Author: chuck

1 Peter 1:6 –

So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while.

We tend to think of life as a Christian as a walk in the park. Once you become a “follower” of Christ all you wishes and desires will be granted. There will be nothing but sunshine and blue skies from this point forward. And then reality hits us smack in the face! We have the same trials and difficulties we did before that point. Our debts still remain, our bodies are still frail, we still get sucked into temptations and we eventually die. Jesus never promised a rosy life here on earth, but one after death with a heavenly father.

This “life” after death is something I still have an issue wrapping my mind around. Will it be some great mansion on puffs of clouds or a recreation of earth but without trials? I tend to think it’s whatever we want, since our bodies will no longer limit our spirit and therefore we may create our reality. But again that may or may not be the case; I have no idea and therefore don’t tend to focus on it. My view of Jesus and God come more from the “here and now” and less from the future with God.

One may argue that if we are going through the same trails and a nonbeliever what is the hope then? Peter’s warning give us hope of an afterlife far greater than anything we can imagine here on earth, with just one caveat and that’s follow Jesus. Now saying I can’t imagine the “afterlife” doesn’t mean I don’t believe it will happen. My view is different from most; I look at the “afterlife” more as “conservation of energy” than anything else. Our bodies are powered by energy that will not be destroyed; but take on another form.

Now Peter warns us life is not easy and that’s the fact for first century Christian. We complain about our “trials” of financial dismay or relational issue, but how many of us are being tortured for believing in Jesus? Think about it Peter was crucified, Andrew was bound to death, James (son of Zebedee) was beheaded, Phillip was crucified, Bartholomew was beaten, crucified and beheaded, Thomas was run through with a lance, Mathew was slain by a sword, James (son of Alphaeus) was beaten to death, Thaddeus was shot by arrows and Simon was crucified. Only John died of “natural” causes but was banished. So while we complain of this or that, remember who paid the real price! Also, remember the peace you have in Christ over the turmoil you had before. So yes life will be hard, but the knowledge the greatest power is with you is just way too cool!!

Daniel 12:4 –

But you, Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal up the book until the time of the end, when many will rush here and there, and knowledge will increase.

The final chapter has some interesting caveats as to when to release these prophecies. It is clear to “seal up” and protect these writings, yet we are reading them today. Not sure how long they have been in “public record”, but it’s agreed they were written around 530BC. It seems to have been discovered around 186BC but was already included in the Hebrew “canon”, so it’s unclear if this was ever actually sealed and kept secret.

One could also argue it was to be sealed until Daniel was on his death bed. Then the “release” would justify the 2000 plus years of no apocalypse. Now as you start to think about the exponential growth of technology we see this happening. First the slow dissemination of these prophecies by hand writing, then the printing press, then the copier, then the digital realm, then iPhone apps, who knows what’s next. Now we are rushing here and there and with every day knowledge increase if we want.

One could argue the collective knowledge of the internet is the “increasing” part that Daniel was talking about. Honestly, we will never really know until we meet the writer after death. At that point technically we will become full of knowledge and not need an explanation. Either way, don’t drive yourself crazy searching for “the answer” since one could argue this has already happened or never will happen just as convincingly that it’s happening now.

I want to point you to verse 10 and want you to really think of the idea that “many will be purified, cleansed, and refined by these trials.” Does that mean we must go through trials before we “get it” or just that we get better during trials? I know with my “journey” the trials I have been through are minor to many and major to a few, but have defined my walk. One thing I have notice in my many trials no matter if I push away or get closer to God, the end result is I see His glory and am amazed. Think about forging and the end result, the metal gets heated up and pounded with a hammer, but ends up being a useful object in the end. What may “suck” for the steel or us in the short term, ends up molding us for glory in the long term.

Daniel 11:39 –

Claiming this foreign god’s help, he will attack the strongest fortresses. He will honor those who submit to him, appointing them to positions of authority and dividing the land among them as their reward.

This is one of those long chapters that I got very little from. The one cool thing was in reading footnotes and other documents you quickly see that these prophecies have been fulfilled already, for the most part. They “fit” almost perfectly between 300-100BC, which is some 200 years after the writings. So one has to imagine if these are from God, or just a lucky call by Daniel after looking at the landscape of his day.

Honestly, if you look at many of the “warnings” from our founding fathers they “prophesized” what is happening today. Thomas Jefferson warned of the “centralized banks” issuing currency, and now you apply that to the Federal Reserve. Or Benjamin Franklin’s and Alexander Tytler’s warnings about the end of the republic when people can vote themselves money. Were these prophecies or just knowing history and warning us not to repeat it?

This is the problem with history; we see millenniums of records of a cycle that inevitably repeats itself over and over. Again we claim to have “evolved” from the old way of thinking, yet for some reason we just keep doing the same thing. The only thing that really evolves is “technology” or the way we kill each other. Sure we develop better forms of communications and health, but the carnal desires for more destroy the fabric of any society.

I have claimed from time to time our world may have already been through “the end times” and we are just on the other end messing things up like Adam and Eve did the first time! Think about it, God and man in paradise was destroyed by Satan’s temptation. What is there that says the end has past, we inherited the world and some other angel fell to repeat the past? Time will go on, “the end” is just the world as we know it, not the end of time. Think about it, what happens after the end … the second after, time goes on. Just like the end of space, what’s on the other side?

That was a tangent! The verse caught my attention since we see the person of authority tempting the “right” people with money and power to turn their eyes away from the one true God. Granted most of us will never be in a position to be “bribed”, but it is something to be aware of that can and may happen. Again, did Daniel just know history would repeat, or did he have a true vision? I believe the vision since the details match quite well to history.

Daniel 10:5 –

I looked up and saw a man dressed in linen clothing, with a belt of pure gold around his waist.

This sounds like the same vision Ezekiel had in Ezekiel 1. The man dressed in linen was the traditional clothing of the time for priests, but in this instance the man represented the “interface” between God and Daniel. John also had a similar vision in Revelation 1, but there the man was Christ. I wonder if Ezekiel and Daniel both saw Christ, but did not know His name. Was Christ always the “interface” between us and God?

As with most “visions” in the Bible the reader often reads in their own experiences and beliefs. Christians today will insist this was Jesus before he came to earth. Others will read Michael the archangel, since he is mentioned often in this chapter. Others will claim it’s just an angel or heavenly being. I cannot claim any of these as truth, but my belief is this man is Christ.

This man or messenger is bringing Daniel news of the near future. If we follow history and this vision, it shows the demise of Babylon and the rise/fall of Greece. Most non-believers will claim this as written “after the fact” or will be just like someone today predicting the fall of the USA. It was something that history showed would happen, so predicting it was inevitable. At the same time predicting who would take over was not inevitable.

Now think about the fall of the USA. Sure today that seems impossible, we are the strongest force on this globe. We have the largest economy in the world, yet we are falling quickly. Our spending habits are out of control and our military is spread too thin. We have lost the roots that made this nation great. Is there a turning point?

Think it’s not possible? Look at England, as we grew as a nation we took their place as the world’s “super power”. At one time the sun never set on English soil. Look at Israel, they are probably the oldest sustained one yet they have risen, fallen and lost their lands so many times, so is that our path? Our lives would be better spent not hoping for the USA to live on, but the Word of God! We will fall eventually and some other nation will take our place, but the only “rock” that has lasted longer than all others is the Word of God!

Daniel 9:2 –

During the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, learned from reading the word of the LORD, as revealed to Jeremiah the prophet, that Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years.

Daniel had the right idea by reading the word. We get into so much trouble in this world that we tend to ignore reading the Bible.

Many tend to say it’s a dated book and we as a people have evolved past it. Others just say it’s too confusing (I will expand on that later). Even more just dismiss it as a “fairytale” with little application in the real world. We need to really look at reading this book daily and trying to figure out applications in today’s world.

First, it is time to look inward at ourselves and see how we have evolved. I get it all the time how people have evolved past the teachings of this book. People’s intellect has evolved much like the Greeks did in this time. But rudimentary needs have not changed as far as needing food and shelter. Our envy and lust still drives us for more in life, which gets us in trouble. We have not evolved past most of what the Bible talks about. Interestingly many of the great books I have read throughout the years have similar threads to those written in the Bible.

The other complaint is it’s too confusing. Really? Sure there are many truths that take years, and in my case decades, to understand, but it’s not rocket science. You don’t have to learn complex formulas to get it, just read and pray and repeat. Now with that said I read the last bit of this chapter and remain confused. The periods described are difficult to comprehend and I wonder if they get interpreted properly. I read this and see Jesus all over it, until I get to the time line. The I get lost and confused, so yes there are some confusing parts in prophecies, but for the majority it’s crystal clear … eventually.

Now the “fairytale” aspect gets the most scrutiny since parting the Red Sea and creating the world in 7 days seem unbelievable to most. A man who healed the sick, raised the dead, walked on water and saved us all seems farfetched to many reading the Bible. To our temporal knowledge, it is a “fairytale”. That is actually the toughest to “fight” when you think about it. How do you “prove” something you cannot empirically show? That is where time with God shows you the possible in the impossible. I can say I have had some strange stuff happen that I can only explain to God, but others would apply “chance” to. This could go on forever, but the key Daniel says is to read and become “enlightened” by reading!

Daniel 8:20 –

The two-horned ram represents the kings of Media and Persia.

Interestingly we try to apply this to today with the USSR being the two-horned ram and the USA being the goat, but it actually applies more to present time for Daniel. During this time Babylon was in a fall and Greece was rising. So the ram and the goat actually work

for that situation also. The previous verse does talk about this being “the very end of time,” so it makes the Babylon/Greek comparison difficult since cultures are still going.

Anytime we see “end times” prophecies we try to apply them to present. You know I often wonder if there will never be an end time, like Nineveh who was spared because they repented. Every time a nation or the world is on the brink of collapse, we as people repent and go back to God. Also, I have always said maybe these “end time” prophecies are for people to realize their salvation cannot be delayed because we never know when we may die.

I tend to believe this is talking about the end of Babylon and not the world. But again the problem with visions is they are so hard to interpret. I would love for Gabriel to help me with visions, but at the same time I would love to have visions. Many times we get caught up with reading people with the gift of prophecy and want it also. Our main purpose is to learn our gift and use it for God’s kingdom. And please note we are not all planters!! The biggest problem I see is someone with a great gift keeps it under a “bushel” saying they are planters when they are not!

