December 31, 2018 Reading Notes

If you don't have a One Year Bible or prefer something online, this link will take you to the day's reading,  http://oneyearbibleonline.com/daily-oyb/.  This site allows you to select from several languages and several English translations.

DECEMBER 31

Time to celebrate!

Malachi 3-4

This generation of Jews had a very muddled history. Part of their history was miraculous privilege and the other part was tragic judgment. Yet they were still God's people, chosen to make His redemptive plan known to the world. They should have been impressed with the astounding manner in which God had bent and moved the nations to protect Israel in exile and to restore them to their land. Instead it was all so wearisome and so vague. There was this hope, but they didn't want to fully commit themselves to God. They thought a little following would work, but it only made matters worse. (This sounds like a lot of people today in the church.) This would also be a picture of the Jews before Jesus arrived. In a way, it is a picture of all of mankind. We have a vague sense we should seek God, but we want His blessing on our terms at whatever level of interest we're willing to give Him. We think He should just be happy with what He gets, right? Wrong.

Malachi 3

Vs. 1-5 So God will send messengers to prepare the people.

V. 1 There are two messengers here. John the Baptist is the first and the messenger of the covenant was Jesus. We know what happened with John and Jesus. In fact, tomorrow you get to begin reading the Gospels.

V. 2-5 Suddenly God warns them of His coming. We saw in Amos 5:18, that a person shouldn't wish lightly for the day of the Lord. The result will be that Judah will be cleansed, but it will be through the fire. I think this is captured in Jesus telling the multitudes that if they are walking with their accuser on the way to the court, to try to settle on the way. If it goes to judgment, they will have to pay every penny. The idea for that generation and each individual was, "Now is the time. Don't wait until the day of the Lord."

Vs. 6-12 The point of this section takes a little thought. It is not that God is interested in tithing, but the lack of tithing did reveal a lack of spiritual understanding.

V. 6 Just as God has always done, He will continue to spare them because of His covenant with Abraham.

V. 7 So what do the statutes have to do with returning to God and paying the tithes? Remember in Nehemiah that Nehemiah set everything in order. The priests and the Levites were all in Jerusalem working and the people were bringing the tithes. Nehemiah left for a time and when he returned (Neh. 13:6), the Levites were scattered back to their farms. The people had stopped bringing the tithes.

I can imagine the people saying, "Hey, the times are hard. Why should I tithe to support a bunch of people sitting around doing nothing?" The thing is that God had appointed the priests and Levites to be teachers of the people. How would the people learn the statutes and the Word (and of God Himself) if the Levites weren't there? That is the point here. A spiritually perceptive person would have seen that his own spiritual welfare and the spiritual welfare of his family and nation were dependent on the ministry of the priests and Levites. And the priests and Levites were supported by the tithes. Tithing tested the hearts of the people. They failed. When the people held back, God held back and not only did the economy suffer, but so did their spiritual wellbeing.

V. 12 Israel was to have been a witness and a blessing to the nations because of God's blessing to them as they followed. In Isaiah 55 God says that they will be a blessing during the Millennium.

Vs. 13-15 I have met Christians who basically have this attitude. Yet, a little following and trust, mixed with a major portion of living your life the way you want, only brings bitter disappointment. We are not left here to have more comfort, better health and cooler toys than the unbelieving world. We are here to serve our Lord, following Him with a cross on our shoulder into the harvest. In this there is joy. Any other view is our own.

Vs. 16-18 Some people did respond and God promises to acknowledge these people on the day of resurrection. God's acknowledgement of them will add to the judgment of all those who didn't respond. It might also be that in the time of Malachi, God chose to bless those who truly repented, and did this in a visible way.

V. 18 God will make this distinction clear at Christ's coming and in all eternity. For those who love Jesus, they already understand the spiritual depth of this difference. It is all grace and nothing we have done. To know Him is itself the reward.

Malachi 4

These are God's final words in the Old Testament, then come 400 silent years. And tomorrow, for us, we read about the coming of the Savior and His herald.

