[QTVOTD] I am ready!!

“For this reason they are [now] before the [very] throne of God and serve Him day and night in His sanctuary (temple); and He Who is sitting upon the throne will protect and spread His tabernacle over and shelter them with His presence.  They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun smite them, nor any scorching heat.  For the Lamb Who is in the midst of the throne will be their Shepherd, and He will guide them to the springs of the waters of life; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:15-17 ->me: ‘This reason’ – they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. Look at the benefits of membership!  Access to the throne of God! Ability to serve/worship Him day and night in the Temple, we will be hidden in the shelter of His sacred tent, we will have no need to thirst or be hungry, protected from unbearable circumstances, the Lamb of God will be our Shepherd Who will lead us to living water…we won’t ever cry again. God, I want this time right now!  Please come back Lord!

[QTVOTD] Contrite spirit in prayer…

“My sacrifice [the sacrifice acceptable] to God is a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart [broken down with sorrow for sin and humbly and thoroughly penitent], such, O God, You will not despise.” Psalms 51:17 ->me: Today I had another opportunity to spend 2 hours (6am -8am) with a group of 12 other men from church spurring each other on and diving deep into the scripture and theology of our faith.  Today we reviewed our thoughts on the book “A Call to Prayer” by JC Ryle; yes, the same book I have sent several other QT writeups on.   This verse encapsulates the heart of a man of true prayer…not the prayer of being well spoken, or the prayer of a quick “Thank you for this food, Amen”; no, this is prayer that comes from a reverent position and one of awe and worship.  This verse is a great reassurance that the Lord delights in the humbleness of His subjects and desires to listen to such a respectful mindset.  I need to pause for a moment and remember this verse before I start to pray, to get me heart right before the God of the universe.  To cap this off I was able to spend a wonderful time with my brother at lunch dwelling more on the faith of answered prayer when we come in the spirit of this verse.  I sincerely believe that prayer is necessary for gaining sanctification and the waning of prayer brings about backsliding.

[QTVOTD] A glimpse of my future…

“After this I looked and a vast host appeared which no one could count, [gathered out] of every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages. These stood before the throne and before the Lamb; they were attired in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.” Revelation 7:9 ->me: Recap: The 144,000 are the elect out of Israel followed by the copious harvest from the Gentiles.  I believe this is the throng John sees in his vision here (every nation, tribe, and people represented).  The saved stand before God ‘perfect’ in the righteousness Christ supplies.  White is the color of victory.  Victory comes through the saving work of Jesus; so it is He Who supplies the white robe.  When I am confronted with tyrants, persecution, sickness, pain, and grief, it is good to be reminded that final triumph comes through quiet trust in Christ.  The Palm is a symbol of joy as well as triumph.  The palm branch was used at the Feast of Tabernacles on the 15th day of the 7 month, when the Israelites kept feast to God in thanksgiving for the in-gathered fruits of the harvest.  Here is could be to celebrate the completed gathering in at the harvest of the elect.  Trying to imagine this scene is mind-boggling….the whole Church of Christ (from all time) assembled in one place.  Its great to just bask in the knowledge that this is my future that John is given a glimpse of.

[QTVOTD] Sealed…

“Saying, Harm neither the earth nor the sea nor the trees, until we have sealed the bond servants of our God upon their foreheads. And [then] I heard how many were sealed (marked) out of every tribe of the sons of Israel: there were 144,000.” Revelation 7:3-4 ->me: For a long time I have struggled to understand how the 144,000 fit in the end times. I now feel reasonably good about my understanding after prayer, study and talking over with Marianne. You really must read chapter 6 and 7 of Revelation to *start* putting this together and additionally many other places in the bible to get a firm grip. The angel speaking the first sentence, of the 2 verses above, is talking about sealing ALL of the bond servants of God. John uses ‘and then’ many times to double-click into a situation with more detail. Here he does it again but focuses in on the sons of Israel as (what I believe to be) a subset of the overall set of chosen people still living during this time of tribulation. Now for my personal take away -> Revelation 7:1 “…I saw four angels stationed at the four corners of the earth firmly holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind should blow on the earth or sea or upon any tree” – This shows the restraint the Lord will use to protect His people. Those who are called His ‘bond servants’ (people utterly devoted) are covered by Lord and the mark they display will cause destruction to pass right by them. Now, as a pre-tribber, I expect to be with the Lord before the 6th seal is opened but what a comfort to know that the Lord will protect His own and seal them with His Name before the worst hits.