Off on tangents again, but read this chapter with the thoughts of today and of the past. Realize visions are difficult to interpret even with Gabriel doing it in the vision. This is one of those chapters to enjoy and read more as a prediction of history that has already passed than our future. I wonder if this is God’s way of telling us to “live each day like it’s your last!” Hopefully that does not mean a huge lifelong part, but purpose for God!

Daniel 7:13 –

As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence.

This chapter is devoted to one of Daniel’s visions he wrote down. Fortunately for him the vision included an interpretation of the events he saw. After reading this chapter I remember back to Revelations and can see many similarities between John’s and Daniel’s visions.

The four beasts represent nations with the forth being what sound like the new world order desired by many. This new world order will “better” mankind, but enslave them at the same time.

Now I don’t want to get into a discussion on the great conspiracy of the new world order, and how it’s been “planned” for centuries (search Pike and WWIII for some fun). This verse was written 530 years before Christ and is discussing his return. We like to dismiss these stories as something that is coincidental, but they directly point to Jesus’ authority. Finding nuggets like this is fun when reading the Bible and realizing that way before Christ there were people talking about his coming.

I could go into the probability of how just 6 of the 60 plus prophecies written before Jesus would be almost impossible odds, imagine the odds of all them coming true in Jesus. That alone points to Jesus being “the way” and should remove all doubt. It’s difficult for our limited brains to really grab hold on this idea that many people over thousands of years wrote about this one man who walked the earth after they wrote about him. We need to read the Bible, so we can get a glimpse of God’s total being.

Believe me, your understanding of God and His nature will change over time as you learn His total being. It’s cool to read things over and over, only to get a new understanding each time. This “whole” picture is given so we can study and attempt to get closer to God. I hope someday to get it “right”, but actually wonder if we could understand even after death! The key is read, pray, study and discuss to gain a more full understanding of God.

Daniel 6:23 –

The king was overjoyed and ordered that Daniel be lifted from the den. Not a scratch was found on him, for he had trusted in his God.

This chapter is the story of Daniel being saved in the lion’s den. We know that God kept the lions tame while he was sealed in their den, but do you know how he was manipulated into that punishment by jealous people.

 At the end of King Belshazzar reign the kingdom was being split apart and again with King Darius, Daniel had risen to the top of the administration. Those who were not Jewish became jealous that he was in a position higher than they were, so they plotted to have him removed.

After trying unsuccessfully to find faults in him they deceived the king into signing an order that condemned anyone who prayed to any other than the king to the lion’s den. Once signed they just followed Daniel and once he prayed, had him arrested and brought to the king. The king begrudgingly threw him in with the lions and went home to rest. In the end Daniel was safe and the deceivers were tossed into the den and consumed before they hit the ground.

This is an amazing story of God’s control over every living thing, but I am interested in these jealous men. Today we see this so often that the rules of the game get changed all the time to prevent others from succeeding or put into jail. Rarely this is a fair and just ruling, but more for the benefit of the one with the money given to the right people. If you don’t believe so ask why in this financial crisis only a small handful of people are being prosecuted where thousands went to jail in a much smaller meltdown in the late 80’s! The “game” was rigged once they learned the problems and have since looted this nation of billions without many going to jail.

We can learn from this that people can manipulate the system for their own personal gain. And we should all be aware of that and call for the ouster of those involved. These men were jealous of Daniel’s status and position and manipulated the king into signing an order that they knew would kill Daniel. In this instance God spared Daniel from being the lion’s meal. I wonder if our nation will be spared or if we are just in a “normal” cycle for a nation?

Daniel 5:25 –

“This is the message that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN.”

The saying “the writing is on the wall” or “Mene, Mene”

came from this chapter to proclaim the end is near. King Belshazzar during a feast where he was using the holy temple cups to drink from, God wrote these words on the wall. Again no one in the king’s court could interpret the writings except for Daniel. And again Daniel interpretation of these writings comes true almost immediately.

If you read you will find this says “numbered, numbered, weighed, divided.” Daniel interpreted this to the king as his kingdom would fall and be divided among the surrounding nations. Sure enough in less than 24 hours King Belshazzar is killed and the unraveling of the nation starts. Think about the great nation that was built in Babylon and how it is only remembered from the Bible and archeological digs. It just went away. Many great and powerful nations have followed suit, the Roman Empire, the British Empire, the USSR and the USA. Of theses the USSR flamed out the quickest and the USA is still powerful, but you will notice they all tended to fail over time.

Like King Belshazzar these great nations saw “the writing on the wall” and disintegrated. Are we seeing “Mene, Mene” right now? If you follow the stages of a nation we are on the last few. It starts with bondage to faith, then courage to grow, then liberty, then abundance, then selfishness, then complacency, then apathy, then moral decay, then dependence and then bondage.

We just got out of Revelations and when the decay and break up start, everyone wants to claim the end is here, when it’s just their end. I am not saying our nation cannot pull itself out of this cycle; we just have thousands of years of historical momentum that shows the cycle. I sometimes wonder if we are seeing “the writing on the wall” and if that is really what God wants for a nation anyway. Are we as humans destined to repeat the fall for eternity?

Daniel 4:30 –

As he looked out across the city, he said, ‘Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor.

Oh, how soon we forget! In about a year of having a dream which Daniel interprets, it comes to pass.

 The king takes all glory for himself and none for God. We do this often in our lives, we forget about the foundation God laid for us and assume the glory for ourselves. Often we get what we have prayed for and then forget to give God His credit.

I had mentioned dreams and one I do remember recently highlighted this. I use to run competitive, have been rather fast and had dreams of glory. But it never came to pass, only a few minor wins here and there. Then time, other obligations, age took their toll and 40 lbs extra took its toll. I am now battling with cramping calves after just two miles on runs, so great running is past me. Well in my dream I won the Atlanta Marathon with a 2:24 or in other words a 5:30 mile pace over 26.2 miles. In the post-race interview, this 50 plus “Christian” absorbed all the credit and not once pointed to God.

I mean really!! The only way that could happen is God giving me the power, because there would be no way I could do that on my own. But when I woke, it impacted me on how I did not mention God once. When asked “how?” I answered “hard work and luck”! Like King Nebuchadnezzar looking over his kingdom and thinking he was the reason, I failed to give credit where credit was truly due.

Now the king spends 7 years in the wilderness as a wild man, eating grass and sleeping outside. His hair and nails grew very long, adding to the crazy wild man look. Then suddenly he became clear and turned all glory to God where it should have been in the first place. The king’s dream of a tree became an analogy for what was going to happen. My dream could have been just a past fantasy resurfacing or an analogy into the future. Hopefully, if anything monumental happens in my life I learn to give credit to the Lord. For what it’s worth, Titus Mamabolo ran a 2:19 after his 50th birthday, so it is possible, just will take a miracle for me to do that at this point in my life.

Daniel 3:19 –

Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual.

This is one of the more well know stories from Daniel, where they refuse to bow and worship the king or his gods and get tossed into a fire. The fire was so hot it killed the men throwing these three

into the fire, yet they survived in everyone’s amazement. From this King Nebuchadnezzar allowed them to worship God as they wished and promoted them within his ranks. They held their faith even in the face of death. Could you?

I know when I read stories like this it amazes me what God can do, but at the same time I have to raise an eyebrow. It’s not that I don’t think God isn’t capable of doing that but why hasn’t this been done recently? As Christians when we read the stories in the Bible we wonder why hasn’t any of this happened today? Why hasn’t the Red Sea parted or someone been raised from the dead? These questions are normal in our walk.

Now we are looking for the big miracles and when we see small ones we tend to dismiss them as chance. In October of 2007 there was a horrific crash in a tunnel on I-5 in California. Hundreds of vehicles were trapped in the tunnel which one fire fighter described as a “blowtorch out of both ends.” Three people lost their lives in a fire that took 300 fire fighters 24 hours to put out. So was that pure luck or a miracle? Again it depends on your point of view.

I wonder about the lives which have been lost by Christian ministers keeping this story true to their hearts? Could you keep true to your faith in the face of a raging inferno? I know I could not honestly answer that because my “Christian” brain says 100% yes, but my earthly body says nope. I could easily justify the retreat so I could “fight for God” another day. Yousef Nadarkhani is currently in prison with two death sentences, it’s a miracle he is still alive! Don’t dismiss God’s work and miracles, but at the same time don’t expecting to have them “your way!”

Daniel 2:28 –

But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future. Now I will tell you your dream and the visions you saw as you lay on your bed.

This chapter Daniel learns of and interprets one of King Nebuchadnezzar dreams. He had asked of his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers to tell him what his dream was and to interpret it. None could

do this and it infuriated the king so much he started to have all his wise men killed, including the 4 from Judah. When they came to execute Daniel he asked for a day to do this and then prayed to God for help. As you find out God granted him the wisdom of the knowing the dream and its meaning.

Daniel saved the day for them and we granted not only freedom, but a high position in the kingdom. As we will see this gave him influence over the king and his treatment of the Israelites. This story is similar to that of Nehemiah who as cup bearer to the king was able to rebuild Jerusalem. It shows the way God works to help the people of Israel even in occupation.

Now in reading this I often wonder the visions and power of dreams. Often I have some crazy ones, but wonder if any are from God. God uses dreams to communicate with us from time to time, although I think we tend to try to read too much into them over our lives. In the Bible God has used them to warn leaders of future events (here and Gen 41), provide revelation to prophets (Num 12), warn us of decisions (Matt 27), reveal his destiny in our lives (Gen 37) and he answer petitions and prayers (1 Kings 3). But one of the most overlooked reasons for dreams is just to handle the stress of the day.

I think we tend to read more into them that we should; most of the time they are just our internal method of coping with stress. I can honestly say over the years I could maybe attribute 1 or 2 dreams as messages from God. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I don’t dream much and when I do they are just strange. I would love more communication from God in that manner, but at the same time I think we all know the responsibilities when God starts talking to us. Look at Moses, he ran away for 40 years before the “matured” or was convinced to do what God was asking. Here people’s lives were dependent on Daniels dreams, so maybe I’ll just keep to my odd ball dreams!

Daniel 1:17 –

God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams.