V. 1 This not only sounds like the judgment at the end of the Tribulation, but John the Baptist told the leaders and people that the axe was laid to the root of the trees and that burning would accompany ignoring the message. John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” ¹⁸So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people (Luke 3:16-18). I always smile when I read that last sentence after John's version of the "good" news.

Vs. 2-3 This really sounds like the fighting in Jerusalem just as Jesus returns. The sun of righteousness only appears here and it was used by Charles Wesley in "Hark the Herald Angels Sing." Since it is spelled "sun" and not "son," the meaning has to do with a coming day that will dawn on mankind. Oddly enough, there is a mention to that in Luke 1:76-79 (RSV). Zechariah the father of John the Baptist is speaking. "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, ⁷⁷to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, ⁷⁸through the tender mercy of our God, when the day shall dawn upon us from on high ⁷⁹to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." Jesus is that Light that dawns upon us.

V. 4 In a heart of faith the statutes and rules were obeyed in faith, out of a heart of love and gratitude for God's salvation and deliverance. The first and great commandment of the Law was to love the Lord with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength and all your mind. That love came from one's understanding of the Lord's love in saving them out of Egypt (and now Babylon) and for fulfilling the promise to Abraham. In the same way, our service and obedience as disciples flows first from our love for Christ and our gratitude that He saved us. Growing in our love for Him and His Word has to be our first priority or everything else becomes duty.

Vs. 5-6 So, is this John the Baptist? Read what Gabriel said to Zechariah regarding John in Luke 1:16-17 (March 13). He quotes a part of verse six. Jesus said that John fulfilled this ministry. Jesus said in Matthew 17:12, "But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased." Still, there is enough ambiguity in what Jesus says to allow room to understand that Elijah really will come during the Tribulation and be one of those two witnesses.

These are the final words of the Old Testament. God wanted to make His point. In His love and compassion there is the warning of judgment. It would be unloving to withhold a valid warning. As disciples we can't afford to be unloving. Tomorrow we begin again in the good news. As we work in the harvest we carry the burden of knowing how important God's message truly is. It is worth it, now on earth, to forsake all else for the surpassing worth of following our Savior, knowing Him and knowing His closeness as we labor reaching the lost and making disciples. As those who have been saved to serve our Savior, we work until He calls us to rest and to witness the beginning of that coming day when life really begins as God meant it to be.

Revelation 22

Vs. 1-5 This scene is reminiscent of the Millennial Kingdom, but different. Some of this looks like a glorious memorial of salvation. The water of life goes through the city, not to the Dead Sea. I'll bet there is no more "Dead Sea" on the new earth. We have no idea what life will be like then, but will we need water of life? Will there be new life that will be born and then will these people be led to that water? Who knows? The leaves "were" previously for the healing of nations. Now they are for something else. Maybe they are just a remembrance of our salvation and healing.

V. 4 We will see His face and belong to Him, therefore the name.

V. 5 Reign is either a hint to other activities or a word that denotes a place of being secure. For example, after all of David's trials, he finally reigned. He came to a place of having the promise of God fulfilled.

Vs. 6-7 These are words of confirmation that this will take place, and when it begins it will happen quickly. Jesus told His disciples in Luke 12:40, “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

So what does it mean to keep these words? Jesus talked often about keeping His Word. I don't think it meant just obedience, but rather maintaining the mindset of what He was saying. For most Christians, obedience to Jesus means staying out of trouble or not stepping out of bounds. I think this misses Jesus' heart completely. I think what Jesus meant by "keep" is expressed in what He said to His disciples in Luke 12:35-36, “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, ³⁶and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks." I think that readiness and attitude is "keeping" His commandments. It is allowing His words to possess our hearts and our actions in this life. In that sense, following in the harvest is "keeping" His Word.

Vs. 8-9 John again is overcome. Notice again the word keep.

Vs. 10-11 John is supposed to publish this vision. Life will continue as it has on the earth, but another testimony has been added to what is available for men to consider and to help them make their choice.

Vs. 12-16 This is the final written personal appeal of the Savior and King to mankind.