[QTVOTD] A terrible end…

“Then the kings of the earth and their noblemen and their magnates and their military chiefs and the wealthy and the strong and [everyone, whether] slave or free hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, and they called to the mountains and the rocks, Fall on (before) us and hide us from the face of Him Who sits on the throne and from the deep-seated indignation and wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of His wrath (vengeance, retribution, indignation) has come, and who is able to stand before it?” Revelation 6:15-17 ->me: These 3 verses follow the opening of the 6th seal which brings the sun turning to sackcloth, the moon turning blood red, and a great earthquake (…and every mountain and island was dislodged from its place)…pretty much mayhem on a level the earth has never seen. John names seven classes (the number of perfection) of people to show that there is no enemy of God, no matter their position in society, who will escape the terrors that will come. The plea to the mountains to fall on them shows that the calamity with which they are confronted is so great that anything is preferable to facing it. However, doesn’t this next passage sound familiar? “For though the mountains should depart and the hills be shaken or removed, yet My love and kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace and completeness be removed, says the Lord, Who has compassion on you.” (Isa. 54:10). So, by no means is the Lord trying to scare His saints with this revelation to John…He is using familiar apocalyptic imagery to reassure us. These passages jointly tell me that I will be preserved while He brings justice to the ungodly and ushers in the new heaven and new earth for Him to reign for all eternity and be with Him.

[QTVOTD] Lots of work to do…

“Then they were each given along and flowing and festive white robe and told to rest and wait patiently a little while longer, until the number should be complete of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed as they themselves had been.” Revelation 6:11 ->me: I’ve pondering this verse for 2 days now, even went to sleep last night thinking about it. White in the Bible represents victory. Even though it might be perceived that these saints lost to the evil in death, God has given them victory in heaven and has set them apart. There are a lot of theories about what the number of saints is that will be martyred -> the number of the fallen angels that fell with satan? An arbitrary number that only the Lord knows? Either way it is again a reason I must be prepared everyday for the return of Jesus. Does my life reflect the follower I desire Him to see when He sees me face to face? Lots of work to do.

[QTVOTD] Not so quick…

“And will not [our just] God defend and protect and avenge His elect (His chosen ones), who cry to Him day and night? Will He defer them and delay help on their behalf?  I tell you, He will defend and protect and avenge them speedily. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find [persistence in] faith on the earth?” Luke 18:7-8 ->me: Missed my QT yesterday (no excuses).  Today I planned to jump right back into Revelation 6:10-11 but got slapped up-side the head by the Holy Spirit with these 2 verses.  Luke 18:7 was referenced in response to the Martyrs at the foot of the altar crying out to the Sovereign God for justice on the inhabitants of the earth.  As I read this verse in Luke I was drawn to the next verse which pretty much says (paraphrased) “God will avenge His persecuted saints and when He does it will be quick…however, not every so called saint is a victim.”  OUCH!  HEART CHECK!  Am I really genuine in my petitioning before the Lord?  In the same passage, through a parable, Jesus says the every man who exalts himself will be humbled and man who humbles himself before the Lord will be exalted.  How do I handle the challenges thrown at me in my life, at home, at work, etc?  Do I see tragedy in way I have been treated in a situation or do I see my own failure and/or the impact on others rather than myself?  Today’s message from the Holy Spirit is to stop and check my sinful heart before getting angry at how I have been treated or think to highly of myself when God has blessed me with something going my way.  Thank you for the fuel for prayer today Lord!