During the “third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah” they were conquered by the people of Babylon. During this time Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were chosen to be advisors to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

 During this time these men rose to the top of the advisors. God helped these men rise to the top giving them wisdom and understanding; “ten times” over the king’s magicians and enchanters. Here God is using these men to help the nation of Israel remain whole during this occupation of their lands. It’s really fascinating when you look at the way God moves in this book.

These men’s story starts immediately defiling the kings orders by refusing to eat the “unacceptable food” he provided. This concerned their “chief of staff” who was afraid their disobedience would get him beheaded. They were willing to work with him during this time so they agreed for 10 days only to eat veggies and water. If they looked worse off, then they would agree to eat all the food provided by the king. As you might expect, they actually were healthier than the others after the 10 days.

When you think about it this is an example of why the Hebraic diet is actually what God intended for the best nutrition. They grew healthier while eating only veggies while the others did not. I think of the time I was on “The Makers Diet” and how good I felt. I could eat and be satisfied without gaining weight. If you are not familiar, “The Makers Diet” is a book by Jordan Ruben that explains the pure Hebraic diet he used to help him control his crohn’s disease. This chapter is actually testimony to the benefits of the diet.

Funny when I read this chapter I was thinking about “The Raw Brah’s”. These guys have befriended Vernie and she gets to seen them often at her work. She is at an organic food grocery store which they frequent daily. I have not gotten their whole story, but they have a Youtube channel (rawbrahs) that explores the benefits of a raw diet. These guys are passionate on their diet, which I believe started because of one of them needed open heart surgery. Check them out … they are living proof Daniels experience was “natural” and not God messing with his body during this time. Sometimes these “laws” are more than just a bunch of rules, but have actual scientific proof to back them up.

Please note – I do not feel if you eat pork or other foods not “Biblical” you are committing a sin, your just not using the BEST foods God intended for your ideal health.

Revelation 21:4 –

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

In the end we all get to hang with God and Jesus. You’ll notice in this they omit the temple, since there is no longer a reason for it since God and man walk together. The temple was the “interface” between God and man, we saw with the death of Jesus that curtain between us and God was torn from the top down.

We have the interface to God direct now, but the difference is we now can walk with God as redeemed man. There will be “no sorrow or crying or pain” in this new life. I wonder if “pain” means we can crash without worry of breaking bones!!

As you read the last chapters of the Bible you get to see the mirror image of the Old and New Testaments. Genesis starts with God and righteous man in paradise and ends with God and redeemed man in paradise. PK did an awesome study which showed how the two paths were similar, reaching to the point of Jesus. The OT rise to Jesus you get God and righteous man (Gen 1-2), Satan and sin enter (Gen 3-5), the world is judged and destroyed (Gen 6-9), one world system of government (Gen 10-11), the 12 tribes and Israel (Gen 12 – Malachi) which all point to Jesus. The NT mirrors this with Jesus (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), the 12 disciples and the Church (Acts-Jude), one world system of government (Rev 6-19), the world is judged and destroyed (Rev 6-19), Satan and sin exit (Rev 20) and finally God and redeemed man live in paradise (Rev 21-22). How cool is that when you see it mapped before you. Pastor Kevin puts these side by side and it becomes obvious the correlations between the two parts of the Bible.

In this chapter Satan and those who did not submit to Jesus get thrown into the lake of fire for the “second death”. This has always intrigued me since earlier we see evil being tormented for eternity and this implies it’s over quick. Either way if you have a chance of avoiding this ugly future, it would be an easy choice. Imagine all the hurt and pain this world has being gone! Your choice is door number 1 or 2, but you actually know what IS behind each door. It’s your personal choice and no one else can do it for you. Pick eternity with Jesus or eternity in pain and agony. The choice is simple for me, hope it has been for you also!

Revelation 20:6 –

Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.

This part confuses me since there is a 1000 years where there will be relative peace on earth. It’s not clear what actually happens during this time since Satan is bound in prison.

 Also, it’s not clear if the majority of the vision happens before or after Satan is bound. Also, if we look at what happens in verse 4 the resurrection of these priests allows them to reign 1000 years. That is mind boggling to me since 100 seems old!!

I wonder if this is a metaphorical description of life after death, where they will enjoy heaven with Jesus. I can imagine these frail human bodies lasting 1000 years even in ideal conditions. Also, are there others who live on this earth with these priests? Oh the questions that abound when one is reading the book of Revelation! If we try to apply these readings to history one could go nuts. It doesn’t make sense but again John was clear in stating we will not know the time or day when this happens.

The one thing I did notice in reading was it appears that the first resurrection is of people who did not take the “mark”. Where were they before this happened? In heaven or what some describe as “purgatory”? If we are not in or past the “end times” are we destined to wait in a “holding cell” until God’s judgment comes? This is the most bothersome part of reading this book since that picture is not clear. Sure the end is all sunshine and blue skies, but how long do we have to wait for that? I guess we will find out when we die, since it’s not clear on when we are “free” to spend eternity with God.

In more applying these writings to today I have heard many describe todays Gog and Magog as the nations of Iran and Russia. If you then use these two as examples one will quickly see these nations are forming an alliance while the rest of the world is ready to battle them. If that is truly the case, that means we have been living the last 1000 years without Satan’s rule over the earth! That includes the crusades, the holocaust, the atomic bombs, terrorists, Charles Manson and the like who then did this all without the help of Satan! So again don’t sweat the details, what happens, happens! Just live your life worthy of God’s grace and blessing.

Revelation 19:10 –

Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said, “No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers and sisters who testify about their faith in Jesus. Worship only God. For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.”

I find it interesting that the angel differentiates between worshiping others and worshiping God in this verse. He also separates Jesus from God. I think this is a difficult thing for many to understand and really grasp when you see writings like this. We can get into a long discussion about the trinity and the true meaning.

Let’s just say that many “religions” do not worship Jesus because they feel it would be violating this and the first two commandments since there are many verses that show Jesus separate from God. Again this is a very long and drawn out discussion which I have even made more complex by including quantum mechanics.

Again in simplistic terms if we worship Jesus as the disciples did, I believe we are safe in not violating the terms of the first two commandments. I think the focus here is not worshiping other servants of God or stuff God has given us. We need to keep our focus on God and His glory and not dilute it with other “stuff” that will eventually take us away from God. God is the only one worthy our worship and Jesus being God or even “just” the son of God is worthy of that also.

As we get into this often by parse out attributes of God and worship them as God. The two most common attributes that get worshiped are “love” and “nature”. People love to worship “love” and say “if God is “love” why does this happen?” They go down the rabbit trail of only focusing on love and actually dismissing God since he is judges and punishes us. Or “nature” becomes a God and its importance gets placed over all. God gave us nature to enjoy and use, not to worship. We can worship God while in awe of nature, but much of the “environmental movement” makes nature God. The key here is love God and worship all of God, not just bits and pieces you like.

Now the rest of this chapter is an interesting read because it talks about the rider on the white horse. Funny if you think about it, that western’s whose hero rides in on a white horse has biblical roots! The rider here fights with his words and verse 13 even says he is the “Word of God”. If we remember in James how the tongue is very dangerous and can set ablaze a forest. This also shows how the “Word” from the tongue can also pierce evil and win over all.

Revelation 18:11 –

The merchants of the world will weep and mourn for her, for there is no one left to buy their goods.

This chapter is a detail of the fall of Babylon and all the people that are affected by this event. Once again I start reading this and see eerie similarities with the United States and specifically New York City. The world’s economy is driven by our consumerism and if we fall many will be sad. Not only the merchants, but the countries they were from and the shippers that they used will be sad because of the loss. If you think about it, if our economy were to go away, that event would wreak havoc in the world economy.

You can raise the whole idea the “Babylon” is long gone and this is an analogy of what may come. The problem with reading “prophetic” writings is it’s natural to try to apply this to today’s world. People have been doing this since these were written. “The end is near” is a common theme for people who see the dark side of this world. But at the same time I don’t think we are close to what John has described here, so don’t drive yourself nuts over what may or may not happen.

So far there is 100% certainty that we will die sometime. The key is not to focus on when or how it may happen, but focus on the life you are living. Focus on how your life impacts others and what your relationship is with Jesus, before trying to see if John’s predictions are happening today. Honestly for all we know this has already happened but like Jonah and Nineveh, God has already spared the world of His judgment. Again who knows the right answer? I sure don’t!

Revelation 17:18 –

“And this woman you saw in your vision represents the great city that rules over the kings of the world.”

The woman is tagged as the “Great Prostitute” and rides in on a 7 headed beast. The seven heads represents kinds while the beast also represents a king. Many like to speculate on who these may be to gain insight on the end times. When I first read this verse years ago I made a note in the Bible to indicate the “city” was New York City. And here are my “justifications” to this note. First, the United Nations, which is housed in NYC, attempts to rule over all the nations of the world.

It’s a stretch, but Staten Island is one of the locations with “seven hills” in verse 9. Also, you can take this even further and say we are in end times now because there have been 8 “kings” or Secretary-Generals over the UN to date. Then as they describe the “Great Prostitute” it almost sounds like America. We have corrupted the world with the concept of “consumerism”, while may seem wonderful is putting a huge divide between us and God.

We become more interested in stuff that following God. Years ago when I first started this email one thought that I had was eventually packaging it into a book, selling it and making tons. My motivation was wrong; I was doing this for the glory of Chuck and not God! I let stuff pervert something that was masked with God’s desire. Well it took some time but I finally realized that these writings were not for my glory, but for God’s, I started posting them in a blog. Sure it would be nice to be out of debt and be able to get “stuff” that we need, but honestly while I have writing this God has opened other doors that has helped my debt reduction plan reach 40% so far!! That includes homes and business debt from the failed shop!

Oops, I went on a tangent there!! The Great Prostitute has long been a subject of speculation on “which city” it may be. We look at many cities with 7 hills as a possible “Prostitute” city. San Francisco has been targeted as one because of their loose lifestyle. Many argue Rome since that is the home of the Catholic Church. Moscow because of the “evil empire” that ruled there. Jerusalem could also be because of the religious turmoil that perpetuates there. Istanbul, Barcelona, Annan, Los Angles and Tehran also top the list of cities that could qualify. When you start digging you realize it is all speculation and we will never know, until it’s over!!

Revelation 16:17 –

Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. And a mighty shout came from the throne in the Temple, saying, “It is finished!”