V. 17 This is the call of the Spirit and the Bride (the church) to an unbelieving world to come. We are back to the beginning. Remember, this revelation was written to seven churches. The reason for the Spirit and the church calling is that the Spirit is the one who makes the appeal through those He indwells. Us! Notice again as in Revelation 21:6 and Isaiah 55, the appeal to those who are thirsty. As often as we have read references to Isaiah 55 in Revelation and in the Gospels, I think it would be a good chapter to memorize, along with Isaiah 53, of course.

Vs. 18-19 These are Jesus' words. Just as the Old Testament ends with a warning, so does the New Testament. These are solemn words. The stakes are eternal and the Savior, Judge and King has spoken. Let the earth take heed.

V. 20 This is Jesus again with John's Amen at the end.

V. 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus - The capstone to this earthy history of lost and tragic humanity. Darkness beyond imagination was pierced by His life, His light and His grace.

Paul, the disciple and disciple maker, said to Timothy in those dark days before he died at the hands of the Romans, working in the harvest, You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 2:1). The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is our strength as we follow Him in the harvest, reaching the lost and making disciples, who make disciples, who make disciples, until our Lord returns. Amen. Here is the expression of that grace that should make us strong as we follow in the harvest.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Eph. 2:4-10).

Psalm 150

Vs. 1-6 What a fitting end to the year and to all of our reading about the Lord's return. Praise the Lord!

Proverbs 31:25-31

I have to wonder why Proverbs ends with this description of a godly woman, especially when Proverbs began with a man telling his son not to be a fool. Maybe the way the Lord keeps us men from becoming fools, in addition to His Word, is by giving us good, godly wives. J

Again, I don't think this is super woman. I know if this were written to men, I'd read it and not feel too good about myself. I don't think that is God's intent. Verse 30 is what I would focus on. Proverbs began with the fear of the Lord being the beginning of wisdom, and it ends with the fear of the Lord leading to a fulfilled life and service to those closest to us. Amen.

Please Read the Following Disclaimer

I'm writing the Reading Notes to and for those who are following a One Year Bible and are 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, that is, 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 and important discipleship manual we have and it is the 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, or whom we are to be following. 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, as disciples, 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, making disciples in the harvest.

If you would like a more descriptive commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary (BKC). I read the BKC in doing background for the Reading Notes and refer to it quite often. I also make reference to maps or charts in the BKC, though I will only note where those resources can be found. Often you can do a search for these and find them in Google books. Buying both volumes of the Bible Knowledge Commentary would be a good idea.

I am not endorsing any particular One Year Bible translation; in fact, I read something you probably don't, Die Revidierte Lutherbibel, 1984. Unless noted, all Scripture quotes are from the ESV Bible.

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. Often there is a breadth of opinion on certain events, both historical and prophetic. Many of my views come from my church background, theological training and my personal study.

I'm doing this with discipleship in mind, meaning, I'm writing out thoughts that will keep discipleship and our growth as disciples applied to what we are reading. Remember, the real focus of the Reading Notes is to be a supplement, a disciple’s commentary, giving motivation and insight so that we will keep following our Lord in the harvest, reaching the lost and making disciples, who make disciples. Being in the Word every day, sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning directly from Him, is the essential essence of being and making disciples.

May the Lord bless you as you follow Him in the harvest, reaching the lost and making disciples, who make disciples.  Dan

The daily installments of the Reading Notes can be found at http://fencerail.blogspot.com/

If you would like documents containing an entire month of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.

If you would like a full presentation of discipleship read Simply Disciples*^{Making Disciples}.

Or if you are struggling with insomnia and would like a long boring dissertation on disciple making, these can both be found on https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.

Reading Notes ©, Dan Kachikis 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018

The One Year Bible © by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton Illinois 60189

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

All charts/graphics/outlines from the Bible Knowledge Commentary are used with the permission of David C. Cook.

© 1983, 2001 John F Walvoord and Roy B Zuck. The Bible Knowledge Commentary is published by David C Cook.

All rights reserved. Publisher permission required to reproduce. 

December 30, 2018 Reading Notes

If you don't have a One Year Bible or prefer something online, this link will take you to the day's reading,  http://oneyearbibleonline.com/daily-oyb/.  This site allows you to select from several languages and several English translations.

