God Creates the Earth
Welcome back to me :)
A quick note, this blog will be posted once a week on Mondays for the time being and maybe from here on out. I am in grad school and have taken on a heavy load for the next 4 months. The once a week schedule may stay in place, but I am just not sure and will listen to what God says and see how He directs my path. Now...on to Genesis.
In reading through Genesis 1, I am greeted with an introduction of God's creation of the planet earth. The wording used from the English Standard Version states that "God created the heavens and the earth." This does not mean that there are multiple heavens for us when we die, but it is in reference to what we call "outer space."
In verse 2, we read "The earth was without
form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the
Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." This means in God creating the earth and the heavens, He shaped them. Their shape has a purpose, it isn't just "random" nor is it just "evolution" apart from God. Think of how big the planet is. Well it is really small in comparison to Jupiter and Saturn. Think of all the seemingly insignificant animals and plants on the planet. God created them and has a purpose for them. Now, for Him to create us there had to be a connective purpose in that as well. Frogs need to eat flies to survive. Connection. Big fish eat smaller fish and plants to survive. Connection. We eat the animals and plants of this world to survive. Connection. It is all connected, not by chance, but because God made it that way.
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Worship God
In having read through the entire New Testament there are chapters and verses I have had to read multiple times to understand parts to help me further understand the whole. I had to read through Revelation 22 a couple times and then a section of the chapter jumped out at me. Revelation 22:8-9 is significant as it clarifies the worship of the source and not the messenger. John, the writer and seer of the visions summarizes his experiences with the angel who showed him these things and he began to worship the angel. To me, this is a natural response to someone has helped you and revealed things to you that you now hold dear. For instance, you may praise the teacher aide for helping you understand math when you both have had the same teacher. Or you praise Jesus or angels and scoff at God. John, was not scoffing at God, but he did worship the angel and bow at its feet. The angel corrected John and told him that the angel is a fellow servant with (not above) John and the fellow prophets. We can do the same and focus on the messenger and not the message or even the source of the message. We need to remain focused on praising and worshiping God and not idolizing the messenger.
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Alpha and the Omega
I have heard of the verse I will reference, but did not know the context before. It is important to know the context when giving. In Revelation 21:6, the vision starts and says it is done. These are the same words Jesus spoke on the cross (John 19:30). Then he says he is the Alpha and the Omega. These are not just some really cool words that sound cool. Alpha is the first letter in the Greek Alphabet and Omega is the last letter in the same alphabet. Jesus is the beginning and the end. All things are summed up in him. There no need for anymore or any less. And then he says that he will give a free drink to those who have thirst. That drink will come from the "spring of the water of life." This is obviously not physical thirst but a spiritual one. If there is a spiritual thirst, Jesus can help quench it.
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Book of Life
This vision starts off mentioning the great white throne which symbolizes significant, pure and royalty. That we know, through our readings as Jesus. The dead were standing before the throne as books were opened. One book was the Book of Life. As it was opened and read from, those whose names did not appear in the book of life were cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15), which we have come to understand as hell/hades. Being in the book of life would be a good thing then, wouldn't it? If you don't want to be in that book then the other option is the lake of fire. We must remember when people say "why would God do this to people" the response can be "why would people ignore the warnings and overlook the repercussions?" It may seem like a dismissive response, but like a loving parent who disciplines their child for disobedience, God also had discipline for disobedience. The big difference is, this is eternal, since we are all going to die anyway.
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The Rider on a White Horse
Revelation 19:11-16 reveals the rider on the white horse who was understand as Jesus. These verses describe the clothes he wears and that he was followed by the armies of heaven. There is something written on the robe on his thigh that reads "King of kings and Lord of lords." If you look at the word King and Lord the word are capitalized and singular. The other words kings and lords are lowercase and plural. That further solidifies that Jesus is the ONE and not one of. The plurality and lower cased lettering displays less significance in authority to the real King and Lord. No matter what nation you rule or army you lead, Jesus stands taller.
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Babylon Falls, Kings Weep
This a probably a different Babylon in this chapter than the one mentioned in Chapter 17. The Babylon in Chapter 18 has some characteristics that are not contained within the Babylon of Chapter 18, such as great city, port city (coastal), habitation, marketplace, guilty of greed and self-indulgence and destroyed by sudden act of God (Dave Guzik). In verse 9 we read "and the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning." That means the leaders (not all necessarily will be kings) who were connected to her and benefiting from her (power, greed, ungodly things) will lose the influence and power they had with Babylon as it will fall. As I stated in yesterday's post, the Lamb wins again.