Interesting these are the same words Jesus spoke before He died on the cross. Although I initially thought it was the whole “end times” I realized it was just the end of the seven plagues being poured out on the earth. If you go back a few verses you will notice the fourth and fifth bowls had interesting comments on these plagues; (verse 11) “But they did not repent of their evil deeds and turn to God.” This says to me that even after all this misery and pain the “unsaved” will have an opportunity to repent before God

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From those two “outs” God offers mankind I derive that after the seventh bowl is pour out your time for forgiveness is over. If you will not submit to God by that point, it’s too late for your soul. So where Jesus completed His sacrifice for our sins, God appears to be putting an end to the grace given to those who will not submit to His authority. Even in “end times” God is not going to let those who want fellowship with Him to go, but there has to be a line drawn that say we are done. This is the point that appears to be that line.

This is similar to the example of the killer who is hanging on the cross with Jesus. Before he dies, he asks Jesus for forgiveness and it is granted. The “death bed” repentance is what many wait for so they can continue their “lifestyle” for as long as possible. But often that opportunity does not happen, our death come quickly and without warning. It may be “finished” and we were not able to do the “death bed repentance” thing.

That is why John repeats Jesus’ warning in verse 15 about coming like a “thief”. Death is never a planned event and we need to be ready no matter if it’s the sixth plague or just our eventual death. Salvation is a free gift that we just need to accept, and once accepted we should share it with others. The fun you think you may be missing is nothing to the joy you are missing with Christ. So make sure you are ready and prepare yourself for a life with Jesus, and not just eternity!!

NOTE – we have noticed that many words associated with judgment day are not actually in the Bible. Words like “purgatory” and the “rapture” have no Biblical basis. Also, we find that Lucifer is only used once in the KJV and it’s not clear if that’s the devil or one of his “henchmen”. We do find in verse 16 Armageddon is used, although to describe a place and not an event.

Revelation 15:1 –

Then I saw in heaven another marvelous event of great significance. Seven angels were holding the seven last plagues, which would bring God’s wrath to completion.

The word “completion” caught me here. We get to see what happens after all this mess is finished. It’s really unclear how long this will take, if it’s months, years, decades or even longer. We have some glimpses into part of the time as far as a period when they will trample the holy city of 42 months (Rev 11). And then the beast being “allowed to speak great blasphemies against God” lasts another 42 months. There are also two 5 month periods where the locust will be allowed to sing and then torment people. But other than that we have little idea on the time this will take.

We are not even sure if these periods described and sequential or “concurrent” so to get an idea on how long before the “completion” is difficult to grasp. I am sure of one thing and life on this earth will stink! One thing that’s not clear is life after death. Is heaven only open to the 144,000 and before the gates a fully open we are in what many have described as purgatory or the middle between heaven and hell? I again did a search and found that “purgatory” does not appear in the NLT, KJV or the ESV so again we have made terms which are attributed to the Bible and Revelation yet never appear.

I am sure you could spend months in Revelation trying to decipher John’s writings and visions. You would eventually try to link all these events to history and current happenings, which takes you down a slippery slope missing much of God’s gifts. You become obsessed in the hellish future and stop focusing on the glorious present. I have been to many houses of worship that are obsessed in the “lake of fire” and your soul that they scare people away from God.

A common question from many is why would anyone follow a God who would allow such misery? The key here is be aware and think of the future for each and every person you meet who do not know Christ. But at the same time, we don’t need to dwell on that eventuality in trying to show God’s love. Sure I have seen this approach work on some, but at the same time that approach may have been more steeped deeper messages to that person then hell fire. At the same time that may have been what they needed to jolt their mind to God, I don’t know for sure in that instance. The key in reading Revelation is this is a future that may never happen, be right around the corner or have already occurred. We need to focus on the present and grace with knowledge of the future, but not an obsession.

Revelation 14:12 –

This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus.

This chapter divides up the 144,000 and the rest of the Christians. In researching this chapter one of the “concepts” that I have been taught my life is the “rapture” and how God will take all the Christians up in one big massive whole body ascension into heaven. The only thing I have found thus far to imply that anyone will be spared and lifted up is concerning the 144,000. Now I don’t mean to be judgmental, but how can anyone assume they have come close to earning that rank among believers! I can say with almost 100% certainty that I will “endure persecution” during the end times.

Now I mentioned the “rapture” and did a quick search for that word in the Bible. That is a word many have used so much people assume it is part of scripture. It did not appear in the search of the NLT, NIV, KJV or ESV Bibles. Many try to analyze these writings and try to paint a rosy picture where if you believe you will be living “fun in the sun” with God. Ask the 12 Disciples of Christ about their life on earth. I think they are the model of what we are to expect. The question is will you fold when faced with eating or suffering? Unless you “grow your own” you will be faced with taking the mark to survive.

Many Christians will take the mark to save their families and in the process do more harm than good. I don’t now want to endure an afterlife of “fire and burning sulfur” but could see myself easily justifying taking the mark. I would hope I would recognize the mark and not accept it. Some have claimed the “mark” is bio-metrics, or your thumb print and retina-scan. So would taking the mark mean that would be allowed to be kept on file with “the beast”?

The chapter ends with the “harvest”! You have to ask yourself are you the wheat or the grapes? The wheat is just harvested where the grapes are harvested and “pressed”. Don’t know about you but I don’t really want to be crushed in a wine press! As with this analogy, John uses eloquent descriptions of the final times in this chapter. We get an image of what’s to come if we don’t follow Jesus. This verse makes it clear things will not be easy, we will not be living a property Gospel, but what the 12 endured. But never fear, there will be peace on the “other side”!!

Revelation 13:3 –

I saw that one of the heads of the beast seemed wounded beyond recovery—but the fatal wound was healed! The whole world marveled at this miracle and gave allegiance to the beast.

This is one of those interesting chapters that has many verses to touch on. This one stood out not because of the biblical implications, but more about the predictions of Nostradamus. Although I have never really read his predictions, years ago I saw a show that covered some that came true and were in the future. Allegedly he has predicted many events, but in reading them it’s very open to interpretation, hence why I stopped reading them. But the one thing I remember was the “third antichrist” wore a blue turban and recovered from a fatal wound. So Nostradamus appears to be hijacking John’s work and claiming it as his own.

You will notice many of the stories in the Bible are repeated over time, with different characters. In reading the Bible you will find many stories you have read that before with roots in the Bible. Unfortunately I cannot think of any this morning, but will try to give specifics soon. Nostradamus took the account of end times in Revelation and applies it to a time line and gets specific in details. If you want to research it, the interpretations are interesting.

Now this beast is the one that gives the “mark”, as you see in verse 16-18. I always find it interesting that the “mark” is getting closer and closer to becoming necessary due to “identity theft”. Think about how many people have had their identity taken and abused, only to leave them standing with the bill. I hate to say this but my belief is “cloud computing” will make this even more common. Once our information becomes easier to access, it will become easier to steel. It will eventually get to the point that some “bio metric” will be needed to identify you and this may be an implanted chip or “mark”. No one will be able to buy or sell without this “mark” so don’t think you will be immune to getting it if you want to survive.

Verse 8 also caught my eye since it talks about the Book of Life and the names written in it. Notice they are there before this world has begun. This implies to me that if we are “predestined” to be with God or not, which goes against the idea of free will. So as you see this is a difficult concept to understand since it goes against much of what we have learned. Honestly if it’s already written, why bother sharing our faith? I disagree with this comment unless it’s something that everyone is written into the book of life, it’s our choice not to accept the gift and be erased. Exodus 32 implies your name may be erased as with other verse, so this implies we need to be diligent to keep everyone in the book! So don’t stop sharing, we are all destined to remain in the book, just not to be erased.

Revelation 12:9 –

This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.

As much as many preach on the devil, the Bible has limited accounts. The word “Satan” is found 59 times, “deceiver” is found 5 times and “devil” is found 39 times. Fortunately the Bible does not dwell on Satan, but he has to be mentioned so we can have a full understanding of what the “enemy” is in our lives. For what it’s worth, the word “enemy” is found 171 times and “the enemy” is found 82 times where most of the references are on actually battles and not Satan. Interestingly, “Lucifer” is not found in the NLT, ESV or NIV but only one verse in KJV.

If we get all wrapped up in the grace and love of Jesus we tend to forget the other forces working in this world. Sure grace is enough, but we are not just living in a bubble. We have outside forces disrupting our lives all the time. So we must be aware of the “other” force of evil in this world. We must learn to pray for help and protection from the devil, as well as recognize when he is active.

Many times we like to find God’s hand in everything good and the devil in everything bad. “The devil made me do it” is a common excuse for bad behavior. I don’t think every bad thing comes from the devil, nor every good thing from God. I think we don’t need that much help. Out existence is not micro managed by these two as much as we would like to think. Sure God is everywhere and the devil can get inside our heads often, but I think we are allowed more freedom than we sometimes should have. That is where natural behavior comes in, much of which is bad and considered from Satan.

Sure we all sin and that is from Satan, but it’s not directed daily by Satan. He does not need to help us fail to honor God, we as people do a great job at that without any help. Now does that mean we dismiss Satan? NO WAY!! We need to be prepared for his actions in our world. Now how do we fight him? The only way I honestly know how is in prayer, by handing the battle over to God. But the key is to not remain in the battle. If something has a hold on you, and you hand it to God, YOU need to take an active role in ending its grip on your life. It may happen on its own, but God is not going to solve your issues without you trying. So be aware and vigilant of Satan’s work in your life and this world.

Revelation 11:3 –

And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will be clothed in burlap and will prophesy during those 1,260 days.”

This is something I find interesting that the two witnesses will basically appear to us poor. This implies they will not come from wealth or power, but carry the power of God. Now if some “bum” under a bridge started to prophesize before you, would you listen? How quickly would you dismiss this guy as a nut job? Until they started to show their given powers I think it would be difficult for anyone to take them serious! Then would it be too late?

It’s awful looking to see what happens to them in the end as they are killed and left to rot on the streets. People were not allowed to bury them and they just stared. But after three and a half days God breathes life back into them and allows them to ascend into heaven. Only Enoch and Elijah had ascended into heaven before Jesus according to scriptures. Then these two prophets are taken to heaven. One could argue that John 3:13 implies no one has ascended into heaven except Jesus. And it’s difficult to really understand the interpretation since some imply only Jesus came both ways while others imply only Jesus has ascended. Either way we have two more that ascended somewhere and this was written after Jesus spoke John 3:13.

