Presenting God with a Fait Accompli....from C.S. Lewis' Weight of Glory

"I mean this sort of thing. I say my prayers, I read a book of devotion, I prepare for, or receive, the Sacrament. But while I do these things, there is, so to speak, a voice inside me that urges caution. It tells me to be careful, to keep my head, not to go too far, not to burn my boats. I come into the presence of God with a great fear lest anything should happen to me within that presence which will prove too intolerably inconvenient when I have come out again into my “ordinary” life. I don’t want to be carried away into any resolution which I shall afterwards regret. For I know I shall be feeling quite different after breakfast; I don’t want anything to happen to me at the altar which will run up too big a bill to pay then. It would be very disagreeable, for instance, to take the duty of charity (while I am at the altar) so seriously that after breakfast I had to tear up the really stunning reply I had written to an impudent correspondent yesterday and meant to post today. It would be very tiresome to commit myself to a programme of temperance which would cut off my after-breakfast cigarette (or, at best, make it cruelly alternative to a cigarette later in the morning). Even repentance of past acts will have to be paid for. By repenting, one acknowledges them as sins—therefore not to be repeated. Better leave that issue undecided.

The root principle of all these precautions is the same: to guard the things temporal. And I find some evidence that this temptation is not peculiar to me. A good author (whose name I have forgotten) asks somewhere, “Have we never risen from our knees in haste for fear God’s will should become too unmistakable if we prayed longer?” The following story was told as true. An Irish woman who had just been at confession met on the steps of the chapel the other woman who was her greatest enemy in the village. The other woman let fly a torrent of abuse. “Isn’t it a shame for ye,” replied Biddy, “to be talking to me like that, ye coward, and me in a state of Grace the way I can’t answer ye? But you wait. I won’t be in a state of Grace long.”

There is an excellent tragicomic example in Trollope’s Last Chronicle. The Archdeacon was angry with his eldest son. He at once made a number of legal arrangements to the son’s disadvantage. They could all easily have been made a few days later, but Trollope explains why the Archdeacon would not wait. To reach the next day, he had to pass through his evening prayers, and he knew that he might not be able to carry his hostile plans safely through the clause, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive.” So he got in first; he decided to present God with a fait accompli.

This is an extreme case of the precautions I am talking about; the man will not venture within reach of the eternal until he has made the things temporal safe in advance. This is my endlessly recurrent temptation: to go down to that Sea (I think St. John of the Cross called God a sea) and there neither dive nor swim nor float, but only dabble and splash, careful not to get out of my depth and holding on to the lifeline which connects me with my things temporal.

Revelation 16 Notes: The Bowl Judgments

Chapter 16...The Bowl Judgments

Then I heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.” So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth; and it became a loathsome and malignant sore on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image.--Revelation 16:1-2

These are evil sores.  Festering, painful, and incurable. These sores will bring unrelieved physical torment to those who have rejected Jesus Christ. The sores will not affect believers, . They will come only upon those who chose to follow Antichrist, received his mark to show their allegiance (13:16–17), and worshiped his image"

The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood like that of a dead man; and every living thing in the sea died.--Revelation 16:3

One of the reasons the bowl judgments will be so devastating is that their effects are cumulative. Before the sores of the first bowl could heal, “the second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood like that of a dead man; and every living thing in the sea died.” Are you getting the similarity to the first plague in Egypt. (Exodus 7:20–24) and also the second trumpet judgment (8:8–9), but this time the effects will be much more intense. We are talking the ocean here...70% of the earth’s surface.  The effects of this judgment will be worldwide. 

We do not know exactly what supernatural means God will use to destroy the oceans, but the effects, according to people who have spent some time studying this say it will resemble those of the phenomenon known as the red tide...concentrated, toxic species of algae kill higher forms of marine life, including shellfish, fish, and marine mammals. The smell of death and decay will be horrific and really unimaginable.  

Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying, “Righteous are You, who are and who were, O Holy One, because You judged these things; for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve it.” And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.” (16:4–7)

Freshwater is already  in critically short supply by the time of this bowl judgment. The third trumpet judgment (8:10–11) will result in the poisoning of one third of the world’s freshwater. 

The two witnesses will “have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying [the last three and a half years of the tribulation]; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood” (11:6). 

The temporary restraining of the earth’s winds (7:1) will also cause drought. With no wind to move clouds and weather systems, the hydrological cycle will be disrupted and no rain will fall. The destruction of what is left of the earth’s freshwater will cause unthinkable hardship and suffering. 

The scene is so unimaginably horrible that people will wonder how a God of compassion, mercy, and grace could send such a judgment. 

The angel of the water speaks in God’s defense. God's judgment is unquestionably righteous because He is the Holy One. Fittingly, those who have spilled so much innocent blood will be given blood to drink. In the angel’s chilling words, “They deserve it.” God is just and holy and will execute vengeance for His people.  

Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written,“Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”^[a] says the Lord. Goes on to say if your enemy...overcome evil with good.--Romans 12:19

For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”^[a] says the Lord.^[b] And again, “The LORD will judge His people.”--Hebrews 10:30

For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,--Hebrews 10:26

but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.--Hebrews 10:27

The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire. Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory. (16:8–9)

Searing heat exceeding anything in human experience.  Another serious consequence of the sun’s intense heat will be the melting of the polar ice caps. One would think that the unparalleled disasters of the first four bowl judgments would cause people to repent. Instead “they blasphemed the name of God.” They did not repent nor give him glory.  Neither God's goodness or His wrath were bringing these to repentance.  

Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain, and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds. (16:10–11)

As He did long ago in Egypt (Exodus 10:21–29), God will turn up the intense suffering of the sinful world by turning out the lights. After the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, darkness engulfs the earth. 

The cumulative effect of the painful sores, fouled oceans, lack of drinking water, intense heat, all engulfed in thick blackness, will bring unbearable misery.

Yet, incredibly, the wicked, unbelieving people of the world will still refuse to repent. (this is the last reference to their refusal to repent...perhaps they are now hardened and implacable in their sin...unredeemable.) John notes that they gnawed their tongues because of the most intense and excruciating pain. Still “they did not repent of their deeds.” 

The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east. And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. (“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.”) And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon. (16:12–16)

Unlike the previous five bowls, the sixth has no specific assault on humanity but prepares for what is to come. When his turn came, the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates. The Euphrates appeared earlier in Revelation in connection with the sixth trumpet judgment (9:14), when two hundred million demons who were bound near it were released.  As the angel dumped his bowl, the Euphrates’s “water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.”) 

From the mouth of each member of the unholy trinity (Satan, Antichrist, and the false prophet) came a foul, unclean spirit resembling a frog. The unholy, deceiving trinity will lead the kings of the east and their armies to their doom...to a place called in Hebrew Har-Magedon. (Mount Megiddo)  The eastern armies will need to cross the Euphrates to reach their ultimate destination of Armageddon in the land of Palestine. God’s drying up of the Euphrates is not an act of kindness toward the kings from the east, but one of judgment. They and their armies will be entering a deadly trap. JUST LIKE PHARAOH'S ARMY ENTERED THE PARTED WATERS OF THE RED SEA AND WERE ANNIHILATED...SO WILL THE ARMIES OF THE EAST BE ALSO. THE DEMONS WILL LEAD THEM STRAIGHT INTO HELL AND EVERLASTING TORMENT.  GOD LEADS HIS PEOPLE TO HEAVEN AND EVERLASTING LIFE IN HIS PRESENCE.   

Amid all the horrors of judgment, deception, and war comes a word of encouragement to believers: “Behold, I am coming like a thief." This gracious word from heaven will come before the pouring out of the seventh bowl and assure believers that the time of the end is coming quickly and they will not be forgotten. 

There were similar respites to encourage God’s people between the sixth and seventh seals (7:1–17) and between the sixth and seventh trumpets (10:1–11:14). 

Then the exalted Lord pronounced the third of seven beatitudes in Revelation (1:3; 14:13; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7, 14): “Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.” This describes those who will be prepared for His arrival. The imagery here is of soldiers alert and on duty.  

Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.” And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe. (16:17–21)

The seventh bowl is the final outpouring of God’s wrath on sinners in this present earth. It will be the worst calamity in the world’s history. Its effects carry all the way to the establishment of the earthly kingdom of Christ. Like the fourth angel, the seventh angel did not dump his bowl on the earth, but poured it out “upon the air.”  As the angel dumped his bowl, a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne. God’s solemn declaration “It is done” announces the climax of the final day of the Lord that will spread doom over the entire globe. 

From John MacArthur:  Taken from "Because the Time is Near"

The perfect tense “it is done” describes a completed action with ongoing results. It is similar to Jesus’ final words from the cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30). God’s judgment of Christ on Calvary provided salvation for repentant sinners; the judgment of the seventh bowl brings doom to unrepentant sinners. 

Atmosphere affected...flashes of lightning, peals of thunder.   But those earlier storms were mere previews of the mighty storm of wrath that now bursts upon the earth. 

Though the seventh bowl was dumped on the earth’s atmosphere, it will also have a devastating effect on the earth itself. God will punctuate this final judgment against sinners with an earthquake, just as He did His judgment of sin at Calvary (Matthew 27:51–54). 

This earthquake will be the most powerful one ever to strike the earth. John described it as “a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth.” The shaking will be so severe that it will renovate and reconfigure the earth in preparation for the millennial kingdom, restoring it to something like its pre-flood condition (verse 20). 

