BibleTrekToday.com

Year: 2015

  • Jesus is coming soon!

    Scripture reading for December 31st:  Revelation 22

    God had promised that all who would read and heed what was written in this Revelation of Jesus Christ would receive a blessing!  (Revelation 1:3)  Why?  “The time is near!“  Right after this promise, John blessed Jesus, “To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood, and has mad us to be a kingdom and priest to serve His God and Father–to Him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.”  “Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the peoples of the earth will morn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.”  (Revelation 1:5-7)  He made a prophetic announcement of the soon return of Jesus Christ!  And Jesus responded to John’s blessing and announcement: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, Says the Lord God, “Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come, the Almighty.”  

    In the last chapter of Revelation, Jesus Christ again announces His soon and near return!  “Behold, I am coming soon!  Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book.”  (Revelation 22:7)  The promise of blessing is repeated again to those who will keep the words of the prophecy.  Jesus stresses His soon return to John and those who will read and heed through the ages to come.  Peter taught that God is not slow, but patient with us because He wants none to perish but all to come to repentance!  (2nd Peter 3:8-9)  His time is not the same as ours!

    “Behold, I am coming soon!  My reward is with Me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, The beginning and the End.  Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the Tree of Life and may go through the gates into the city.”  (Revelation 22:12-14)  Jesus will reward those who have their wedding garments made clean by faith in His blood!  Those who have remained in sin will be shut out!  (vs.15)  “Yes, I am coming soon!”  (Revelation 22:20)  “Amen, Come, Lord Jesus!”  

  • New Heavens, Earth and Jerusalem!

    Scripture reading for December 30th:  Revelation 21  

    “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her Husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them.  They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death, or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”  (Revelation 21:1-4)

    God had promised through Isaiah to bring a new heaven and new earth. (Isaiah 65:17-19, 25) 66:22)  This would come after the time of judgment after the millennial reign of Christ.  God’s kingdom would fully come.  God would dwell with His people as a husband with His Bride and fulfill the prophesy of “Emmanuel”, “God with us”!  He would comfort His people, wiping away their tears and removing their need to mourn!  The former things would not even be remembered, because God would make everything new!  The earth would not be subject to decay and the animal kingdom would live in harmony with mankind in peace known before only in the Garden of Eden before the fall!

    The new Jerusalem would be home of the Bride of Christ–Jerusalem would be made new and become a city of peace and joy with God in it’s center and it’s very light!  It would have streets of pure gold and would be adorned with jewels and 12 giant pearls as it’s gates!  “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”  (Revelation 21:27)  The kingdom would indeed be beyond what we, the saints, could hope for, think about or imagine!

  • Justice is served!

    Scripture reading for December 29th:  Revelation 20

    “And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain.  He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.  He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended.  After that, he must be set free for a short time.”  (Revelation 20:1-3)  The Abyss is the jail for Satan during the millennial reign.  The “jailer” is an angel with a special chain that is able to bind a spirit being!

    “I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge.  And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God.  They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”   (Revelation 20:4)  The faithful and martyred saints are rewarded with resurrection and the kingdom that was promised them!  They rule with Christ for a thousand years!

    Satan is released for a short time and a final battle after the thousand years.  Fire comes from heaven and devours those opposing Jesus!  “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and false prophet had been thrown.  They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”  (Revelation 20:10)  God is just and true in all His judgments!

    Finally, the wicked dead are raised to life and stand before the great white throne with Jesus seated on it.  Books are opened and the Book of Life is checked.  Each person is judged for their deeds as recorded in God’s perfect books.  None written in the Book of Life will be judged here.  “Then Death and Hades were thrown into the Lake of Fire.”  Revelation 20:14)  The final and eternal sentence is passed on those who have died in their sins!  This is a warning!

  • Hallelujah!

    Scripture reading for December 28th:  Revelation 19

    During the Christmas season, I love to listen to the classic “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s “Messiah”.  This famous piece of classical music is take from the 19th chapter of Revelation.  This is the only passage in the New Testament where the Hebrew word “Hallelujah” (Praise the Lord) is used, and four times!   It is used by angels, but here mainly by the redeemed saints of Heaven as they witness the final destruction of Babylon!