I often wonder about that and if there is a reason we need to see the body ascend. Honestly I think it’s more just to give us warm fuzzies since most have a difficult time understanding the “spirit” within us. I believe the “human” form is just for us to understand what we are looking at and not for actual existence after death. But who knows for real, expect for those who have already died. I think this is done to help us understand the “transition” to death and that we will not just end.

This chapter ends with the seventh angel blowing his trumpet and the final terror begins. It’s appears to be massive meteorological events ending with an earthquake. It’s not clear if these are isolated or spread over the world, but either way they must be horrible if they are considered a “terror”. Then again I really don’t want to deal with natural disasters that strike terror into all.

Revelation 10:4 –

When the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write. But I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Keep secret what the seven thunders said, and do not write it down.”

Keep it secret! Even with a voice from heaven telling you this could you actually keep it in? What if it mean saving many more people with this knowledge? That’s a tough call, since unfortunately “secrets” seem to get exposed eventually. But apparently John took God serious and never mentioned the “thunders”. There have been many people speculating what they were, but ultimately we will most likely never know.

Over time many have speculated what these were and many have claimed “God reveled” the hidden secrets. Now I am not one to “judge” but I find it hard to believe that anyone would suddenly get these secrets after 2000 years of silence. People who say this believe they have the capacity to understand God, over anyone else. Heck there are some mysteries even to Jesus. Matthew 24:36 has Jesus even saying he does not know the hour when He will return. “Only God knows” is a truth we need to understand and not worry about.

Sometimes I pray for the ability to see prophecies, but at the same time that responsibility may drive me nuts. Could you imagine seeing what John saw and having people dismiss it as folly. I could see everyone now saying you just had a bad dream or accusing me of “tripping”! It would be difficult to know the truth yet not have anyone believe it. Think about today and how many still dismiss John’s writings. Would you tell everyone you could and not worry about their opinion of you?

If you answered yes, then do you do it with your faith today? Do you share the salvation and freedom from these prophecies or keep it to yourself? These are tough questions to ask yourself and if I met you out of the blue on the street I would be hard pressed to share my faith. I would not want to offend you or get you upset. Oh how the “political correctness” has suppressed one’s ability to express their faith!! The fact that we would worry about offending someone is a joke! If their car was on fire would you worry about offending them to save them? Really it’s the same thing!

Revelation 9:20 –

But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood—idols that can neither see nor hear nor walk!

The fifth and sixth angels blew their trumpets and brought their terrors to the earth. The fifth one for 5 months brought locusts who stung like scorpions and did not sting the ones with seals on their foreheads. If we go back these are the 144,000 servants of the Lord. Then the sixth one brought 4 horsemen and three plagues which either killed 1/3 of the people on earth or injured them with their tails. So as you read the trumpet blasts went from discomfort to personal pain quickly.

Now the one thing I find interesting is even through all this this verse implies there is still time to repent of your sins and turn to God. Yet even after seeing all this people still held to the idols and continued to ignore God. Even as followers of God how many of us do this? We believe and maybe have experienced God first hand, yet we still hold onto our life here on earth. We may not worship idols like Baal, but today our idols are Mercedes, Porsche and Rolls. Instead of looking to something seen to explain the unseen, we dismiss anything “odd” as coincidence or probable events.

No our focus these days becomes inward and more scientific bound than amazed with the glory of God. Our worship is more on things or prideful ambition than towards a living, yet unseen, God. Sure everyone says if God would show himself today than I would have reason to believe, but the scripture as for faith and not solid proof like Thomas demanded.

Yesterday we studied what it means to follow God and be his disciple, not just a “believer” or a “Christian”. Pastor Miles used Luke 9:57 – 62 as an example of three who wanted in to the kingdom yet still held on to this world. During the teaching, he talked about a young man who had a bunch going on in him and wanted to be saved. When Miles gave him the steps he realized if he did this his weekend would be much different than he planned, so he put it off. Miles did his funeral after a drug overdose. Maybe this is what these “revelations” are teaching us, is not about end times but about our frailty and inability to predict when the next drunk will swerve into our lane. This is far more important than just a thing to do Sunday morning; it’s your eternal existence. Peace or torment? Your choice!

Revelation 8:13 –

Then I looked, and I heard a single eagle crying loudly as it flew through the air, “Terror, terror, terror to all who belong to this world because of what will happen when the last three angels blow their trumpets.”

The first 4 trumpets were blown in this chapter and the end results were awful. The first produced fire, hail and blood from the sky that destroyed 1/3 of the earth, 1/3 of the trees and all the green grass. The second produced what sounds like a volcano in the ocean that made 1/3 of the ocean blood, killed 1/3 of the sea creatures and destroyed 1/3 of all vessels. The third produced what sounds like a meteor or comet that strikes the earth and makes 1/3 of the water bitter to the point of killing all who drink it.

The fourth one darkened 1/3 of the day and night, which seems odd since the night is already dark. Either way 1/3 of all heavenly bodies went dark and considering how depressing it gets when it’s dark more than light imagine it more and imagine how cold it must get. After all this there is now this eagle lamenting the next three trumpets, like this was not bad enough! The next three bring terror and not just discomfort, so I can see where this could be worse.

Now as we read Revelation we see many of John’s visions have become true, over and over again in history. I think of World War II as the time in modern history that most closely matches these “prophecies”. Think about it, Hitler could be the anti-Christ, the atomic bombs were detonated on people, the holocaust against the Jews occurred, and many millions lost their lives in battle. Think about the depression and the third angel, where in Germany (the Weimar Republic) where money became worthless.

See you will drive yourself nuts when you think about it too much. Also, there is no telling if it will ever happen at all since like with Nineveh, God may accept our repentance. One thing that is 100% probable of happening is us dying. We will never know the time or place of that either and many will not get the “death bed” repentance they so desire. I think that was why I drifted in my college years, since I figured I could fix things later. In my case I did, in Tim Huckabee’s case he didn’t. Tim was a friend who died in a motorcycle accident just goofing off. Make your peace with God now and live under his rule, I promise life will be better.

Revelation 7:4 –

And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God—144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel:

There are a few theories about this verse and what it means to Christians. First in reading it in whole, it looks to me that 12000 from each of the 12 tribes will avoid the great tribulation. It’s not explicitly stated but of the 144,000 it pulls 12,000 from each tribe and holds off the winds until they receive the seal of God on their foreheads. It’s unclear if that spares them from the tribulation or if they will be lifted up before the tribulation in the rapture.

Interestingly the word “rapture” is never mentioned in the Bible, and I did a quick search of NLS, NIV, ESV and the KJV. The only place I found it was in Psalms 6:11-12 in the Message. But it was only talking metaphorically about one’s heart being led astray. It appears the term “rapture”, was introduced in 17th century writings of Philip Doddridge and John Gill. It is a French word which stems from the Latin word, rapiemur, which means “carry off.” As we continue I will look for more verses which relate to this idea.

Anyway back to the 144,000 who have seals on their head. Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that these 144,000 are witnesses that will only go to heaven, all other Christians will remain on earth. Good news is in verse 9 John talks about “a vast crowd” that represents the rest of the people who in verse 14 “died in the great tribulation.” First comment I need to make is the idea the 1440,000 is anything other than a select group of Messianic Jews is not reading scripture correctly.

Second, it talks about the “great tribulation” as it was past tense. Does that mean the tribulation was the first 6 seals being broken? Then I wonder if it’s going on now? Or if this is more describing the “human condition” and is meant to reflect all time, not just a short time period? This is where the imagery of John’s writings and vision become very difficult to interpret. Everyone wants to pinpoint the exact time so they can say “see I told you!” Often I wonder if it’s not just to show their glory and not God’s hence why I wonder if it will never come since there will always be ones who say it is “near!” If it’s happening tomorrow, next week, next decade or never one thing is for sure, we will die and need to reconcile with Christ beforehand, because we do not know when our end will come either!

Revelation 6:15 –

Then everyone—the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person—all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.

The “end times” or also known as the “apocalypse” is described in this book. As we build our “nest egg” or our kingdom or our fortress for safety, we see it really doesn’t matter. This chapter describes the 4 horseman of the apocalypse. Each has a specific role and is very ominous in their purpose. The interesting thing is no one will be “spared” judgment from God. Now this is not a justification for NOT following God’s financial “Laws” because we will never know when “it” will happen.

If you look throughout history the one thing you’ll see is justice being given out selectively. Kings, rulers and congress make the rules so most of the time they are spared from judgment. The wealthy and powerful seem to avoid prosecution by influencing the system with money. The only people that seem to get caught in the worlds mess are slaves and the normal Joe’s. But this verse says everyone will face God’s judgment and that is fair!

Let’s look at the four horseman of the apocalypse and see their job. The first on a white horse is there to “win many battles”. If we look at history, winning a war comes at a great cost of human life. Sure the victory may be freeing, but for many it’s the end. The next horse is the red one, who represented war and slaughter everywhere. I think the difference between the two was the white horse represents Israel’s or maybe Christian battles and the red one represents everyone else.

The black horse is one that interests me since it does not talk about death but financial chaos. Imagine if a day’s wages was what it took to feed yourself! Your money was worthless because of inflation and who cares if you were “rich” it still required hard labor to survive since money is no longer the definition of wealth. I am interested in this one since six times in less than 200 years the nation has fallen into a depression, with a few spreading across the world. We are sitting on a ticking financial time bomb right now and could face a much larger crisis than ever before.

The final horse is a green one and I believe represents I believe a more personal death. The black and red horse represents war and the black one represents financial calamity, this one is clear with famine and disease. It also includes death by the sword which is not part of war but more a one on one fight. Think of murder being the rage of an individual. Think it is ugly now imagine everyone starving, broke and sick, even sane people will do “what it takes” to survive. Yes it will be awful, but I also have hope that if we repent we may be spared as Nineveh was before Jonah. Hopefully we will not find out in our live times.

Revelation 5:4 & 5 –

Then I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll and read it.But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

This is so significant to the message of Jesus, He is the one who can open the scroll and save us from destruction. Interesting how winning “victory” required being brutally beaten and hung on a cross to die! We seem to forget what happened to Jesus to earn the title of Lamb of God. But in verse 5 Jesus is referred to as “the Lion” and not the Lamb. Later in this chapter the one worthy is referred to as the Lamb, so John not confused. Think about how Jesus represents both God’s power and His humble sacrifice!

