SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/18/2015
7:59 AM
My Worship Time
Focus:
More Introduction to Rev. 6
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Revelation
6:1-8
Message of the
verses: It seems to me that even
though we have already written two introductions to chapter six that a third is
necessary to set the stage for what will happen in this very important chapter
from the book of Revelation.
The world is rapidly heading for a climax that has been
written in the pages of Scripture, both the Old Testament and also in the New
Testament. When one reads the Gospels
they will find what Bible students have called the Olivet Discourse, and this
can be found in Matthew chapter 24, Mark chapter 13, and Luke chapter 21. We will be looking mostly at the 24th
chapter of Matthew in today’s SD and compare it with what is going on in this 6th
chapter of Revelation. As we look
briefly at these passages, along with some found in the OT we can see that the
Lord surely has a plan for how this world will end as far as how we know it
today. We have touched upon the
different roles that Christ has had throughout history remembering His role as
the One who has provided redemption on the cross and now He is the One who
intercedes for His children in heaven, but as we look at chapter six of
Revelation we see that when Christ opens the first seal of the scroll which is
the title deed to the universe, something that He took part in creating, that
His role becomes judge and when this seven year tribulation period ends He will
come back to earth to separate the sheep from the goats, cast the goats into
the lake of fire along with the devil and the antichrist and the false prophet. After that He will return the earth into
something like it was when He created it and then begin His rule as King of
Kings and Lord of Lords from His rightful throne in Jerusalem. This sixth chapter of Revelation is the
turning point in the book of Revelation as the judgment begins.
John MacArthur writes “The Bible teaches that the world
is headed inexorably not toward peace and unity, but toward a final,
cataclysmic war, the battle of Armageddon (16:14-16). Until that climactic holocaust, things will
continue to deteriorate as the world falls deeper and deeper into chaos, confusion,
and sin. As the end approaches, wars
will increase, crime will escalate, there will be economic upheavals, and
unprecedented natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, famines, and
disease (cf. Matt. 24:6-8). All those calamities
will mark the outpouring of God’s wrath on the fallen, rebellious world.”
Let’s look at a couple of OT Scriptures to see what has
been said about all this many years ago:
“Jeremiah 30:7 “’Alas! for that day is great, There is none like it; And
it is the time of Jacob’s distress, But he will be saved from it.” The following is a quote from my Spiritual
Diary dated June 24, 2014 “We can see much trouble that will come about for
Israel as described in verses 4-6, however in verse seven we read that the
whole world will experience trouble “the time of Jacob’s trouble.” This is what Bible scholars call the second
half of the tribulation period which will last for three and a half years. In verse eight we see that God will remove
the yoke from Israel’s neck “8 ’It shall come about on that day,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ’that I
will break his yoke from off their neck and will tear off their bonds; and
strangers will no longer make them their slaves.” He uses the term “that day” a term that
Warren Wiersbe has written an endnote which I will quote here: “Isaiah used the phrase ‘in that day’ at
least forty-four times by Jeremiah only seven (4:9; 20:8; 39:16-17; 49:22, 26;
50:30). In chapters 12-14 of Zechariah
‘in that day’ is used nineteen ties with reference to end-time events relating
to the restoration of Israel and the return of the Lord.” With this endnote we cans better understand
the significance and importance of those three words. We can look at our Lord’s words in the 24th
chapter of Matthew in what is known as His Olivet Discourse, the following
which also speaks of not only “that day” but also “Jacob’s trouble.” “21 “For then there will be a great
tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until
now, nor ever will. 22 “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would
have been saved; but for
the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 “Then if anyone
says to you, ’Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ’There He is,’ do not believe
him. 24 “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great
signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. 25 “Behold, I
have told you in advance. 26 “So if they say to you, ’Behold, He is in the
wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ’Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not
believe them. 27 “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes
even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 “Wherever the
corpse is, there the vultures will gather. 29
"But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL
BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from
the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 "And then the sign of the Son of Man
will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and
they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and
great glory. 31 "And He will send
forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect
from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”
Now let’s look at what Isaiah 34:1-4 have to say: “1 Draw near, O nations, to hear; and listen,
O peoples! Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that
springs from it. 2 For the LORD’S indignation is against all the nations, And
His wrath against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given
them over to slaughter. 3 So their slain will be thrown out, And their corpses
will give off their stench, And the mountains will be drenched with their
blood. 4 And all the host of heaven will wear away, And the sky will be rolled
up like a scroll; All their hosts will also wither away As a leaf withers from
the vine, Or as one withers from the fig tree.”
Again notice all the “and” that are seen in this section.
Now as we go through the first four “seal judgments” we
will look at them both through was is seen in Revelation six and also Matthew
chapter twenty-four. Chapter twenty-four
of Matthew, as mentioned is what is called the “Olivet Discourse” was spoken by
Jesus during the last week of His life on planet earth. His discourse is an answer to a question that
was asked by His disciples. They were
looking at the beautiful temple, and history tells us that this temple was very
beautiful especially when the sun rose on it.
Jesus told His disciples that very soon this temple would be torn down
and totally destroyed. To that His
disciples ask him: “3 As He was sitting
on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these
things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the
age?"” I would think that
His disciples thought that this even was going to happen very soon as they
still did not realize the reason that Christ came the first time, thinking He
would establish His kingdom at that time.
Not the case as we can see it still has not happened, but we know for
sure that it will happen and as we begin to look at these first four seal
judgments in our next few Spiritual Diaries we will begin to see how all of
this will work out.
One more thing I want to remind you of and that is the
scroll and what it looked like, and this is probably a review, but
necessary. We mentioned that the scroll is
the title deed of the universe, and only Christ had the right to open it. Scrolls back in John’s day were both written
on the outside and the inside and were to be opened after certain events
happened, like someone’s death as the scroll would then tell what was needed to
do. When we look on the inside of this
scroll all we see is what Christ will do to take back control of the universe,
and what that is will be a series of judgments as already mentioned. This scroll is surely different from any
other scroll that has been written.
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: As I look at all
of the chaos that is going on in our world today I am thankful that Jesus
Christ is on His throne in heaven.
My Steps of Faith for Today: To love the Lord with all of my heart, soul,
mind, and strength, and to live in the love of Jesus Christ, and to better
understand His love for me.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “Paul.”
Today’s Bible
question: “What is the ninth commandant?”
Answer in our next SD.
3/18/2015 8:47 AM
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