DECEMBER 30

Malachi 1-2

After all of the heavenly visions, we are back to reality on the dark planet. After Zechariah and Haggai wrote, Ezra arrived to lead the people into the Word, and then Nehemiah arrived and helped rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah helped repopulate the city and set the Levitical order of worship into operation. The end of Nehemiah shows that even with a godly governor, the people hardly obeyed. Malachi probably wrote after Nehemiah was gone. The word for governor is Persian, suggesting that whoever was running Jerusalem now was Persian. The temple service was running; in fact, it was now running so routinely it became corrupted.

Malachi's name means "messenger." Malachi's will be the last words God speaks to Israel until the events just before the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus. God did a clever job of wording this book through Malachi. God has Malachi listen to the people and record their gripes against God. As God answers these complaints through Malachi, God turns the answer against the people to reveal their very distant hearts. They were going through the motions of religion with no real love for God. This is always a danger. When we have a "problem with God," it is usually the result of our being lukewarm and indifferent toward Him. To follow God closely shows us His heart, but often people only want to appease Him and not really be bothered by Him. In the end, to be religious only leads to confusion, because religion serves us and our expectations. These people were disappointed with God, but as God will show them, they had no real idea of who He was and they misunderstood what would lead to blessing.

At the end of this document you will find two helpful charts, “The Three Returns from Exile” and “Chronology of the Postexilic Period.”

Malachi 1

This is a great chapter and could be preached or taught for weeks. We only get one day.

Vs. 1-5 This is the most important part of Malachi. If you miss this you will not fully understand why the rest of these problems crept into the lives of the people. Everything we'll read in Malachi stems from this problem. I'm going to give you the basics very quickly.

Both Jacob and Esau represent countries, countries taken into exile. Only Israel returned. That return showed God's love. Now to understand all that God did to get them back into the land, you need to go back to the "born again" Manasseh returning to Israel, influencing Josiah, who influenced four families, who raised four sons, who God used to save the nation in Babylon. That is the book of Daniel. Think of all that God did in Daniel and Esther and Ezra and Nehemiah. The people missed all of this amazing and mighty love and said, "How have you loved us?"

V. 5 Especially when you read some of the things Nebuchadnezzar and Darius the Mede said and did, God received more honor outside of Israel than within it.

Vs. 6-14 This lack of understanding God's care and love led the priests to dishonor God and to allow the people to dishonor God. They thought, "If times are tough, God will understand if you bring Him lame and blind sacrifices, right? Any sacrifice is better than no sacrifice, right?" But here is the thing, if they had grasped God's love for them, they would have been willing to give Him the offerings He required. The offerings were a test of their hearts, of their faith and trust in God. All this proved they had no real trust or love for God. They were just religious, just punching the clock, just doing what they needed to do to be good religious people in their own eyes.

V. 8 They wouldn't have done this to their governor, but since their religion was routine, the invisible God was as good as not being there. And besides, anything is OK with God, right?

V. 10 You have to ask yourself why the priests kept accepting these sacrifices and why they didn't shut the doors. Imagine if a pastor did this on Sunday morning, blocking the door with his body, saying, "Hey, we're not taking this seriously." Soon he'd get no pay check. Guess where the priests got their food and their livelihood? That's right; they received their food from the sacrifices and their money from the offerings of the people. Who were the priests really serving and trusting?

Twice God reminds the priests of His majesty in vs. 11 and 14.

Vs. 12-13 The priests themselves were bemoaning the fact that the people were so sinful and bringing awful offerings. But hey, something is better than nothing, right? And besides, they had to eat.

V. 14 They were allowing the people to bring a curse upon themselves. That betrayed the entire point of the priesthood, simply so they could eat. In contrast to what these priests were doing, look at what Paul, a disciple of Jesus, did, said, and modeled for us.

But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:15-16

Malachi 2

Vs. 1-3 So God will turn the curse of the people onto the priests too. In fact, as we'll see, the curse had already begun. Remember in Haggai how God said the people were working in the fields and hardly bringing anything in? That was the curse. It happened there and it was happening now. Ironically, the more people held back from God because the times were tough, the tougher God made the times.