[QTVOTD] GOAL: A committed life…

“When the Lamb broke open the fifth seal, I saw at the foot of the altar the souls of those whose lives had been sacrificed for [adhering to] the Word of God and for the testimony they had borne.” Revelation 6:9  ->me: Let’s call out, first of all, what I focused on today -> ‘foot of the altar’ and ‘calling out the souls of martyrs’.  The first thing I asked myself is “why is there an altar in heaven when Jesus has already been offered as the perfect sacrifice?”  I think the answer is that this is an altar of incense and prayer; additionally the martyr’s technically offered up their own lives to God by staying true to the message of Christ.  The foot of the altar appears to not only be a place of privilege but also a place of safety in God’s keeping. Secondly, martyr’s obviously hold a special place in heaven set apart from the other souls who have died by other means.  The beautiful part of this passage is the aspect of the martyred souls being at the foot of the altar means that when these people sacrificed their lives to further the gospel, the most significant part of their act took place in heaven.  What is my life application to this passage?  I want to be so dedicated and committed to God’s purpose in my life that I hold fast to my testimony in Christ rather than maintaining a grip onto life itself.  The bible, and more specifically Revelation, promise that hostility towards committed Christians will exist until the end of time.  My goal cannot be to win the favor of my common man, rather it must be to stay as close to the heels of the Lord and His purposes, even if that means following Him right into heaven through death.

[QTVOTD] God’s purposes executed perfectly…

“For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)” 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 ->me: Today I am taking a short departure from Revelation. For lunch I was blessed with meeting a hero in my life who graciously, humbly, and meekly is fighting cancer. Hit after hit comes his way but he stands tall in the trust he has in his Savior. I am absolutely blown away by his strength and character. I spent a considerable amount of time today praying for this man and this new phrase popped into my head and I have not been able to shake it. “God’s Purpose Executed Perfectly” – How do you pray for the healing of precious soul like this and at the same time sincerely embrace God’s will being done when that may mean the Lord taking him home earlier than we want? It is so hard….but that Perfectly Executed Purpose is exactly what I pray for and then follow that up with “Father, if your will and purposes are not circumvented by extending this man’s life then I pray fervently for that blessing to be sent down to show all involved your glory and power.” My prayer life was impacted today by the simple acceptance of God’s will in the toughest of circumstances.

[QTVOTD] Get to work!

“So I looked, and behold, an ashy pale horse [black and blue as if made so by bruising], and its rider’s name was Death, and Hades (the realm of the dead) followed him closely. And they were given authority and power over a fourth part of the earth to kill with the sword and with famine and with plague (pestilence, disease) and with wild beasts of the earth.” Revelation 6:8 ->me: Today I spent a lot time in thought on this verse. I asked the Lord what I should take away from this 4th horseman or maybe a full thought on what the first four seals tell me in application. Lets start with what I discovered about this verse – ‘Pale’ is the Greek word “chlóros” which is the root of our word chlorine. A yellowish green color (the color of a corpse). The other riders has emblems -> a bow, sword, and scales…Death needs no sign. Hades is a place and so I don’t think it is given the same metaphorical rider with a horse motif. Once again we see the Lord’s Sovereignty -> Authority and power to kill given. Looking at all the horsemen and what they are sent to do I see a repeating of their destruction through history. The overwhelming feeling I had through my reading today was that of time being short and that the time of our Lord’s return is near. We will see in the next seal that there is death count that is a trigger for the next stage in the Lord coming. There is so much work to be done and the workers are few (Luke 10:2). I need to have a sense of immediacy in my purpose. I can’t be waiting around for a ‘calling’…as a born again Christian I am already called to be obedient to the Word of God and the teachings of Jesus-these are clear. I simply need to get to work.