    “And I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting, “Hallelujah!  Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are His judgments.  He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries.  He has avenged on her the blood of His servants.””  “And again they shouted:  “Hallelujah!  The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”  The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne and they cried, “Amen, Hallelujah!”(Revelation 19:1-4)

    John heard loud shouting from a great multitude in heaven!  This “Pentecostal” style of worship came from saints seeing justice done on their behalf!  They were celebrating God’s vengeance on the evil world system that had persecuted and killed them.  The smoke of their torment will go up for ever and ever!  Even the elders and four living creatures worshiped God with loud cries!

    John then heard the multitude shout once again, “Hallelujah!  For our Lord God Almighty reigns.  Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory!  For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready.”. . .   .”Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.”    (Revelation 19:6-7, 9)

  • Good Tidings of Great Joy!

    Scripture reading for December 25th:  Luke 2:8-14

    “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified!  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you;  You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”  Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.””  (Luke 2:8-14)

    To the humble shepherds, an angel of the Lord appeared in radiant and blinding glory.  They were tending their flocks, protecting them from the predators of the night and the sight was terrifying!  The angel reassured them with one of the 365 “fear not’s” of the Scriptures.  His message was “good news of great joy” for all people of the earth, Jew and Gentile!  (Luke 2:29-32)  This “Good News” was that a Savior, Christ the Lord,  had been born in the town of David–Bethlehem!  This fulfilled what was spoken by Micah the prophet! (Micah 5:2)  These shepherds were told they would find this child wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

    A great company of heavenly hosts (angelic beings) appeared with the angel of the Lord to these shepherds.  They were praising God and giving glory to God in the highest heaven and proclaiming peace on earth to all men who would believe and receive the “Good News”!  Today is still a time of God’s favor and His peace is available to all who will repent of their sins and receive Jesus Christ as Lord!  This Good News is for you and all men today!

  • Mystery Babylon–gone in one hour!

    Scripture reading for December 24th:  Revelation 18

    “After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven.  He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated  by his splendor.  With a mighty voice he shouted:  “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!  She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird.  For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries.  The kings of the earth committed adultery with her and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”  (Revelation 18:1-3)

    John again saw a mighty angel announcing with a loud shout the fall of Babylon the Great.  Babylon the Great is pictured here as full of demons and evil spirits.  This city or corrupted system powered by the beast has been the source of pollution and drunkenness of all the nations and their kings.  Babylon is a business system that trades in valuable commodities:  Gold, silver, precious stones, fine cloth and the bodies and souls of men!  Getting money and riches has become idolatry for those involved.  God has decreed that He would judge Babylon and bring her down and it would take place in just one hour!  (Revelation 18:10, 17, 19)

    “Then I heard another voice from heaven say:  “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.””  (Revelation 18:4-6)  God again warns His people to come out of that wicked world system that is ripe for His wrath.  That system is seductive and participation in it’s sins will bring God’s wrath.  As the people of Babel built a tower up to heaven, so in the end times, the sins of the people in corrupt Babylon the Great have piled up to heaven!  God must judge because in her is found the blood of prophets and saints and the slain of the earth!  (Revelation 18:24)

  • The end of the great Prostitute!

    Scripture reading for December 23rd:  Revelation 17

    Adultery and idolatry go hand in hand in the Bible.  Sexual promiscuity was always a practice of those who worshiped other gods.  God, the Creator, had so designed sexual nature to be used in a monogamous relationship between a man and a woman, faithful to each other for life.   He also longed for a faithful covenant people that would worship Him alone as His Bride!  In rebellion, man violated the covenant by disobeying God’s commandments against idolatry and adultery!