The first effect of this great and mighty earthquake was that “the great city was split into three parts.” A comparison with 11:8 clearly identifies the great city as Jerusalem, “the great city … where also [the] Lord was crucified.” That the great city is distinct from the cities of the nations offers further evidence that Jerusalem is in view. The massive earthquake will split Jerusalem into three parts, beginning a series of geophysical alterations to the city and its surrounding region that will conclude when the Lord Jesus Christ returns. 

Zechariah 14:4–10 describes these changes in detail. The Mount of Olives will split in two, and a new valley running east and west will be created (Zechariah 14:4). A spring of water will flow year-round from Jerusalem to the Mediterranean and Dead Seas (Zechariah 14:8), causing the desert to blossom like a rose (cf. Isaiah 35:1). Jerusalem will be elevated, and the surrounding region flattened into a plain (Zechariah 14:10). 

Thus, the purpose of the earthquake as it relates to Jerusalem is not to judge the city, but to enhance it. Jerusalem was judged earlier in the tribulation by an earthquake, which led to the salvation of those who were not killed (11:13). Thus, there is no need for further judgment on that city. The physical changes will prepare Jerusalem for the central role it will play during the millennial kingdom, when Christ will reign there as King (Psalm 110:2; Isaiah 2:3; 24:23; Micah 4:7). 

Unlike Jerusalem, which was enhanced by the earthquake, the cities of the nations fell, perhaps simultaneously with the defeat of Antichrist by the Lamb (17:12–14). Specifically singled out is Babylon the great, which “was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.” As the capital city of Antichrist’s empire, Babylon especially will be made to drink the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath (chapters 17 and 18). 

The final effect of the earthquake is to prepare the earth for the millennial rule of Christ. To that end, the earth’s topography will be drastically altered; “every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.” Islands, which are undersea mountains, will disappear. The mountains on land will be flattened (Isaiah 40:4), completing the process that began during the sixth seal (6:12–14). 

Those who somehow escape the devastation caused by the earthquake will face another catastrophe, one unprecedented in earth’s history. They will be pelted with “huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each,” that will hurtle down from heaven. Unlike the seventh Egyptian plague (Exodus 9:23–24) and the first trumpet judgment (8:7), the force of these hailstones is unimaginable. The Greek term translated “about one hundred pounds” described the most weight a normal man could carry, anywhere from 90 to 135 pounds. The heaviest hailstones ever recorded weighed about two pounds. These will be fifty times heavier. No doubt many will die due to inadequate shelter or no shelter following the massive earthquake. Still unrepentant, the survivors of the hailstorm will blaspheme God “because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe.” 

Incredibly, tortured humanity remains hardened against God—a truth that should give pause to those who think that signs and wonders will convince people to believe the gospel. In light of the inevitable judgment to come, the warning to all unrepentant sinners is 

“Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 4:7).

Walking by Faith and Not by Sight

To My Sweet Daughters in Him:

The Gibeonites were afraid.  Their neighbors on the same side of the Jordan had heard of the children of Israel's victories and decided to gather together to fight Joshua with one accord.  The Gibeonites, however, decided to use guile rather than brawn.  Sadly, even after the children of Israel's defeat at Ai  (because they did not ask "His" counsel before going into battle) Joshua once again stepped out ahead of the Lord.  He looked at the outward rather than seek His God, and he made a treaty with the Gibeonites.

I have done as Joshua did here more times than I want to remember. Unbelief has so much trouble waiting.  The men of Israel had had doubts about the truthfulness of the Gibeonites.   Read Joshua 9:7:

Then the men of Israel said to the Hivites, "Perhaps you dwell among us; so can we make a covenant with you?"

Truly God does speak to our hearts and gives us warnings.  Unfortunately, like Joshua, we do not always heed the warning.  We ignore it, we make rationalizations for it or we out and out  disregard it.  As  believers, we are to wait on our God, and walk by faith, not by sight.  We are to bring it all to Him in prayer and then surrender to God's desires in any situation we face.  We bring  much needless pain, trial and trouble to our lives when we don't listen to our Lord.

Girls,  our God is a true and faithful friend.  His plan for us is best and comes from His heart of love.   Seek His face in prayer.  Seek His word and allow it to speak to your heart.  Remember that in our flesh we look at the evidence and think we know...we think we have got it covered...that we do not need to ask His counsel.  Walk in the Spirit...seek His mind, His wisdom and His will.  Seek His grace and His mercy to obtain help.  Don't ignore His warnings....listen for His voice and do what He says.

Love
Mom

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.--Proverbs 3:5-6 

Notes on Revelation 15

Chapter 15:  Prelude to Judgment...

And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is completed the wrath of God. And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire.  Revelation 15:1-2

Chapter 15 is the prelude to God's final judgment of the earth.   We see here the seven angels getting ready to pour out the judgments on the earth.  In them, the bible says, the wrath of God is complete.  We are coming to the end of the tribulation period.  At the conclusion of the last of the bowl judgments, Jesus will return to establish His kingdom on the earth.  As an aside...the word plague here is not translated disease or epidemic but is translated blow or wound.  These are deadly blows that will strike the world with killing impact.  