We know Jesus felt every hit, each of the 39 lashes, every hammer strike and each thorn piercing His head. With His power He could have escaped, yet He endured this for you. And yes it’s personal; you were who He died for! You are who He opened the seven seals form and you are who He wants a relationship with! He wouldn’t have died this way without it being personal for each and every one of us.

Having never grown up in the sacrificial system it’s difficult to really understand the significance of His death and what it means. Today we sign happy and joyous songs about His blood. This may seem morbid to someone off the street, but once you dig in to understand this system it all becomes clear. A perfect lamb was chosen to take our sins, one would confess with their hand on this perfect lamb transferring their sin to this animal. Since the penalty of sin is death the lamb would be slaughtered thus cleansing us for an encounter with God. Jesus became the final lamb for everyone’s sins when He died on the cross. So where it’s awful in what happened, it’s also wonderful!

I included verse 4 because of the passion John has for God. Think about having this vision and crying because no one could open the scroll. It doesn’t seem like a big deal initially, but here is an important message no one could read. It was in the “right hand of the one who was sitting on the throne” which means God. He could have opened it, yet He required someone else to do that job. Why do you think that was? I often look at the Bible as that scroll and it took a lot to break the seals and open it. How many have one, yet it rarely is open? I know it’s a stretch but think about having the answers right before you and no one being able to read it! So you have the answer and it does not have 7 unbreakable seals, just open and read!!

Revelation 4:11 –

“You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.”

How many times do we forget this? We start looking at God as our servant and not the other way around. We take the glory and honor, while at the same time trying to gain power. We turn our focus inward instead of outward to God. I am not saying this from “the pulpit” but as one of the “we’s”. I don’t give God enough glory or honor, and either hide His credit or take it.

We can take this to an extreme and praise God for everything. I know some who find reason to praise God under every rock. There is a happy medium between the two where the praise is necessary. Nature is one of those things where praise and beauty of creation is worthy of praise. Looking at how everything is unique and beautiful is real cool, especially when you take it past the bounds of our earth!

We look at events in our life and when we pull back the covers we see God’s hand all over the place. Events that seem to bring glory to our acts are unveiled as something in His master plan. With all this we just go on living life silent and not praising God. We seem to forget the intricate web God weaves in our life and for some reason think it’s all us. I know it would be nice to have an Elijah moment where God sends fire down to prove His power, but that most likely will never happen. But that person you meet, that odd event that changed things, that decision to follow your “heart” are all God sending fire down in a less dramatic way.

As I read this I was in amazement the detail John remembered and how eloquently he describes the experience. I put myself in his shoes and can only imagine the lack of justice I would say. Maybe “that was cool, there was a flying lion, cow, man-beast and eagle …” would be all I could remember. Think of people of the times and how difficult it was to edit their thoughts. Me it’s an easy key stroke to change a word or sentence. They had to rewrite it all over, like the good ‘ole days with typewriters, but imagine NO erasers! Anyway, enjoy the writings as both a message from God and a great piece of writing.

Revelation 3:15 & 16 –

“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other!But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!”

This is the chapter of lost salvation or salvation never earned. I have often wondered if the “once saved, always saved” mantra is biblically correct. I know the argument that true salvation can never be erased, but how do you know what is “true”? You follow John 3:16 and do your “A, B, C’s” (Accept, Believe, Confess) to become saved, but is that enough? Luke 13:25 talks about people pleading at the door for entry and Jesus not letting the in for not knowing where they come from. That can be rough if you think you are doing the “right” things.

Matthew 7 talks about the “gateway” being narrow and “few” will ever pass. Judging by the numbers of people you can talk with that believe they will go to heaven you have to wonder just how “few” is “few”? This same chapter has people pleading for Jesus saying they have cast demons and performed miracles in His name, yet He rejects them. See how the concept “salvation” gets murky here. These verses make me wonder if you do your “A, B, C’s” yet are not passionate, is that a failure? Interestingly, He says HOT OR COLD, so if you believe yet do nothing is that ok?

Now the one almost “damming” verse from this chapter is verse 5 where He states “I will never erase their names from the Book of Life.” This is positive since the word “never” is used, but negative since it implies He can erase your name. I have never found a instance where God erased a name, but this implies they may be erased. You can see how one’s mind can get wrapped up in the idea “am I really safe”! I have to go on faith that if we follow the “A, B, C’s” we will have eternal salvation.

What is “hot” anyway? Does it mean you have to go to church every week or spend a month in Africa feeding the poor? Does it mean you must be confident in talking about Jesus to anyone you can or just anyone who asks? Do you give up drinking and “R” rated movies and become “legalistic” like the Pharisees? These are questions you need to ask yourself and ensure you ARE written in the Book of Life! You need to make sure Jesus knows you when you see Him! And unfortunately that’s not a simple question to answer. The key is to follow the spirit and read/study as much as you can so you can discern between God and your own selfish desires.

Revelation 2:4 –

“But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!”

This chapter addresses the 7 churches, each individually, pointing out their strengths and weaknesses. If you look on the map these “churches” were very close to each other on the western tip of what is now Turkey. So I wonder if this is a vision, was it intended for addressing them at that specific time or for the church as a whole during the “end times”. As we dig into this chapter we like to read into the book as much as we can to see if we can find relationships to today. Hence where Revelation is a difficult book to read and comprehend.

Looking at each address you will find a positive mention of the church and then a complaint. This one caught me since it is probably like a majority of long standing Christians. We get all fired up to follow Jesus, and as the years wear on we get disillusioned that our expectations don’t meet actuality. We think that we should have more, or not have problems or have some great ability to minister to people, but end up in the mundane. The relationship becomes tarnished and routine, with love leaving.

We see this all the time in marriages where everyone thinks it needs to be a honeymoon each and every day. The spark is not there after the years and love gets forgotten. Many seek that spark elsewhere and destroy a marriage, while others do the “right” thing and muddle through it unhappy and unloved. Again our expectations don’t meet the actuality of life and we lose our passion.

Our lives can move from passion to the mundane over time, but we can to do two things to stop that. First we need to be aware of God in our lives, if you notice him more and more your relationship will grow. Don’t take for granted the little things in life and your passion can remain strong. Follow His lead more and you will be shocked at what happens!

Second, seek God and be committed to Him no matter what “feelings” you may have. For those who have been on board for some time, you know I bounce all over the place emotionally. Many times I will not “feel” it and just be writing without passion. I continue no matter what, because I know that spark will always be there I just need to keep fanning it. The Righteous Brothers song “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” comes to mind and this verse is a reminder not to let that passion go!

Revelation 1:8 –

“I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”

First for those who don’t know the Greek alphabet, Alpha is the first letter and Omega is the last. So this would be like saying I am the A and the Z, only it sounds cooler to keep it in the Greek. He continues this illustration by stating it bluntly. This is used to illustrate that God was there from the start, which is easy to understand, until we ask what happened before! Well God ensures it’s crystal clear in this verse stating He “always was”.

I know time becomes a difficult concept since we really need a “beginning and an end” to parameterize our vision. Everything in our experience has both except for time and space. We look out into space and think we see an “end” but in actuality there is none, it just keeps going. Think about it, if there was an end what would be on the other side? Time is the same way, what happened before? Well more time! How about when time ends, what happens after? More time!

The concept of “infinity” is something we can eventually wrap our heads around for time and space, but what about God? If there was NOTHING, what did the universe come from? What was there before? When you start looking at the solid, that’s when infinity becomes a difficult concept. Space and time are nothing and therefore could go forever, but what about this Rock. Where did it come from? Where did the cosmic dust come from? How about God, where did He come from? What was the rock made from? Who created God?

See it becomes mind blowing when you try to wrap your brain around that concept. I like to think of God as energy more than a person. That then becomes a concept I start to grasp. Energy, like God, has always been, will always be and can never be created or destroyed. This is why God is more than we can ever understand. Sure we may be able to grasp a bit of His glory, even if He materialized before us it would still be difficult to comprehend. That is the fun of learning more about God, the more you understand the larger He becomes. The larger you see Him, the more intense the personal relationship becomes! You have to wonder, how could “infinity” care for little ‘ole me? But HE DOES and that’s the cool part!

The most difficult to interpret book of the Bible … is it one event for all man kind or one event for each man (IE Revelations is played out at our deaths) … should be fun to dig into this one!

Habakkuk 3:18 –

yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!

How many times can we say this? Habakkuk is in the midst of an occupation and seeing much of the world’s injustices before him, and he realized where the peace can be found. The verse before this went through a laundry list of bad things that have happened or will happen in the future showing we need to be rejoicing in God’s salvation no matter what the world brings. Again when things are down how many of us can really say we are joyful?

I know I get caught up in the world and all its mess. I get upset at the worlds injustices like Habakkuk and wonder when justice will prevail. But when I really think about it what business is it of mine anyway? Sure many of my close friends have lost homes and we have personally been close many times, all due to rampant fraud in the bank and finance sector. I see this and wonder what I could do, and much of the time I lose hope in our nation and this world.

I know we could dig into Revelations and see that the end times are coming soon and we just need to relax in God. Habakkuk is only lamenting the current conditions and not the future destruction, so maybe I will avoid that discussion. After all these years on this earth I understand one thing and that is I will never fully understand God. I am comfortable with that and hope to be joyful like Habakkuk! Think about this verse more and wonder if your life if better spent getting upset at the injustices in this world or being joyful of your salvation? If you think joy is the way, then share it with others so maybe real change can happen in the world.

Habakkuk 2:15 –

What sorrow awaits you who make your neighbors drunk! You force your cup on them so you can gloat over their shameful nakedness.

I read this chapter with God’s answer and it made me realize it wasn’t ours to worry about the injustices in the world. Then I read this verse and it made me realize what is happening today is something we cannot sit idly by and watch. First, reading this literarily it sounds like the bar tender is the evil one, but then I think in history and one of the most tragic “cult” happenings was with the People’s Temple and Jim Jones. When things unraveled there were over 900 people who “drank the Kool-Aid” laced with cyanide. This was the largest single loss of American lives in a non-natural disaster before 9/11.