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The Lamb Wins
I may have mentioned this before, but in reading through the Book of Revelation it is easy to fear the end of days with all of the visions that are reported through the writing. But, the visions are not necessarily to be taken as the images that are represented. So, when you read through chapter 17 and read of the prostitute and the beast and all of these different images, these more than likely are representations of ideas and events that have or have yet to take place. Regardless of the image and turmoil and tribulation, remember this as stated in Revelation 17:14 "They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful." Jesus wins in the end. The power of Jesus, bestowed unto him by God will prevail over evil. On a small scale, look at being loving and how that can change your heart from being hateful toward someone. Love like Jesus. Overcoming temptation through the power of Jesus and receiving the self-control can keep you away from bad decisions. The Lamb wins.
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They Never Repented
Seven angels had seven bowls and each of these bowls contains a wrath of God. People can say "God id this to us" but they overlook their actions that led to God's actions. people want to live in heaven now but do not want to do what is required of them by God to get there. God wants your obedience. God wants you to repent for sinful ways. Revelation 16:9 and Revelation 16:11 give specific incidences in these visions where no matter what wrath was being poured out by God's angels, people still could not and did not repent for their ways.
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Victory Over the Beast
Revelation 15:2 shows the hope we have when facing the beast. I know many fear the book of Revelation due to the tribulation on the earth during the time of these visions, but there is victory. In verse 2 it says "And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands." Granted the victory is not for everyone, but for those that could conquer the beast and its image and its number. Those are the tribulation martyrs? Meaning those are willing to die for the name of the Lord.
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The Messages of the Three Angels
Three angels were seen in this vision. The first angel spoke to all the nations and brought forth an eternal gospel and said "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water." The second angel said "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality." The third and final angel followed and gave warning not to have the mark of the beast or recipients will feel God's wrath. The take away from all three angels is that there is an eternal gospel, people need to flee sexual immorality and do not be fooled by the beast nor receive its mark.
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His Number is 666
Remember the red dragon that represents Satan from Chapter 12? Well, the dragon has an understudy so to speak. The understudy is to have ten horns, seven heads with physical characteristics like a leopard, lion and bear. This beast will worship the dragon (Revelation 13:1-3). The beast will also have authority for 42 months and will blaspheme (curse) God.
The second beast will have 2 horns and will speak like the dragon (Satan). It will have the same authority as the first beast and makes others worship the first beast. The "mark of the beast" will be obtained from this beast on the right hand or forehead. The beast's number is 666 (Revelation 13:11-18).
Once again, these are not literal beasts, but representations of evil. The number 666 could represent a false Christ (messiah) and also could represent a good man who turned evil, as it would be mocking Solomon who also made six hundred and sixty-six talents per year.
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The Woman and the Dragon
Revelation 12:1-6 reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend of min last year. He said he didn't read the Bible because there were people eating dragons or dragons eating people. He didn't have a reference as to what chapter or book, but just that people said that it was in the Bible and so he didn't believe it. He was missing the context and he was missing the symbolism. the woman represents Israel, the dragon is Satan and the man-child is Jesus. Jesus, after being born, was going to be eaten (tempted) by Satan, but instead Jesus went to God's throne in Heaven (did what was honorable to God). After Israel (through history) gave "birth" to Jesus he did what God wanted and fulfilled what he was to do rather than what was tempting and earthly.
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The 144,000
From my understanding, various groups have claimed that they are the 144,000 that is referred to in this chapter (Revelation 7:4-8). The 144,000 (according to Dave Guzik and his research) are not the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Mormons or any of that. Some points that he uses are not only from Revelation 7 (see above) but also Revelation 14 (verses 1, 4 and 5). Guzik concludes that it is best to see the 144,000 as "chosen Jewish people who "came to faith in Jesus." It would not make sense for other sects of Christianity to lay claim to be the 144,000 if their membership is over that number. That would mean that everyone over those 144,000 were not believers, which goes against scriptural teaching and understanding as far as what Jesus said.
