace comes and goes.
People still miss Him this Christmas, although the offer is being made today.
Until a person is thirsty, they will not come to the waters. Until they are so
needy that they cry out, "I need you" (or, blessed is He comes in the
name of the Lord), they will not welcome the message or the Messiah. As
disciples, we bring this message of His coming and His offer into the harvest;
and those who are thirsty come to the waters and find peace.
Zechariah
8
The time of these messages is still the
occasion noted at the beginning of chapter 7. The people had come to Zechariah
and asked him if they still needed to fast for Jerusalem. To understand
everything God is saying be sure to underline, Thus says the Lord of Hosts.
Vs. 1-8 We have a "before and
after" scenario here. Verses 1-2 have His wrath against the nations (wait
until you read the chapter in Revelation today), but the rest of the verses
describe peace and security, with God dwelling in their midst. For Zerubbabel,
Joshua, and the other leaders who have had to deal with opposition from within
and without, this vision of the future of Jerusalem made their efforts
worthwhile.
Vs. 1-3 Once again, notice God's care
for Zion. Let Him punish Jerusalem
and Israel if He must, but a wise nation would make peace with these people and
bless that city.
Vs. 4-5 This is what God has planned
for the people of that future city.
Vs. 6-8 At the Lord's second coming He
will gather all of Israel that is scattered all over the world.
Vs. 9-13 The beginning and the end of
this section says, let your hands be
strong. Even though God would bless that present remnant, the generation
and remnant they were working for was the future Israel that would be saved and
be honored by God at the second coming of Christ. We know enough from Ezra,
Nehemiah, and Malachi to know that this present generation did not honor the
Lord. But that shouldn't discourage them, because God has told them of the
future and of His future blessing to the nation. God has given us all of this
information for the same purpose, to make our hands strong as we follow Christ
now in the harvest.
Vs. 14-17 If they had obeyed God, they
would have experienced more blessing. When we get to Malachi it will look very
sad. Malachi reads like the 1 Corinthians of the OT. Still, as evidence of
God's deep patience and faithfulness, there will be a remnant of Israel that
will serve Him in the Tribulation and be a testimony to the earth in the
Millennial Kingdom.
Vs. 18-19 Instead of Israel commemorating
their sad and tragic past by these fasts they imposed upon themselves, God will
turn their fasts into feasts. Notice the last sentence and the therefore. What do you think the therefore is there for?
Vs. 20-23 This is their testimony to
the nations in the Millennial Kingdom. For an interesting connection to this,
read Isaiah 55. In Isaiah 55 God tells Israel how He will make this prophecy
possible.
Revelation
16
As I've mentioned before, the only
people who will really understand what is happening in the Tribulation,
particularly the timing of events we're reading about here, will be those who
are believing and going through the Tribulation. It will give them hope knowing
what events follow what events. It will help them hang on in faith and hope.
One of the challenges in what we'll read today is that the seals are very
similar to the trumpets. Some think they are the same thing and others only put
some time between them. I think there is a space of two years or more between
the trumpets and the seals. I think the interlude in the judgments has been
used by God to allow mankind to accept or reject Him. Their rejection has been
shown in killing God's followers and then following the antichrist. Receiving
that mark was a terrible idea. I think God gave the earth this interval of
"calm" to give people a sense of false security. They might have
thought, "The worst is over, we survived and now who cares about all that
scary "God" stuff?" If that is the case, the similarity of the bowls
to the trumpets will let people know that God was behind these plagues. The
intensity of these bowls will be 100 times worse than the trumpets and they
come because the world is killing God's followers.
Vs. 1-2 The loud voice in this case
intensifies the burning wrath of God. Notice the wording of Zechariah 8:2. How
poetic that the only people affected by this will be those who received the
mark of the beast. This will be a worldwide plague of pain. And, it will give
God's people a break from being pursued. Just think, all the police and
soldiers and politicians of the world will have the mark and be hurting. During
the Tribulation, those who are reading this will understand that the bowls of
God's judgment are underway. They will know exactly when this judgment has
begun. That's pretty cool, I'd say.
V. 3 The second trumpet killed a third
of the fish. This second bowl kills all marine life. God can make more
fish later, but for now, the oceans are totally dead. Also, the blood of a
corpse looks black, not red.
Vs. 4-7 The fresh water will be turned
to blood. Notice that this judgment shows that all of these are in response to
the people of the earth having killed those who follow Christ. Note that the
altar doesn't really speak. Under the altar are the martyrs whose blood was
spilled out for Christ.
Vs. 8-9 Everyone was happy that the sky
finally began to clear up, but wait, the ozone is gone! Whatever the problem
is, people are burning up, worldwide. Even a sunscreen rating of 835 isn't
helping here. Notice that there is a connection here to the plagues of Egypt in
that people know it is God, but they do not repent. It doesn't say that God
hardened their hearts because, like Pharaoh, their hearts were already hard.
Vs. 10-11 When God brought darkness to
Egypt, it didn't affect the Jews (Ex. 10:23). That means this will only affect
those nations that follow the antichrist. It's hard to find your painkillers
when you can't see. This is also poetic justice for following Satan and
ignoring God. They wanted darkness and they got darkness. And again, they fail
to repent. Apparently they had that chance.
Vs. 12-16 Now, the Euphrates was
already dried up once. My guess is that through the power of the antichrist and
the false prophet (beasts 1 & 2) the water was restored to the river and a
treaty of peace was made with China. This time, it appears that the Euphrates
is dry for good and the forces opposed to the antichrist get mad. And guess
what, because they don't follow the antichrist, they can see and can march on
toward him.