We don’t think about it much now, but this we horrific when you think about it. Some would say this was a mass murder; some call it a mass suicide, either way people died over some prideful nut wanting to gloat over something. Now we get into more present times and metaphorically take this into the financial melt-down. Most of the nation drank the “financial Kool-Aid” and got sucked into the greed, while the fraudsters watched us get drunk. Now much of the nation is naked and broke, while the fraudsters watch in pleasure. So although this was written 2600 years ago we can draw analogies today.

Now the question is do we sit back and pray or take action? That is not a question I can answer, but I do know God does not do things without our participation. God did not part the Red Sea without Moses. Sure we can say our active participation is sitting in our prayer room and bringing it to God. But maybe He is looking for someone to stand up and point out the injustice! I don’t know the answer and hope God works through someone soon to correct this mess before it gets worse for the honest, hardworking people of this nation.

Habakkuk 1:15-16 –

<15> Must we be strung up on their hooks and caught in their nets while they rejoice and celebrate?
<16> Then they will worship their nets and burn incense in front of them. “These nets are the gods who have made us rich!” they will claim.

Funny how this was written 2600 years ago and it seems to apply to us today. Habakkuk saw injustice in this world and started to ask God why it went unpunished. Also, how wicked men can seem to prosper while doing wrong things. These seem to be questions we ask today while looking at where we have settled. In this day and age it has become acceptable to compromise God’s laws and justify them for feelings. Business and individuals put their own self-interest over that of the people.

Don’t get me wrong I am not preaching about how people should not succeed, but to do so violating ethics is where the line should be drawn. Unfortunately today the ethical line has been drawn down the letter S to create a “$” sign! This housing debacle is a classic example of what Habakkuk must have been seeing. In today’s mess everyone put the all mighty dollar before ethics. Everyone was rolling on a bubble that seemed to not stop. Housing prices went up, people borrowed more and bought more, banks we happy since they were making money hand over fist. Then 2007 happened and things changed.

The bubble popped, housing prices crashed, people were unable to pay off debt, houses were being foreclosed on and people were losing jobs. It was a mess and times were tough. People suddenly began to see these banks that wrote a ton of “risky” debt get bailed out, yet they were still losing their homes. Then the underbelly got really exposed on how these banks were getting “free” money from the fed and leveraging it on risky loans. Now I don’t mind risky activities that result in failure, it is part of business. What bothers me, like Habakkuk must have felt, is people are getting rewarded for committing out and out fraud while their victims go homeless.

Oh we could go on for days lamenting the injustices we see in this world. We could point out people who have no problem with evil succeeding while Godly people fail and ask God why. We could get upset and occupy some place to protest these injustices, only to be made fools by the fraudsters. Or we could rest in the peace of Jesus’ grace and love, so we could actually pray for the evil in this world. God will eventually deal with them, just not our job worry about it. Maybe we need to accept that will happen in life and we need to focus on the eternal rewards and less on the temporal!

John 21:25 – 

Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.

This is the last line of this book and when you think about it we really don’t have much record of Jesus’ life. His birth is well documented, some minor snippets from when He was 12 and finally the last 3 or so years, other than that there is no record of His life. Granted we get the great parts, at least the ones we need to know, but what about the mundane? Did Jesus perform miracles before turning water to wine? Was He truly a carpenter or did He study diligently in the synagogues?

After His death there have been so many books written about Jesus and how we interpret His life or how His death changes people’s lives today. It becomes daunting, especially when you are a poor reader like myself. Everyone is recommending books, devotionals and guides to help this area or that one. But with all that the main fall back is the Bible, because without a solid foundation in reading that book others could be misdirecting you.

Out of all the books there are, the Bible is the best seller of all time. If you think of how many languages it’s been translated to and how many different versions of each languages there exists it is mind boggling to understand the numbers. There are no other books really even close. From a quick Google search it looks as though The Tale of Two Cities is one of the top selling books at 200million copies. The bible has approximately 4.7 billion copies or over 4 times more than the top ten sellers combined. So as you search for knowledge of Jesus and God keep the “cornerstone” the Bible.

John 20:23 & 27 –

<23>If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.
<27>Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”

This chapter focuses on the resurrection of Jesus and the meetings after. They start entering an empty tomb with Jesus’ head covering folded and set aside. Interestingly this is what carpenters did when their job was finished. Put their equipment away, fold the shop towel and place it on the work to signal they were finished.

I have also heard this as a napkin analogy where if it was balled up the servant knew to clear the table, if it was folded the servant knew the master would return. Not 100% sure the “correct” analogy, but each is significant and the disciples understood the meaning.

As you can see there is a bunch to talk about in this chapter. Verse 23 is significant since it ties into the Lord’s Prayer which says “and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.” Both are significant when you think about it, we need to forgive others as we expect God to forgive us. We hold grudges and over time they eat us from the inside, like acid to its container and it destroys anything it’s poured on. So when we hold grudges in, eventually we end up dumping them on others and destroying a relationship or a witness that’s of value. So in your prayer time when you confess your sins, make sure you forgive all others who have wronged you.

Verse 27 got me today in my prayer time since I was calling out to God in question. I knew I was reading about the Resurrection and on a logical level questioned the validity of this story. Thomas is so like me at times, I hear this story and believe it by faith, but still in the back of my head think it may be just a cool story. Or that Jesus and Lazarus were not dead, only very near death and therefore appeared to come back. Either way God reminded me of this past Tuesday at WE, where during the final worship song I prayed to have my son call, which he did before the end of the song. God is with us, God is real and we just have to get that through our thick skulls. And don’t worry, like me it may take some time to work it through!

John 19:11 –

Then Jesus said, “You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. So the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”

Jesus is before Pilate, who is trying to save Him. He has an angry crowd that wants Jesus dead, yet he can find no legal justification to carry out their wishes. Pilate tries to get Jesus to say something to free himself, yet he remains silent for the most part. Think about this he was already flogged within an “inch of his life” and is facing the most brutal form of execution. When you think about it most forms are quick, yet this one they hang you there on display to die.

So with all this Jesus continues defiant to Pilates desires to set him free. At this point they have already freed Barabbas, and flogged Jesus, so Pilate was hoping to suppress the mob. Who interestingly enough less than a week earlier we saw them, in chapter 12, praising Jesus and welcoming Him to town. I have always found it interesting how the Pharisees were able to change people so quickly. Here is a man who just had raised Lazarus from the dead and was not being executed for no real crime.

I like this verse because it really tells us God is in control of things. Sure we have “choice” and can really screw up God’s plan, but I have found God’s will trumps our desires most of the time. That was the case here, God’s plan was to sacrifice Jesus for the sins of the world and Pilate was the person of the moment. I guess he could have folded and release Jesus, but I do believe God would have just changed direction slightly for the same end result.

This gets into a big discussion of if our lives are predestine or if “sh&^ happens”. I kind of think of them as a combination of both. God’s perfect will for our life is say X. (I know panic is setting in for those seeing an equation coming … don’t worry) Our desires an wants may take us to Y. God sets us in motion to His goal, but our decision will determine if we make it to X or Y. I think we are kind of like a large pachinko machine. We are the balls and the pins are life’s decisions, each decision we make pushes us to one side or the other. Now God may pop pins before us, but again it’s our decision to follow His lead or drift away.

I have personally found I can drift way off the path and suddenly these pins keep popping up steering me back. I may slam into a wall or drop into a black hole, but somehow if I am still useful, God gets me back on track. So don’t think you are “exempt” from God’s will and life just happens. We are really powerless before God, other than the ability to make bad choices.

John 18:8 –

As Jesus said “I AM he,” they all drew back and fell to the ground!

At this point Jesus has been betrayed and the guards are in the grove ready to arrest Jesus. Jesus feely hands himself over to the guards to protect His disciples and to do God’s will. At the moment he answers their question they are taken back and all fall to the ground. Even with this power Jesus had at his voice, He comes with them. Simon Peter attacks, but Jesus quells his anger and protects them all from the violence He is about to endure.

When you think about this it defies logic in human sense. If you knew you were about to be beaten within an inch of your life and then hung on a cross to suffer and die, would you go? Especially knowing you had easy access to the unlimited power of God! Our earthly bodies would beg not to go through the suffering. We cannot imagine the pain he endured during the time before His death and I say this having spent many a day in the ER.

The response of the soldiers really surprised me, here a man speaks and they cannot stand before him. Yet even with this power before them they continue to carry out their orders. At the same time Jesus does not try to persuade them otherwise. No He willing follows them to His gruesome death, all to save you! It puts this in a different light when you have a choice to save yourself or save mankind. Maybe then you would say, “Ok let’s go and get this done.” Would you be able to do it knowing you had the power to stop it at any time?

John 17:20 –

“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.”

If it wasn’t for the disciples or Paul the message of Jesus would have died on the cross. Jesus never wrote of His own works, at least that anyone has found. The fact the message Jesus gave survived is amazing all in its own, considering the forces that tried to squash it. You had the Jewish elite that did not want to rock their boat, the Roman who did not want a revolt and other religions since the message took from their “flock” also. No the message was not popular, yet it has survived over 2000 years.

When we pray we should consider that against all odds the message of Jesus survived and we should thank God for that. I know it’s difficult to understand in today’s context, but imagine trying to preach a message that would most likely get you jailed and or killed. But also consider these men watched Jesus turn water into wine, walk on water and raise the dead, so their convictions were very strong. How about yours? Where does your faith rest? See when facing death these are very tough questions.

Now Jesus is not only praying for the disciples, but also for you. You are an integral part of the kingdom of God and Jesus knows this. The disciples will die off and need others to continue the message. That is where we have to step up and continue to talk to others about Jesus. We must learn and share as much as we can so others can share when we are long gone. This isn’t a message that was meant to die with us!

Remember playing the game of secret, where you tell a secret to one person and they tell another until it finishes the circle back to you? How funny it was to hear what ended up being said after passing through multiple people! The problem with today is the Gospel is being passed between people without real factual study. Sure sharing the message of Jesus is simple, but what comes next gets lost. People start trusting their feelings more than facts, and feelings cannot be trusted unless backed by fact. That’s where the disciple’s message came into play, they documented the message of Jesus so we can read it and remain true 2000 years later.