The sea of glass that is before the throne of God is now mingled with fire...fiery judgment is about to take place. (Revelation 4:6) 




and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over the image, and over the mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb, saying:


 Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for only thou art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.Rev 15:2-4




There they are surrounding God's throne...these are the believers redeemed during the tribulation period.  Those that had been victorious over the beast...who did not worship his image and who did not take his mark.  (6:9–11; 7:9–17; 12:11, 17; 14:1–5, 12–13).  The harps are indicate that these saints are singing praises to God. They sing the song of Moses...a song of deliverance and the Song of the Lamb.  These believers rejoice because their prayers for God to take vengeance on their persecutors (6:9–10) are about to be answered.  It is hard for us to imagine that there will be songs sung in heaven just before these terrible judgments.  Throughout chapter 16 we will see God's judgments asserted as righteous.  We will also see the consistency of man's rebellion and his refusal to repent.  Again...right now we see in the mirror dimly but then face to face.  I really don't even think we can even begin to comprehend the magnitude of the effect that sin has had on this world.  Or even the opportunities that each of us in this world has been given to accept the free gift of Jesus.  


Let's go through the song...


Great and marvelous are God's works!   Looking at His work of redemption....He sent His only Son to die for us even when we were yet His enemies!  Look at creation...it's magnitude but also its precision.  Look at His work in your own life...in the life of your loved ones.  Behold His mercy!! 

God's mercy even in this greatest time of judgment is clearly evidenced in the 144,000 Jewish evangelist, the two witnesses, the saved that are still on the earth as well as the flying angel from Chapter 14 that preaches the everlasting gospel from the midst of heaven.  In fact as God's wrath increases so do His efforts to bring His creatures to repentance.  This time of tribulation will yield the greatest harvest ever!  

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues … clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;--Revelation 7:9

True and just are His ways.  No one can accuse God of not being fair.  Right now we do not know the whole story.  Again, we are looking through the mirror dimly so to speak.  When all is revealed, however, all will declare it.  God's holy and righteous character demands that He judge sinners that have rejected  His Son.  If He ignored their sin, He would not be holy, righteous, and true to His nature. The song closes with joyful anticipation of the millennial reign of Christ, when all the nations will come and worship before God. Read their reward in Revelation 20:4-6: 


Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.  But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.  Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.




After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened, and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, clothed in linen, clean and bright, and girded around their chests with golden sashes. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.  Revelation 15:5-8

A pretty solemn moment...the instruments of God's wrath are distributed here.  Each angel will perform his assigned task.  The temple of the tabernacle...the holy of holies opens...these judgments come from God Himself.  There is so much of the OT here....I liked reading about it in John MacArthur's book:  Because the Time is Near, here is an excerpt:

"This Greek word for “bowls” refers to shallow saucers. The imagery is not that of a stream being poured gradually out of a pitcher, but of the whole contents of the shallow saucers being hurled down in an instant flood of judgment. Bowls were part of the temple furnishings (1 Kings 7:50; Zechariah 14:20) and were associated with the sacrifices (Exodus 27:3; 38:3). Those who refuse to drink the cup of salvation (Psalm 116:13) will be drowned in the judgments poured from the bowls of wrath. Because God lives forever and ever.  He has the power to put an end to sin, so that it cannot exist again forever in His holy presence. Out of the heavenly temple came not only the angels, but also smoke symbolizing the glory of God and His power. Smoke, an emblem of majesty (Exodus 19:16–18), also symbolized God’s glorious presence in the Old Testament tabernacle or temple (Exodus 40:34–35; 1 Kings 8:10–11; Isaiah 6:1–4). This smoke also symbolizes God’s wrath. No one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues were finished. The glory cloud will remain in the heavenly temple until the earth is completely purged and prepared for the King and His kingdom."


Chapter 16 brings the final judgment...the end is coming and the Son of Man will be returning to the earth to establish His Kingdom.  

Notes on Revelation 14

And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:  And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.--Revelation 14:1-3

Wow...what did John see?  He saw the Lamb of God on Mount Zion that is prophesied and pictured in Psalm 2.  His appearance is awe-inspiring...Jesus poised to take possession of the earth.

Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.  Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.  Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.  Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.--Psalm 2:6-12

The Lamb appears with the 144,000 who have the name of the God sealed on their foreheads.  These are the servants of God that were sealed...12,000 from each of the tribes of the children of Israel.  Unbelievers have the mark of the beast but these have the mark of God.  They are protected as they preach and do His will.   These men enter the millennial kingdom alive.  Here they can be heard singing the song of redemption.  The voice of God is said here to have a musical sound...i love that!  Harps in the bible symbolize joy...heaven sings...Jesus is triumphant!