Since the priests were allowing the feasts and sacrifices so they could get food and further their livelihood, God would smear their faces in "end result" of their sacrifices. Note, that in 1 Samuel 2:22ff, Eli also didn't stop his sons from desecrating the tabernacle. The reason for that was that Eli was happy to be well fed. Notice the reference to Eli at his death (1 Samuel 4:18). In a poetic sense, the impure sacrifices he allowed helped kill him. Fear for our livelihood in the ministry makes us worthless shepherds. But can a disciple really believe that stuff Jesus said about not being anxious about our food and clothing? That's really up to each of us. It's a matter of trust.

Vs. 4-9 This covenant was really the covenant God made with Phinehas in Numbers 25:6-13. Phinehas saw the connection between the plague burning in the camp and the sin of the people typified in this one guy who was walking into his tent with a foreign woman, a cult prostitute for Baal. While everyone else stood frozen, Phinehas grabbed a spear, ran like crazy through the camp and killed the couple. Immediately the plague stopped. The priests in Malachi's day should have been this spiritually alert, brave, and passionate for God and should have taken a stand for the welfare of the people.

Through Phinehas' ministry alongside Joshua, the people were taught to obey and honor God, and that generation was the godliest generation of Israel. Phinehas was a hero and a model of what being a priest meant. God would punish these priests for leading the people astray.

Vs. 10-17 This section has a couple of sub-categories, but generally it all has to do with marriage. Looking at Genesis, first came the fall from God, and then the relationship between Adam and Eve crashed. Those "falls" are connected. The same can be seen in Romans 1:18-27. First the relationship with God was lost, and then the relationship between man and woman became corrupted. Ironically, one of the rebukes that Jesus delivered on the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees was regarding their view of marriage and their allowance for divorce (Luke 16:14-18).

Vs. 10-12 Since God is their Father, how could the men marry women who worshiped false gods? But once you have lost your love for God, your faith, and trust in Him, and you've defined Him as a good-ol'-boy who accepts anything, anything is possible. Throughout Ezra and Nehemiah this problem is mentioned often.

Vs. 13-14 Yet the people wept because things were not going well economically and God didn't listen. Why? Because they were faithless toward their wives. They were breaking covenant with God which opened the door to men breaking covenant with their wives. God was a witness against them.

Vs. 15-16 God's plan was for godly men and women to raise godly kids. It is all one wonderful plan. When Ruth went to Boaz, she asked him to cover her with his garment. This was her asking for protection and care. For these men to divorce their wives was to pull away that garment in violence, forcing their wives (as Jesus said) to become adulteresses when they remarried (Matt. 5:32). All of this is why God hates divorce. God covers us with His love and "garment" of care. How dare we commit to protect and care for someone in the covenant of marriage and then withdraw that care. God doesn't like that. He makes allowance for the sin of man, but He still expresses His anger toward those who make divorce necessary.

V. 17 And all of this disobedience brings a darkness and bitterness of heart causing us to actually become bitter with God. Israel could look at its neighbors and say, "Hey, they don't have to do any of this stuff or worry about this and they are doing OK. This is totally unfair. This following God stuff doesn't make sense." But I was reading Jesus saying this morning, And everyone to whom much is given, will much be required. The privilege of knowing God requires we act like it. And as every parent has told their kids, "I don't care what they do in Joe's family. You are in our family and these are our rules." In Luke 12:48 (RSV), Jesus also said, and to whom men entrust much, they demand the more.

Especially with all we have read about the second coming of Christ, for us as disciples following in the harvest, our only responsibility before God is to love Him, trust Him, and obey Him. The more we give to Christ in following Him, the more we get of Him. There's a happy version of the old hymn, "Trust and Obey," by Big Daddy Weave. You can find it on YouTube. Actually, any version will do. That old hymn says it all.

