July 08, 2020, Psalms 118, Revelation 16
Psalms 118
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is
good,
his love endures forever.
Let Israel say;
His love endures forever.
Let the house of Aaron say;
His love endures forever.
Let those who fear the lord say;
His love endures forever.
( Salvation to the Jew first then the Gentile. Of course God loves everyone the same; however he calls the Jewish people the apple of his eye. Their ancestors walked with God.They have a history with God; and that history consist of his great love for them as well as times when he punished his people. However he is faithful to save them just as he promised. His actions is like a Father. Gentiles have salvation because the Jews sacrifice their lives for the gospel. God honors them and they are like his first fruits. When I think of us like children they are the first born, and we are the second born, and we are all born of the same Father. In some situations things may have a different order for example the bible says the older will serve the younger. Joseph was the youngest of his brothers as well as King David. As we read revelation those nations such as Babylon, and Egypt were groups that God used to punish Israel and later on those groups were destroyed. Israel was punished severely but he never destroyed them. Honestly when I think about slavery, I would not want to be a nation that enslaved anyone. Those enslaved refuse to walk with God and the slave owners did not know God. Both groups were lost and in need of God.)
As a slave the person was consider to be less than human. They were like animals that would suffer mistreatment and misfortune. It is meant to break a person.
On the other hand what manner of man wants to own a slave? Or be the force that breaks another human being down. Or treats someone like a dog? It is a very wicked person.
When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord;
he brought me into a spacious place.
The Lord is with me, I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?
The Lord is with me; he is my helper.
I look in triumph on my enemies.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in humans.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
All nations surrounded me on every side,
but in the name of the Lord I cut
them down.
They swarmed around me like bees,
but they were consumed as quickly
as burning thorns;
in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
I was pushed back and about to fall,
but the Lord helped me.
The Lord is my strength and my
defense;
he has become my salvation.
Shouts of joy and victory
resounded in the tents of the righteous;
The Lord's right hand has done
mighty things!
I will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
The Lord has chastened me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
(I am okay with sharing the fact that God has chasten me severely at times. Of course it is painful but you will live and not die.
I love God because he deals with us like a parent. I have been pressed but not crushed. I have been afflicted but not destroyed. It's amazing how God can handle us.
I like to think about it as we see experience physical growth in our bodies. For example a child grows into an adult (and in between the various stages there will be chastening because it is natural to be rebellious) if you have not had the opportunity for God to chasten you. It will come or there is a chance you may not belong to God. Maybe some will disagree with me but I think every born again Christian will be chastened. It is those crazy seasons when nothing make sense.
Parents......do a lot....
- We feed them so they can grow. They are a baby, Toddler, Kid, pre-teen, Teenager, and then Adult. The mind develops and that is what determines what stage they are in. If your mind cannot do certain things its because you are not full grown yet. However a grown adult has great thinking abilities and they can master situations and they need meat to fulfilled them because they are done growing but they need fulfillment. Meat is protein milk is design for growth and development. Eating meat doesn't make you grow it gives you energy. Teens are in between child and adult and they have bad attitudes so we have a Father who gives us all seasons of chastening that are painful but you will not die.
- A parent teaches their kids (Jesus has so many teachings and still today he teaches us personally through life)
- You love them (God will not let anything hurt us, and we will not hurt our own children.)
- somehow they need to learn to make good choices (chastening humbles us and we want to learn)
- As a parent you come up with good strategies! (you think of a way to get them to think higher) think better!
- Some parents have prodigal sons and daughters (They want to do what they want to do)
- Some parents have very hard headed children (It makes me think of the the seed that falls on stony ground and it cannot take root because its too hard)
- some of them listen right away (they yield good fruit; they have peace, and we all want to be this way but sometimes we just have to see if the stove is really hot)
- but it is natural that we have to chasten them sometimes it changes the mind, for us we learn a lot, we may even grow up.
Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter.
I will give thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.
The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.
Lord, save us!
Lord, grant us success!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless
you.
The Lord is God,
and he has made his light shine
on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal
procession
up to the horns of the altar.
You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God, and I will exalt
you.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath
Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, Go pour out the seven bowls of God's wrath on the earth.
The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly, festering sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.
The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.
The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say:
"You are just in these judgments,
O Holy one,
you who are and who were,
for they have shed the blood of your
holy people and your prophets,
and you have given them to drink
as they deserve.
And I heard the altar respond:
"Yes, Lord God Almighty,
true and just are your judgments.
The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and
the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God,
who had control over these plagues. but they refuse to repent and glorify him.
The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast,
and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in agony and cursed the God of Israel because of their pains and their sores, but they refuse to repent of what they had done.
The sixth angles poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for battle on the great day of God Almighty.
Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake
and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.
Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne saying, it is done! Then there came flashes of lightening, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earth quake. No earthquake like it has occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, fell on the people. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.
Smoke represents God's glory, symbol of power
The temple is filled with smoke.
It says no one could enter the temple.
Fire represents judgement or wrath, the tares will be cast into the fire.
Cursing God----the people with the mark of the beast curse God on account of the plague. They refuse to repent.
Armageddon ---the place of the end.
It is the prophesied location of a gathering of armies for a battle during the end times, variously interpreted as either a literal or a symbolic location. The term is also used in a generic sense to refer to any end of the world scenario.
Wrath-Injustice is happening all around us and I am not sure how God maintains his patience but the angels speak, and tell him, the seven bowls are justified.
What do you think?
God has poured out his wrath on the people who have the mark of the beast!
What can the beast do at this point?
What can the dragon do at this point?
The little power he exercised has been overthrown by God.
He cannot save those he has marked. He cannot save them from God's wrath. And honestly he used them for his agenda. He never loved them. So as God is dealing with the people and the people cursed God because they know he is angry with them. Of course the beast and dragon are going to draw all the kings out.
This is the End
From a human perspective do you think its sad that the world has to end like this?
When I think from a human perspective I am sadden. Our minds grasp things differently than our spirits. For example my mind says, why won't people repent. My spirit says we are enticed and we are seduced by spirits. Our flesh sometimes over rule our common sense. When the dragon and beast call forth the kings of the earth, out of their mouth flow evil spirits and that is what lures the kings to this place of destruction. Its also not so strange that evil spirits come out of their mouth.
New Testament
(Jesus Teachings)
It is what comes out of a man that defiles him!
Out of the heart comes murders, lies, and all manner of evil.
Out of the mouth of the beast...precedes impure spirits that look like frogs. But they are demon spirits that perform signs.
Out of the mouth of the dragon...precedes the same thing.
The unique thing about a frog is its ability to jump on you. It can leap pretty far. It says they do not have the nature of a frog but they look like frogs.
Have a great day!
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