These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.--Revelation 14:4-5

We get a little more information here about the 144,000, who truly will  shine as lights in the world during its darkest time.  They will not be defiled with women.  They are devoted followers of the Lamb.   They are the first fruits unto God and therefore separated completely to do His will.  In their mouth is no guile.  They speak the truth of God.  They are blameless before Him.  They are not sinless but their lives are godly examples to all...lights among a crooked and perverse generation.

Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.--Daniel 6:4

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.  And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.--Revelation 14:6-11

The first angel preaches the Gospel to those who dwell on the earth, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.  Our God's mercy, grace and love toward His creatures truly reaches into the heavenlies.

I love what John MacArthur says about the various ways the gospel is described in Scripture:

"Like a multifaceted jewel, Scripture describes the gospel in various terms, each looking at it from a different viewpoint, including the gospel of the kingdom, the gospel of God, the gospel of the grace of God, the gospel of the glory of Christ, and the gospel of salvation (Matthew 4:23; Mark 1:14; Acts 20:24; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesisans 1:13). Here it is described as “eternal” because it provides the means to eternal life."

The next angel sadly pronounces judgment....an indication that the message of the first angel was mostly rejected.  

The third angel promises damnation.  The bible tells us we are without excuse when we reject the word of God.  (Romans 1:20-21) The fate of those who reject the message of God is absolutely horrifying.

The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Forever and ever is a long time...

Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.--Revelation 14:12-13

The perseverance of the saints...Those whom God has justified will never lose their faith.  They will keep His commandments and keep the faith come what may...even when facing the loss of their lives.   They will maintain their testimony to the end...no group in history will face face more intense persecution and no group in history will manifest the character of saving faith more than the tribulation believers.  Our faith is from God.  As such it is supernatural.  The kind of faith that endures to the end is from God.  Believers are kept by the power of God.  He is able to save to the uttermost and lives to make intercession for us.  Jesus is speaking in John 10:28-29:

My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

True saving faith from God endures...I am so encouraged when I read the many verses in the Scripture that tell me over and over again that it is not up to me...If my confession was sincere, I cannot do anything to lose my salvation. 

Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord!  You do not hear blessed are the dead often but believers who live out the the reality of their faith trusting in Jesus for it all die with the promise of eternal life.   Their suffering ends and they rest from their labors...their deeds follow them.  

For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.--Hebrews 6:10

And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.  And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.  --Revelation 14:14-16

Read that very last verse again...and the earth was reaped.  Divine judgment executed.  Pretty sobering thought.  These final judgments are detailed in Chapter 16.

Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.  And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.--Revelation 14:17-20

The execution of final judgment is in view here.  The grain harvest  (14-16) and the grape harvest (17-20)  The grain harvest symbolizes the seven bowl judgements and the grape harvest, Armageddon.  The imagery used is pretty dramatic and very sobering.  In fact the word for ripe in verse 15 means to be withered...to become dry.  The grain here has passed the point of usefulness and fit only as it says in Matthew 13 to be burned.  

The word ripe in 18 means to flourish or come to maturity.  The ungodly people of the earth are literally "bursting with the juice of wickedness and ready for the harvest of righteousness.

This angel does not come from the throne of God but from the altar where the saints of God are...the ones who have been beheaded because of their belief.  This pictures their prayers being answered. When the angels swings his sickle to the earth, all the enemies of God who have up to this point survived the other judgments will be annilhated.  I will end with a quote from John MacArthur's description of the Battle of Armageddon from his book, Because the Time is Near, that is so worth reading:

They "will be gathered like grape clusters from the vine of the earth and flung into the great wine press of the wrath of God. A winepress consisted of two stone basins connected by a trough. Grapes would be trampled in the upper basin, and the juice would collect in the lower one. The splattering of the juice as the grapes are stomped vividly pictures the splattered blood of those who will be destroyed (cf. Isaiah 63:3; Lamentation 1:15; Joel 3:13). 

The staggering, horrifying bloodbath of the battle of Armageddon will be so widespread that blood will come out from the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles. “The winepress [will be] trodden outside the city,” as the Lord protects Jerusalem from the carnage of the battle of Armageddon (cf. 11:2; Daniel 11:45; Zechariah 14:1–4). There will be millions of people engaged in the battle of Armageddon, as all the nations gather together to fight against Christ. Still, it is difficult to imagine that they could produce a flow of blood “up to the horses’ bridles [about four feet deep] for a distance of two hundred miles” (literally “1,600 stadia”). A better interpretation, whether there are actual horses involved or not, sees this as hyperbole to suggest the slaughter in which blood will splatter into the air profusely along the whole length of the battle. When the slaughter reaches its peak, blood could flow deeply in troughs and streambeds. Armageddon, as this passage indicates, will actually be a slaughter rather than a battle. 

