SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/5/2015
8:50 PM
My Worship Time Focus:
Introduction to Chapter 16 of
Revelation
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Revelation
16
Message of the
verses: I have to begin with
Baseball, Bible Study, and Babysitting to show why this SD is later than it
usually is. I stayed up late to watch a
baseball game, then got up late and went to my Bible Study, and then had to
babysit for three of my grandchildren.
Good day all and all though. Now
we get to look at the introduction to this sixteenth chapter of the book of Revelation,
and we have been looking forward to this ever since the end of chapter
eleven. Just a little review and that is
to remind us that the seventh seal judgment that were found in chapter six
began the seven trumpet judgments which began in chapter eight, and the last
three trumpet judgments were called “woes” and the last woe begins these last
seven judgments which are called bowl judgment which we saw introduced in
chapter fifteen. Now actually what we
will see in chapter sixteen are the final judgments that will bring about the
finish of the wrath of God, in other words His wrath will be complete with the
end of these judgments. This of course
is not the end of the book of Revelation by far as we still have to look at
chapters 17-22, but in reality this will end the time on earth as we know it
and has been going on since the third chapter of Genesis which tells when sin
entered the human race. When that
seventh bowl is poured out the Lord Jesus Christ will soon return to take back
control of planet earth, judge sinners that are alive at that time and then set
up His promised Millennial Kingdom, yes indeed the answer of “thy kingdom come,
thy will be done” will come to pass.
John MacArthur writes from his introductory comments on
chapter sixteen: “But while the Bible is
a book of hope, it is also a book of judgment.
Because God loves righteousness and faith, He must hate sin and
unbelief. He cannot love truth unless He
hates lies. He cannot love goodness unless
He hates wickedness. He cannot reward
unless He also punishes. The Old
Testament repeatedly warns of coming judgment, particularly in those passages
that describe the final Day of the Lord judgments (e. g. Joel 2:28; Zech. 14:1;
Mal. 4:1, 5).” Now it is interesting
that the Spiritual Diary that I am also doing from the OT minor prophets as I
journey through these last thirteen books of the OT is from the second chapter
of the book of Joel, and in the next SD I will be looking at 2:18-27, so the one
after that will cover 2:28. You figure it
out.
The Old Testament is not the only part of the Bible that
speaks of judging sinners for the forerunner of Jesus Christ, John the Baptist
has some things to say about this too: “So
he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him,
"You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”
(Luke 3:7). John the Baptist never had a
problem saying what was on his mind.
Matthew 3:11-12 he says “11
"As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is
coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He
will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 "His winnowing fork is in His hand, and
He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into
the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."” Then one of my favorite verses that comes
from the mouth of John the Baptist is John3:36 “"He who believes in the
Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but
the wrath of God abides on him."” Paul
writes in Romans 3:5-6 “But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the
righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not
unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking in human terms.) 6 May it never be! For otherwise, how will
God judge the world?” Paul also writes
in Col. 3:6 “For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come
upon the sons of disobedience.” Let us
look also at 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 “7 and to give relief to you who are
afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven
with His mighty angels in flaming fire, 8 dealing out retribution to those who
do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These will pay the penalty of
eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of
His power, 10 when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day,
and to be marveled at among all who have believed-for our testimony to you was
believed.” We will now look at Hebrews
10:26-31 “26 For if we go on sinning
willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a
sacrifice for sins, 27 but
a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME
THE ADVERSARIES. 28 Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without
mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much severer
punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of
God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was
sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said,
"VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY." And again, "THE LORD WILL
JUDGE HIS PEOPLE." 31 It
is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Now since it is late and since I have one more SD to
write I think it best for me to stop here and continue this introduction,
hopefully in the morning.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “They planned to kill him on
the way” (Acts 25:1-3).
Today’s Bible
question: “How old was Jesus when his
parents took him to Jerusalem?”
Answer in our next SD.
8/5/2015 9:20 PM
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