    “One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.  With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”  Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert.  There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.”  (Revelation 17:1-3)

    This ‘great prostitute’ is a corrupt world system that sits upon the waters of the earth.  Revelation 17:15 describes the waters as peoples, nations, and languages.  This ‘great prostitute’ was revealed to John by the Spirit as riding on a great scarlet beast with seven heads and ten horns.  She was dressed in stunning clothes and jewels and held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things.  This woman was drunk with the blood of the saints who had born the testimony of Jesus!  This corrupt world system of the prostitute had corrupted all the kings of the earth and the remaining people of earth.  This ‘adultery’ had made them and the peoples of the earth spiritually dull and drunk!  In the end, God will fulfill His promise to completely destroy Babylon and reduce it to nothing!  (Isaiah 21:8, Revelation 14:8, 16:19)  God is merciful to His faithful ones, but His justice must punish Satan and the wicked who refuse His grace!

     

     

     

  • Blessed is He who stays Awake!

    Scripture reading for December 22nd:  Revelation 16

    In quick succession, the seven angels with the seven last plagues pour out the bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.   These plagues bring to remembrance the plagues that God brought through Moses upon Pharaoh’s kingdom.  Sores broke out on the people with the beast’s mark and the sea turned to blood, killing all living creatures.  The rivers and springs became blood as well.  “Then I heard an angel in charge of the waters say:  “You are just in these judgments, You who are and Who were, the Holy One, because You have so judged; for they have shed the blood of Your saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”  (Revelation 16:5-6)  Surely God is just and true in His judgments!  (Revelation 15:3)

    The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and gave it scorching power and the fifth poured his bowl on the throne of the beast and turned his kingdom into darkness.  The sixth angel poured his bowl on the Euphrates River and dried up it’s waters.  Evil spirits came out of the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet and they sent spirits of demons to draw the kings of the whole world to gather them for the final battle on the “great Day of God Almighty.”  (See Joel 3:1-3,9-16)  In spite of these judgment, the people of the earth curse God and blaspheme His Name!  Sin is surely deceptive!

    “Behold, I come like a thief!  Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.”  (Revelation 16:15)  The words of Jesus bring encouragement to His people to stay awake!  This will happen suddenly and only those ready will make it!  (See Matthew 24:42-44, 25:1-13)

  • The seven bowls of God’s wrath!

    Scripture reading for December 21st:  Revelation 15

    After God warned the entire earth through the three angelic messengers, John saw another marvelous sign in heaven: “seven angels with the seven last plagues–last, because with them God’s wrath is completed.  And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name.  They held harps given them by God and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb:  “Great and marvelous are Your deeds, Lord God Almighty.  Just and true are Your ways, King of the ages.  Who will not fear You, O Lord, and bring glory to Your Name?  For You alone are holy.  All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”  (Revelation 15:1-4)

    The redeemed sing and play their harps as the seven angels with the last plagues stand ready.  Their song is an ancient song of Moses and the people of Israel as they experienced God’s grace in deliverance through His plagues and judgments on Egypt. (See Exodus 15:11-18)  God’s judgments are righteous acts, for He alone is just and true and holy!  God is to be feared–revered because of who He is!  All nations will worship before Him–for He alone is worthy!

    “After this I looked and in heaven the temple, that is the tabernacle of the Testimony, was opened.  Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues.  . . .and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.”  (Revelation 15:5-6, 8)

  • Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord!

    Scripture reading for December 18th:  Revelation 14

    God is merciful and full of compassion for all He has made.  He does nothing by judgment unless he warns the people created in His image.  In this chapter we find God sending angels to proclaim the “eternal gospel” to all who live on the earth.   The first angel proclaimed, “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come.  Worship Him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”  (Revelation 14:7)  God called out to all men to honor and worship Him.  He identified Himself as the Creator of the heavens and earth!  A key belief of our day is evolution–a denial of a God who created and the substitution of time and chance for Him.  Men will do anything to deny God so that they may do as they please.

    The third angel John saw announced: “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of His wrath.  He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.  The smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever.  There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast  and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name.”  (Revelation 14:9-11)  God clearly warns those on earth of the eternal punishment coming to those who worship the beast or receive his mark.  This punishment involves smoke, burning sulfur, and complete lack of rest day or night–forever!

    “Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write:  Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”  “Yes, says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds follow them.””  (Revelation 14:13)  John was told specifically to write this statement of blessedness!  Those who die in Christ rest and will surely be blessed and rewarded!