When the Lord Jesus Christ returns, Antichrist, the false prophet, and all their human and demonic forces will be immediately destroyed. Those who refuse to repent, even after repeated warnings, will learn firsthand the sobering truth that 

“it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). 

They would do well to heed admonition of Psalm 2: 

“Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!” "

Create In Me A Clean Heart

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.  Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.  Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.  Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.--Psalm 51:7-11

Father,

Thank You that as I walk in the light in fellowship with You and with others that the precious blood of Your Son,  Jesus, cleanses me from all my sin.  If I confess my sin, Lord, You are faithful and just to forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness.

Wash me, Lord, with the water of Your Word.  Allow it to root deeply in my heart and convict me of all unrighteousness.  Allow Your Word to transform me into Your image.  Allow it to set my heart aright and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Though my sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.  In Your precious Son, Father, I am made clean.

Please Father, do not hide your face from me.  Blot out all my iniquities.  For they have gone over my head and, like a heavy burden, are too heavy for me.  I am troubled and bowed down...feeble, sore and broken.  There is no rest in my soul because of my sin.

O how happy is the man to whom God does not impute iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit.  Lord, I acknowledge my sin and all my desire is before You.  My heart pants, my strength fails...the light is gone from my eyes.  I am sorry for my sin.

But You, O Lord, are my God who forgives!  I have trusted in Your mercy and my hope is in Your Word.  My heart rejoices in Your salvation.  I sing to You because You have dealt bountifully with me!  You have turned my mourning to dancing and have girded me with the gladness of Your salvation.  You have forgiven all my sins...You are always with me...even when I make my bed in the depths of the sea...even there You find me...Your right hand leads me and holds me fast.

You have created in me a clean heart.  In Your Son, Jesus, I am a new creature.  Old things have passed away and behold all things have been made new!  You God have reconciled me to Yourself by Your Son.  Only in Him am I found righteous!  In Him I am washed as white as snow.

I will praise You forever because You, God, are my Portion.  The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places.  You do not cast me out but cover me in the blood of Your Son.  You are my hiding place.  Under Your wing, I take shelter.  I am with You always.

What can I render to You, my God, for all Your benefits to me???   Like David, I have taken the cup of Your salvation. Upon Your name will I call.

Make me an ambassador for You, Father.  I want to tell the precious people of this world about You.  i want to teach them Your ways by Your Spirit working in my life.  I want them to be converted unto YOU!

When My Heart is Overwhelmed...

And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.  And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan! O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies!  For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?--Joshua 7:6-9


I can so relate to how Joshua is feeling here.   Rending clothes, tearing hair, beating the breast, throwing dust upon the head and falling prostrate in the Bible are all signs of deep affliction and distress.  Sometimes we just don't understand what God is doing....why something occurred or why the Lord "seemed" to help us one day and not the next.   But God whose ways are not our ways and whose thoughts are not our thoughts "did it" differently.  We complain against Him, question His motives, His abilities and even His Word.

This is where we find Joshua.  He seems to have completely forgotten all the mighty wonders the Lord has done in the last 40 plus years. He seems to have forgotten what the Lord said to Him in the very first chapter of this book:

Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.  Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, .... There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses,  so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.--Joshua 1:2-4


I am so like Joshua...it is easy for me to trust God when things are going the way I think they should go...but when things begin to go south and not make sense, I can sound just like Joshua does here....full of doubt and  overwhelmed by my circumstances.   The Israelites had just had a major victory at Jericho, but had to turn tail and run from the men in Ai.    The battle of Ai should have been an easy win.  Unfortunately, there was unconfessed sin in the camp of Israel.


Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.  Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.--Joshua 7:11-12

Israel's disobedience had grieved the Spirit of God, but Joshua, as their leader, had quenched the Spirit by not acknowledging the Lord in prayer before going into battle.  It is so easy when coming off a major spiritual victory to forget God and go in your own strength.  THAT is not what our God wants.  He wants us to depend on Him at all times.  Sadly for us, difficulties cause us to remember where our strength comes from more than the good times do.  God desire and goal for us as we journey through this life is for us to be conformed to His image...to become like Him and reflect His glory.

Feeling happy...bring it to Him.  Feeling helpless, fearful and overwhelmed....bring it to Him.  Bring it all to Him.   Fall at His feet and turn your heart upside down before Him.  Surrender to His Spirit. and acknowledge Him in all your ways.  Allow Him to be your Guide and direct your path always.


Father....When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I...

My Strength and My Song...

Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,
         For in You do I trust;
         Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
         For I lift up my soul to You. 

The only thing that will lift me up out of despair is to hear Your voice filled with lovingkindness.  Cause me to hear it!  You are the One that I trust in.  You are the One who lifts my burdens and brings me to hope.  You are the One who does not change and whose presence is always with me.  I belong to You....I am relying on You.  You are faithful...You will not disappoint one who is trusting You.