Sure some things get lost in translation, but they honestly are not a big deal. Love gets confused since there are multiple words that get translated to love. Also, worship comes from 4 root words that have slightly different meanings. But that’s the joy of learning and growing. You’re not expected to just have it all figured out in one sitting. At the same time you are not expected to sit on your hands and just experience God superficially. No, He wants us to dig for Him just as we want Him to fight for us. So read your Bible, and find a group of people you can relate to for study and worship.

John 16:7 –

But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you.

Jesus is talking about the Holy Ghost or the “spirit” that helps us along the way. I cannot say if the Advocate was present before Jesus and just not active in most people lives or not, but I can say it started well before Jesus. One could argue the Advocate was our consciousness of sin, and the sins God wrote on the tablets are inscribed on all people’s hearts. Look at every society and the 10 commandments seem to be the cornerstone in one form or another.

We all “know” them to be true. So in this was one could say the Advocate was always with us. The concept of the Holy Spirit being God is much easier to understand since they both has the same “attributes” only the Holy Spirit is our personal interface to God. Think of the Advocate as the USB ports to God, you plug in and gain access to the power of that computer, where alone you are just a standalone device.

Now before you try to dismiss the Holy Spirit do you remember a time in your life when a “odd” thought came in your mind or you were overwhelmed by emotion for no apparent reason? Welcome to the Holy Spirit working in your life. The Advocate has also been described as you conscience, which everyone seems to have. Even at a young age guilt was present, even before the knowledge of God.

God works in our lives and if we give God three names or one He IS. We just have to understand and believe in His purpose in order to tap into His vast resources. Many say if He is one of three what is the difference in believing in Jesus or not. Well, Jesus is God personified so we could see Him and have a firsthand account. If you believe in the Holy Spirit and God yet dismiss Jesus, you are dismissing 1/3 of God’s being and therefore do not fully embrace God for who He IS. Can you find salvation outside Jesus? If you believe God walked this earth in the form of Jesus and therefore we must believe what Jesus said, so the answer is NO.

John 15:2 –

He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.

This woke me up this morning since I often feel like I don’t do enough and don’t produce for Jesus. “Cuts off” is not a warm fuzzy concept when you think about it. While we are producing for Jesus we are with Him, but stop producing and we will be cut off. What does that really mean? Will we be cut off from His blessings or the Holy Spirit? Does it mean we lose our salvation if we are not producing? See what I snapped awake!!

Now we also return to Revelations 3:16 talking about lukewarm Christians and see rejection. Where do our branches fall and where do we get spit out to? Do we remain saved but to the “low rent” part? See I think this is more a warning to us not to be wasteful with our time on earth. We will not lose our salvation, but will not be satisfying to God or remain in His blessings.

Now if you read ahead verse 16 says “the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.” I assume that’s qualified by being in the branch? But again we look back at verse 2 and notice God prunes those on the vine to produce more fruit. See in gardening something cutting something back will help it grow even more. If you think about it “cutting” and “pruning” are the same thing in a way. Cutting removes the whole thing, where pruning removes parts.

Unfortunately, part of our walk is painful. This pain may not be pleasant in the moment, but is valuable over time. You may need some trimming of “stuff” that is taking over your life that is detrimental to your development as a Christian. This trimming is important so you can focus on God and not get consumed by the world.

I know racing motorcycles was my trimming that hurt. I originally figured since it was a Sunday only thing, I could bring church to the races. That worked when my mother was going, but a move to California ended that time. Eventually my thoughts of saving racers ended and it became all about racing. For those who have raced it all consuming and what started as a potential ministry became a blocker. I did not trim that distraction by choice, but it allowed me to focus on God’s and grow more. Now I just have to work on producing fruit!!

John 14:9 –

Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you?”

This chapter is one of those tough ones to pick a verse, not because it’s sparse but because it’s rich. Verse 6 reiterates John 3:16 by saying “no one can come to the Father except through me.” That is so powerful when you think about it and one of the most controversial statements from other religions. Many say how can this be, God would not be so “exclusive” in welcoming people to His kingdom. Jesus said this and I can only believe it.

If you continue past this verse 13 is the prosperity preachers verse. If we just ask in Jesus’ name it will be granted. Suddenly this verse makes Jesus out to be a Genie and preachers take advantage of this. Please note Jesus was in the Garden begging God for His life, but added “your will be done!” He was not spared the suffering, because God’s will is greater than ours. I remember Garth Brook’s song, “some of Gods greatest gifts are unanswered prayers!”

Now this verse is one of the key verses to the “Holy Trinity”. Jesus is answering His disciples to the question that they wish to see God. It is hard for us to understand God being a son, father and spirit, especially since the scriptures spell them out different. But honestly it’s a concept that is so difficult to understand. It’s in the realm of quantum physics for simple understanding. If you release your basic understandings of physical laws it’s easy to get. But the releasing of those stigmas is what is difficult.

To describe God in the quantum world, He is like energy. Always was and always will be. Never created or destroyed. He goes through form, into form and out of form easily. He is everywhere and in everything. From here you can understand God as “conscious” energy. From there it’s easy to see God as multiple beings at the same time. This “God Head” concept makes God seem like a three headed dragon and not a loving God that embraces us all the time! So you see it’s all about quantum mechanics to get to God.

John 13:38 –

Jesus answered, “Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter—before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.”

Peter does do just this, he denies Christ as Jesus predicted. Now in this day and age it’s difficult to relate to this denial, at least in this country. See when Peter was asked if he was a follower of Jesus, the penalty may have been death. When facing death your fight to survive outweighs most everything else. Jesus knew the change that was about to happen and how Peter would try to protect himself.

Now we all seem to think we would never do that, but really? Here was a man who was by Jesus’ side when he raised Lazarus from the dead. He actually walked on water with Jesus. He drank the wine that had been water, he saw it all, yet he denied Jesus three times. Remember this is less than 12 hours after Jesus predicted this would happen. How can you say I would never do this have only a “spiritual” understanding of Jesus?

If someone on the street today asked you if you were a follower of Jesus, what would you say? How about in a march for Islam? What if that march was in Tehran? Would you really be willing to face death and proclaim Christ, especially if not doing so means you would live another day? See the answer is much more difficult when you look at it from Peter’s perspective.

What’s my answer? Honestly if I was in Tehran and it was life or death, I would most likely choose life and not answer the question. I couldn’t deny Jesus, but I sure could ignore the question. Or ask back, “why do you care?” or “what does it matter?” Remember, Peter heard this prediction 12 hours earlier, witnessed all the miracles and still denied Jesus. Granted I would most likely “feel the moment” and if “pressed hard” to let go and face death, I may. But I would have to say standing back, I would follow Peter’s lead and live another day.

John 12:26 –

Anyone who wants to be my disciple must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.

Wow this ties into a teaching by Pastor Miles at Water Edge (search the podcasts, it is wonderful) about following God. This verse ties into his teaching so I will tie into what Miles has said. First did you know the words “believer” and “Christian” do not appear in the Gospels? They start showing up in Paul’s writing in Acts. The word “follower” and “disciple” show up hundreds of times in the Gospels. So did Jesus want people who believe or people who follow? The numbers say it all.

Our salvation stems on believing and John 3:16 spells it out in a nutshell. But is that really it? Do we just believe and rest on that? This verse is very clear, that we should become Christ’s servant. That does not mean we ask Him for favor, but we follow His “asks” first, than favor follows. Not saying you will win the lottery after serving in Nigeria, but following Jesus is more than just a belief. At the same time we all do not need to follow Jesus in some far off land to serve Him well.

No following is more than just a belief and really without true belief following is difficult. This is where the rubber meets the road when you start to analyze your beliefs. Just how deep are your beliefs? Miles’ wife had cancer and at the time they were very much into holistic and organic things. Their “doctor” wanted them to stay away from chemotherapy and try this root. As much as they believed in healthy living, their real faith fell to the medical profession to cure the cancer, which it did! The point was beliefs guide your actions. Being a follower of Jesus required belief or your actions are nothing.

Revelations 3:16 talks about being lukewarm for God, not really going either way for Jesus and how you will be spat out if not one or the other. We cannot all be “on fire” all the time, but it’s more that we follow the prompting. It’s one thing to pray for a brother in need, it’s another to help a brother in need. Oh and does it get dirty much of the time, but the “asks” of God are different from the “asks” of man. Following requires belief and faith, otherwise the “asks” will not be easy to follow.

God is not asking us to live in squalor, but at the same time we cannot sit in our castle and roll up the bridge over our moat. I like to think of God as my benevolent DI from PI (Drill Instructor from Paris Island … the Marine recruit training facility). When he says jump, I say how high. I may not want to do what he is asking, but at the same time I need to have faith that He knows best. Like the DI, he may seem ornery, but his interested are in giving you the skills to survive and protect others in battle. We need to step out of our comfort zones and demonstrate the love of Jesus.

John 11:42 –

“You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.”

Raising Lazarus from the dead is the last miracle Jesus did that John describes in this book. The remained of the book is focused on his last days on earth. When looking at what Jesus was going into I often wonder if I would have gone. He was going back into Judea where just days ago they were trying to kill Him. No matter how great the need, would you go back?

Now Mary and her sister Martha called for Jesus to heal their brother, yet Jesus delayed coming. That must have infuriated the people who were sent to get Him, especially when Lazarus died. They made excuses for Jesus since it was dangerous to return to Judea, yet all along Jesus wanted this to be really big. He knew His time on this earth was short and wanted to ensure the people knew who He was.

When He finally arrived, Lazarus had been dead for 4 days. Martha even mentions the stench when Jesus asked to roll away the stone. Then we get to Jesus’ prayer for Lazarus to return to life. Jesus does not say something elaborate, just asking God to listen and for Lazarus to rise. Interesting that Jesus wanted to ensure that the people understood the relationship He had with God, so He spoke so everyone could hear His prayer. Notice also, Jesus did this at a time when many were in town to mourn his death. This would ensure there was no question on the miracle and that it would be noticed.

The chapter ends after Jesus raising Lazarus, with Caiaphas plotting Jesus’ death. Interestingly he was able to quickly turn the masses against Jesus even after witnessing this miracle. That is one thing that surprises me in this story is how quickly it turns from Jesus proving His connection with God, to them crucifying Him. I think Jesus was not only telling Lazarus to rise, but everyone reading this story. We need to rise up from our issues and addictions to stand for Jesus.