Revelation 21

V. 1 Now it is time for a new heaven and a new earth. The heaven means that area above the earth, not heaven as in God's abode. In the judgments, there is some mention of the powers of the heavens being shaken and stars falling, etc. It could be that God did away with galaxies. Notice that this is not an extreme makeover. The old ones were done away with. These are completely new. This is a reference to Genesis 1:1. The one thing to think about is that this earth might have very little similarity to our earth. Obviously there won't be any oceans or seas, but also, there won't be a need for oxygen, heat or gravity. Will the earth even need to spin if gravity isn't necessary? The earth the Lord makes could be a thousand times bigger and have very different "physical laws," if in fact, "physical laws" are even necessary.

V. 2 The new Jerusalem could be the place Jesus said He was preparing back in John 14:2-3. There are some people who think this city will be orbiting the earth during the Millennial Kingdom and will be inhabited by those who are resurrected. They may work on earth, but they'll live there. For those people, the commute will be very quick. It's all speculation, but I thought it was funny. Notice that in this case, the city is the bride, not the church.

Vs. 3-4 God will be present and every aspect of hurt, regret or sorrow from our former lives on earth will be healed. Vietnam vets won't dive under tables every time they hear a loud sound, and children won't duck every time someone raises their hand quickly. All the emotional trauma of divorce and betrayal, the pang of every act of violence done, will be removed. Loneliness and sorrow will be forgotten. We'll all be totally healed.

Vs. 5-8 This is the Lord making an offer, through John, to everyone reading this who has not made a decision to follow Christ. Notice the allusion in v. 6 to Isaiah 55:1 and John 7:37. It reminds me again, that in the harvest, if they are not thirsty, they will not come. Our job is to ask if they're thirsty and to tell them where the water is.

Vs. 9-14 Note that the Bride is the city. Note also that the names of the tribes of Israel and the names of the twelve apostles are a part of the city. So, who is the twelfth apostle? It is either the guy they chose in Acts 1:26, Matthias, or if God, as He often does, goes around our choices, it could be Paul. If it isn't Paul, I know he won't mind. Paul was just happy with the honor of being able to follow in the harvest.

Vs. 15-21 The description here defies anything that could be built on this earth. This leads me to believe that the size of that earth and the physical laws, if any, won't be anything like this earth. In v. 16 we could understand a city wall being 1400 miles long, but not 1400 miles high. Being spiritual with spiritual bodies will be so completely different that it will defy our imaginations. Physical laws will be irrelevant. Science and technology as we know it will be unnecessary. There will be no "falling" or weight. Travel will be "instant arrival," and communication will be intuitive. The necessity for a spinning earth or space will be gone. (And while we’re thinking about defying physical laws, I like imagining that we'll get to eat all we want and not get fat!) The point is that there is no reason to doubt these dimensions, since so many things will be completely different.          

Vs. 22-27 We have hints in the Bible about life after this earth history. There are heavenly rewards and there will be some similarities with life now. Life will be perfect as it was meant to be, but there will still be life and activity. There will be music. There will be love. There will be fun. There will be beauty. There will be eating. This description shows there will be no temple because we'll have access to the triune God Himself. Jesus will supply the light. And as Jesus said in John 14:16, the Holy Spirit will be in us forever.

V. 26 There will be nations, which means there will be some organization of people.

V. 27 Obviously, there will be no sin or bad stuff. The proof is that the only inhabitants of this eternal existence will be those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.

And then finally, what God intended life to be will begin. Finally! And knowing God, it will be a zillion times better than the best we've ever experienced here. This life is the bad dream. God's redeemed world will be the reality we have all desired.

Psalm 149

This is a great psalm to follow Revelation.

Vs. 1-4 Notice that the new song and this assembly are before the Lord in Zion. If there is this kind of joy mentioned in this psalm, I would expect it to be at least like this in the eternal life with God. If God took that kind of pleasure in His people in Zion, what will it be like in the new Jerusalem?

Vs. 5-9 Notice how vs. 6-9 sound like the fight in Jerusalem when the Lord comes. It sounds like Zechariah 10:7 and Zechariah 12:1-9 all wrapped together in joy and praise.