Lord, I am seeking you diligently and trusting you completely.  Cause me to know the way in which I should walk.  Enlighten my darkness Lord and enable me to see the perfect path You and You alone have laid out for me.  

My soul is heavy but as I lift it up to You, You bear me up on eagle's wings and renew my strength....then I will be able to run and not grow weary; walk and not grow faint.

Lord, You are the God of my circumstances.  Thank you for your presence in my life...thank you for the gift of Your Son.  You are my strength and my song.

The Waters Will Not Overflow Us...

Chapters 3 and 4 of the book of Joshua were some convicting chapters of Scripture for me.  What a reminder of God's sovereign care and love for His people.  What a reminder to me who, like the Israelites, often needs memorial stones to remember the wonderful things God has done and still does in my life.  God wants us to set up these memorials.  He wants us to rejoice in Him always.  He wants us to do this not just for us either...but for the generation that will come after us.

He desires us to talk to our children about the marvelous things He has done in our lives.  He wants us to show them how the Lord blessed the teeny tiny steps of faith we took....He wants them also to know that when we took these teeny tiny steps of faith and got our feet wet in the waters of the Jordan...THE WATERS DID NOT overflow us AND that throughout it all OUR GOD WAS WITH US.  He wants them to know that it was not anything we did, but it was the Lord our God who did it all.  He was the One who performed all things for us and made all that concerned us perfect.

The Lord was with Joshua and He is with us. The Lord exalted Him in the sight of all in Israel and when we obey Him and wait on Him as Joshua did, He lifts us up.   I love that as their leader Joshua spoke words of faith to the people God had placed in his charge.  Read them now:

And Joshua said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you."--Joshua 4:5

Wow...what a great thing for your kids to go to bed hearing.  Take a shower, brush your teeth ...tomorrow the Lord is going to do wonders among us.  Be ready for it...look for it!

Too often my kids hear me grumble and complain.  Too often they hear a lack of thankfulness in both my words and my attitude.  How much better if  I magnified my Lord.  How much better if my words and my actions matched always with what I claim to believe.  The faith of all those around me would be strengthened.  God wants lives committed completely and utterly to Him...He desires living sacrifices that glorify Him in both word and deed.  He wants us to dwell on those things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report...He wants us to meditate on the praiseworthy.

As a believer, I can thank God in all things.  In trials I can remember that He works all together for good and that His goodness and mercy follow me wherever He leads.  In good times I can remember that also.    I can sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to those around me always, because my past has been forgiven.  My present is in Him who I can go boldly before to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  My future is secured in heaven.  Things may look pretty dark at times, but in reality, I am blessed in the heavenlies by a Father who holds all good things in His hand that is forever  stretched out in love toward me.

Praying that my kids today can look to my example and anticipate the wonderful things God can and will do in their lives also.

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God, the Father, through Him.--Colossians 3:17

Search Me and Know My Heart...

Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.--Psalm 51:5-6

Prayer to My Father in Heaven...

"Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?  It cannot be done." --Job 14:4

 I am made, Father, in the likeness of sinful, fallen man. For by one man's offense death has reigned but by one Man's obedience the free gift of righteousness and eternal life came to all men.   I was born in sin...You sent Your Son to die so I could be born again in the Spirit.  I rejoice, Father, in the gift of Your Son.

I walked in times past according to the lusts of my flesh..fulfilling its desires and was by nature a child of wrath.  But You, O God, You who are rich in mercy and who love me with so great a love even when I was dead in my trespasses and sins....You have quickened me and made me alive by Your grace.  I am bound for heaven!  Not because of anything I did but because of what You did at the cross at Calvary.  I am your workmanship.  I have nothing to boast about.  Whatever I am that is good is from You.  Whatever I do that is good comes from You.

You, Father, do no see me as man sees me.  Man looks at the outward...but You look at my heart.  You desire in me the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit.  This is what is great and precious in Your sight. This is what pleases You.

Examine me Father, try my innermost heart and soul.  These are the seat of all my desires and affections.  Try me and test me in the night seasons.    You give understanding to my heart...You make me to know wisdom.  You write Your law upon my heart.  Father, I want to worship You in Spirit and in truth.  I want nothing false in my life.  You God, are the God who sees.  Search me and know my heart.  Lead me in the way of righteousness...keep my feet from slipping and set me in a broad place.

I want to seek You with all of my heart.  I desire to please You, Father.  I pray that as I seek You and You search my heart that I will receive Your correction and my heart will be enlarged with Your goodness and grace.  My desire is to draw near to You....to humble myself before You and allow You to lift me up.

Hiding Nothing...