There is a question here that we can't
answer, but one that is good to consider. Why are these armies assembling at
Armageddon? We know the Lord is bringing them there for the day of judgment,
but Satan is also calling them there. Satan knows that they couldn't be victorious
against Jesus, any more than they could be successful against Satan's own
spiritual power. If Satan is rational at that moment, the only thing I can
imagine is that he is bringing mankind there to be damned by God. I think that
makes him happy, but it might also be that God allows some nations to resist
Satan, the antichrist, and the false prophet. As we will see in the next
chapters, "Babylon" never submitted to the antichrist and will pay a
price for that. Nothing makes you lose your mind more than being the bully on
the block and having someone mock you. It could be that these spirits that go
out are spiritually inciting the nations who oppose the antichrist to come and
duke it out so that Satan can destroy them. This option would be my guess.
V. 15 is Jesus' note to the entire
seven-year judgment, that it will begin without warning. This period of time
will be so devastating that it will be worth it to be ready. You won't want to
live through that time nor be present at this last war. The reason I think
Jesus is referring to the entire seven years is that by the time you get to
this time period of the Tribulation, those who believe will be able to know
that the time of His return is very near. When the war at Armageddon begins,
you could almost set your watch. On the other hand, this is also a wake-up call
for any followers at that time who have given up hope or are overwhelmed by the
sorrow and hardship. Jesus often said, "He who endures to the end will be
saved." "Saved" means they will be kept from despair and damage.
Vs. 17-21 Not only is this a great
earthquake, 793 on the Richter scale, but the earth is also leveled and the
islands cease to exist. One note here is that it says that at the time of the
Millennial Kingdom, Jerusalem will be the only mountain in that area. That must
mean that Jerusalem is spared some of the devastation. It also means that the
plain of Armageddon just became broader and flatter. This might be why it says
in Zechariah that Jesus will have to rebuild the temple and why the city won't
have any walls. But beyond Israel, every city on earth will be destroyed. That
will definitely slow down local governments trying to find the followers of
Jesus. Then there is a sound and light show and 100-pound hail. Even in Texas
that would be considered big. Again, it looks like this hailstorm is worldwide.
I'll bet the insurance companies have ceased to exist by this time. So, how can
you curse God knowing He did this, and not repent? But hey, we can do anything.
We are Man.
I think there will be some length of
time in here. It will take time in this newly and completely devastated world
to rally troops to Israel. And now too, we'll have an interlude because a city
(nation?) of the world has been completely destroyed and the earth will mourn.
Psalm
144
Vs. 1-2 I wonder if David wrote this
after a battle. In the heat of fighting, having narrowly missed many swords and
arrows, and having defeated so many who came against him, David is now able to
think about what happened. Reflecting back he realizes it was God who saved him
and who gave him those unique moments when he prevailed. In 2 Samuel 8 it
mentions that David's battles were not only with the "neighbors" but
with other nations further north that were called out by Syria to fight against
David. David was actually fighting against the "nations."
Vs. 3-4 We all need real moments like
this. What are we that God is so interested in us?
Vs. 5-8 As we are seeing in Zechariah
and in Revelation, God's creative power also works in humbling the pride and
rebellion of men.
Vs. 9-11 Outside of The Psalms and one
reference in Isaiah, the only other “new songs” are in Revelation 5:9 and 14:3.
These foreigners may have been those mentioned in 2 Samuel 8.
Vs. 12-15 David's desire for the peace
of the nation will be granted in the future where Christ will reign and where
David himself will be the leader of Israel under Him.
It is interesting that one of the
things David thinks about is God's steadfast love. God had anointed David as a
young teen and told him through Samuel that he would someday be king. David was
probably amazed that he was still alive. There was only one thing to which he
could attribute this: the steadfast love of the Lord.
As disciples, God has promised us
fruit, spiritual joy and abundance in following Christ. But, we've got to keep
following and pressing forward in the harvest. And when it comes, we'll say,
like David, that it was totally the Lord and our fruit was the result of His
steadfast, faithful love, just as He had promised.
Proverbs 30:29-31
We've just seen that God makes things. He made the
"small & wise" in the last proverbs. Today, God made it naturally
so, that these can't help but look stately and proud. It is His doing. Tomorrow
comes the lesson.
If you’re reading along
and don’t have a One Year Bible, click on this link http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/every-day-in-the-word/. If that doesn't work, go to http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/ and click on “Every Day in the Word.”
I'm writing these
comments to and for those who are following a One Year Bible and interested in
growing deeper as a disciple, following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see
the growth of a discipleship culture in the church. Groups of 3-4 disciples,
meeting weekly, encouraging each other to follow Christ and work to reach out
and make disciples who make disciples. The Bible itself is the most universal
manual we have and key to our growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us
more focused on why we are here or what we are to be doing. My comments are
only meant to provide some explanation of the events or to show the flow of
God's plan of redemption. My comments are in no way exhaustive, but are
designed to keep us focused on Christ and our role in His harvest. My hope is
that the people in these groups will grow in Christ and be willing, after a
year, to find 3 others to meet with and encourage in their growth as disciples,
disciples making disciples in the harvest.
If you would like a
complete description of this model of being and making disciples you can find
it in my book: Simply Disciples*Making Disciples.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011WJIDQA?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
If you would like a more
descriptive commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the
Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's keyed to the NIV, so the result is the
commentators are constantly telling you what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never
hurts.
I am not endorsing any
particular One Year Bible; in fact, I read something you don't, die revidierte
Lutherbibel 1984.
Anyone reading along with
us is welcome to do so and is encouraged to take their own notes and make their
own observations. If the comments made do not agree with your particular
tradition or understanding, that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to
criticize any point of view, but only to express the truth of what God has
written to us, as I understand it. Send comments or feedback to dgkachikis@gmail.com.
If you would like
documents containing an entire month of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes. You can download these to use on your computer or to
print.
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