We don't often think that to withhold praise and open gratitude to God is sin. For all He has given us, we should have hearts of constant flowing praise, trust and adoration. In our Lord we finally know this, yet even the unbelieving world has been made by Him and their very omission of gratitude and praise will stand against them as a judgment. If someone left a car in your driveway with the keys and a note that it was a gift, most of us would seek to find out who gave it and have a heart of thanks. Imagine just taking the gift and not trying to find or thank the giver or pretending the car just happened. God says that everyone who seeks finds.

Proverbs 31:10-24

This final section of Proverbs is different than other parts of the book in that the poem here is an acrostic; that is, each line begins with the next successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The human author is unknown, but God made sure this was included.

This is not the description of super woman or wonder woman, but a woman who is a help-mate for her husband. This collection of qualities probably doesn't exist in any one woman on the planet, but putting all of these pieces together you get the image of a woman who was a partner to her husband in life. Cultures change, and times, resources, and needs change; but the God-inspired union between a man and woman is the same. They are to be friends, lovers and partners in living life before the Lord and following Him in the harvest on this planet.

Vs. 10-12 This is probably the most universal and meaningful statement in the poem. A husband is blessed when he realizes how blessed he has been by the wife God has given him.

The following verses describe aspects of what has just been said.

Vs. 13-14 She seeks and brings.

V. 15 She rises and provides.

V. 16 She plans and plants.

Vs. 17-18 She knows how the Lord is using her and finds strength in that.

Vs. 19-24 This has to do with her working with her hands to provide for the poor and for her family. In this case, she is great with a sewing machine. Verse 23 in this context means that her husband wears her stuff. Inherent in this is that the community realizes that he is blessed to have a diligent wife. I don't think v. 24 is a requirement for every woman. Again, vs. 10-12 are the focus.

I would suggest that if a husband and wife are a "team" and deeply in love, she is already doing what God has designed for her that fulfills this blessing, even if she isn't dealing for land or sewing clothes. Today, maybe this woman is good with coupons, keeps her family fed and knows when the sales are on at the store.

Please Read the Following Disclaimer

I'm writing the Reading Notes to and for those who are following a One Year Bible and are 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, that is, 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 and important discipleship manual we have and it is the 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, or whom we are to be following. 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, as disciples, 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, making disciples in the harvest.

If you would like a more descriptive commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary (BKC). I read the BKC in doing background for the Reading Notes and refer to it quite often. I also make reference to maps or charts in the BKC, though I will only note where those resources can be found. Often you can do a search for these and find them in Google books. Buying both volumes of the Bible Knowledge Commentary would be a good idea.

I am not endorsing any particular One Year Bible translation; in fact, I read something you probably don't, Die Revidierte Lutherbibel, 1984. Unless noted, all Scripture quotes are from the ESV Bible.

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. Often there is a breadth of opinion on certain events, both historical and prophetic. Many of my views come from my church background, theological training and my personal study.

I'm doing this with discipleship in mind, meaning, I'm writing out thoughts that will keep discipleship and our growth as disciples applied to what we are reading. Remember, the real focus of the Reading Notes is to be a supplement, a disciple’s commentary, giving motivation and insight so that we will keep following our Lord in the harvest, reaching the lost and making disciples, who make disciples. Being in the Word every day, sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning directly from Him, is the essential essence of being and making disciples.

May the Lord bless you as you follow Him in the harvest, reaching the lost and making disciples, who make disciples.  Dan

The daily installments of the Reading Notes can be found at http://fencerail.blogspot.com/

If you would like documents containing an entire month of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.

If you would like a full presentation of discipleship read Simply Disciples*^{Making Disciples}.

Or if you are struggling with insomnia and would like a long boring dissertation on disciple making, these can both be found on https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.

Reading Notes ©, Dan Kachikis 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018

The One Year Bible © by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton Illinois 60189

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

All charts/graphics/outlines from the Bible Knowledge Commentary are used with the permission of David C. Cook.

© 1983, 2001 John F Walvoord and Roy B Zuck. The Bible Knowledge Commentary is published by David C Cook.

All rights reserved. Publisher permission required to reproduce.