For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.  Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.--Psalm 51:3-4

Father,

I acknowledge...I admit...I say the same thing that you say about  my sin and my rebellion.  I am hiding nothing from You.  I lay it all out before You.  I declare my sin and I am sorry for it.  Deliver my soul, Father, from going into the pit. I want to see the light of life.  You promise in Your word that if I confess my sin and turn, You will show me mercy and will be faithful and just to forgive me my wrongdoing.  Let the fear of You be with me always...let me stand in awe of who You are.  Keep my heart soft and my conscience tender.  Keep my sin always before me...convict me...don't allow my heart to be seared nor my conscience hardened.

I am so grateful, Lord, that you are a God who shows mercy and feels compassion toward me.   I am so grateful that You "looked" for my repentance and desired only my good.  You pulled me up out of the miry clay and set me feet on a rock. Your kindness drew me close.   Your goodness overwhelmed me...it and it alone brought me to repentance.  When I turned, You ran to meet me with arms and heart wide open.  You delivered me from the power of darkness and conveyed me into the kingdom of Your light.  You showered me with Your love and gave me the best of everything.

Lord....You have forgiven me of much!  Praying that I will always have Your love and Your compassion and forgiveness for those You have placed in my life.  Praying that I realize and remember as David did that even though I wrong others with my sin, my ultimate offense, Father, is against You and Your holy law.  You alone, Lord, are righteous.  You, alone will judge the world.   Jesus, You are the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world for my sin.  It is against You and You alone that I have sinned.

Unrelenting Pictures of Jesus...The Scarlet Thread

I am reading through the book of Joshua and once again I am overwhelmed by the unrelenting pictures of Jesus I find on almost every page of the Bible. 



Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee.--Joshua 2:18


This is the scarlet cord that can be found throughout the Old and the New Testament that binds the entire bible together into one integrated message system and points us so beautifully to Jesus and His shed blood that saves.    Look for it..it is everywhere.


In Egypt at the Passover the blood of the lamb was placed on the doorposts and all who were inside that house were spared the death of the firstborn.  In Jericho, the spies were saved by a scarlet cord let down by Rahab, a harlot, who believed that the Israelite's God was the God of the Universe and the God that would save her and her family from certain death.  Everyone in Rahab's house was spared when Jericho was destroyed because of the scarlet cord she displayed by faith in her window.  Rahab, the harlot, can be found in the genealogy of Jesus Christ.  What a picture of God's grace!!!!


The Old Testament purification and cleansing rituals are replete with the use of cedar wood, scarlet wool and hyssop.  Wood brings to mind the cross.   Scarlet speaks of the shed blood of Jesus.  Hyssop is what was used to offer Jesus the sour wine on the cross as well as what the Israelites used to sprinkle the blood of the lamb on their doorposts.  


There are so many more and all are tied together by the word scarlet.  Read the following and be amazed.



Psalm 22:6  But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people. 


Psalm 22 is one of the greatest prophetic messianic psalms and gives a very graphic description of the crucifixion of our Lord. David wrote this psalm 1000 years before crucifixion became a Roman method of capital punishment. The very first verse of Psalm 22 in fact, was quoted by Jesus on the cross.  For this study I am looking at the word worm in verse 6.  The word is from the Hebrew word towla and in the Strongs it is listed as H8438.  There are many different kinds of worms but the word used here refers to a very particular kind of worm.  It is the scarlet or crimson worm.  In fact, wherever the bible speaks of the word scarlet, as in your sins may be as scarlet, they are referring to the color and shape of this particular worm.  Remember how the bible describes the cloak that they put on Jesus.

Matthew 27:28 And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. 
  
Read and be amazed at how Jesus truly is found on every page of the Bible.  

Here is part of the entry for how it is used in this particular psalm:

worm, scarlet stuff, crimson

a) worm - the female 'coccus ilicis'

b) scarlet stuff, crimson, scarlet

1) the dye made from the dried body of the female of the worm "coccus ilicis"

The following gives a better explanation...

"When the female of the scarlet worm species was ready to give birth to her young, she would attach her body to the trunk of a tree, fixing herself so firmly and permanently that she would never leave again. The eggs deposited beneath her body were thus protected until the larvae were hatched and able to enter their own life cycle. As the mother died, the crimson fluid stained her body and the surrounding wood. From the dead bodies of such female scarlet worms, the commercial scarlet dyes of antiquity were extracted."

What a picture this gives of Christ, dying on the tree, shedding his precious blood that he might 'bring many sons unto glory' (Hbr 2:10)! He died for us, that we might live through him! Psa 22:6 describes such a worm and gives us this picture of Christ. (cf. Isa 1:18)" (Henry Morris. Biblical Basis for Modern Science, Baker Book House, 1985, p. 73)

Pretty amazing...


God has provided a refuge for us in His Son.  Jesus is our place of safety.  Just as  Rahab and her family were spared from death and the Israelites from the death of their firstborn, so are we, when we abide in Him and are covered by His blood.  His presence in our hearts guarantees our safety.