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Seven Seals
Each seal from the scroll was revealed and in Revelation 6, it details what is seen as each seal is removed/broken. The first seal was broken and a rider on a white horse had a bow and a crown and was conquering. This image is not intended to be of Jesus but of someone satanic imitating Jesus. The second seal revealed a rider on a red horse who took peace from the earth so people would slay each other and this rider used a sword. The third rider was on a black horse and they brought famine or scarcity and inequity. The fourth was on a pale horse that brought famine and pestilence. The fifth seal revealed the martyrs who died for the word of God and were told to wait until there were more martyrs. The six seal (and final one for this chapter) is known as the tribulation period full on a great earthquake, a blood red moon and a black sun. During this time people will run and hide from "the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." The 7th seal will reveal Jesus, but that will come later.
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The Scroll and the Lamb
Through reading an interpretation of the scroll and the lamb (Revelation 5:1-10) serve as God's will (the scroll) and Jesus (the lamb). The scroll is written on the front and back, which was not typical, could also represent the old and new testaments of the Bible. The scroll being handed to the lamb could signify that Jesus is the only one who has it within him (and his death) to unlock what is God's will. Therefore, if you really want to know what God wants from you, go to Jesus. Read about him and understand how he lived and why he lived and then you will know, what God wants from you.
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Lukewarm Church
Once again Jesus says "He who has an ear, let him hear..." to the 3 other churches that were contained in Revelation 2. But to the Church in Laodicea he tells them that he recognizes what the other churches have done, but this church was neither hot or cold (Revelation 3:16). They were lukewarm. Hot would mean having heard the word and following through. Cold would be having ignored or not yet received the word and living as you were. Being lukewarm means you heard the word and believe it, but don't act like it. That didn't make Jesus very happy. Therefore, he wanted to spit them out of his mouth. Jesus doesn't us to ride the fence. It might even be more of an insult to hear the word and believe it and not act like it than to no believe the word.
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He Who Has an Ear
In Revelation 2, Jesus says "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." He says this 4 times in 4 separate letters to churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, and Thyatira. He would say this after letting each church know that he acknowledges the good they did and also points out what they need to address. But, since he said this after the other parts, it leaves the churches (leaders and congregation) with hope that if they are doing what Jesus says, then he has a reward for them. The reward is not how many on earth would deem worthy, but a reward worthy of those who understand the importance of following the instructions of Jesus. If it was important for the churches back then to follow what Jesus said, then the same should hold true for us as well.
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Take Ownership
Psalm 7:3-5. I have not fully read through the Book of Psalm yet, but this chapter jumped out to me in my head. I read the chapter until I came across something that would be interesting to write about. While reading, a few verses jumped out to me. I had to get some background on them so that I didn't misunderstand what was being said. Here, David is speaking to God. He says, "O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands, if I have repaid my friend with evil, or plundered my enemy without cause, let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it, and let him trample my life to the ground and lay my glory in the dust." David lets God know "if" I have done something wrong to his friend or done wrong to an enemy for no good reason, then he says let them overtake me and trample my life to the ground. I like that David even looks at himself saying "if I" where many of us would not. There is no "if I have done wrong" in many arguments, disagreements, and issues in our lives. It usually is finger pointing. When, not if, but when you go to God for your troubles, open up and give Him the chance to show you if you have done others wrong. Maybe the trouble that you are experiencing is due to something you have done, not everything everyone else has done. Be honest with yourself and allow yourself to take ownership for your own problems.
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With the Clouds
Revelation is not one of my favorite books. It can be read literally for its entirety, but I do not think that is the purpose and how it was intended to be written. I am not going to analyze every passage from Revelation, but I will pick something out from each chapter and write about it. For instance, the image of Jesus coming back to earth on a cloud or in clouds can be found in Revelation 1:7. It reads, " Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him." The word "clouds" here does mean an actual cloud as he ascended into Heaven with a cloud and he will descend from Heaven with the clouds (Acts 1:9-11). But the term "clouds" also has another meaning. It was used to describe the multitude of believers (Hebrews 12:1) and also to describe God's presence and glory (Exodus 13:21-22). My point is just because the Bible says it, doesn't mean that it means what you think it means. Do some research. Here is the source I use for clarification: https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/guz/revelation-1.html
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Protect Your Intake
I sometimes fall victim to my own ignorance. Yes, I can be ignorant, or at least forgetful. I like to listen to certain types of music and watch varied movies, but the root of what these songs and films represent is not what is holy and righteous. So, when I am listening to Ice Cube or watching a scary movie, what is that intake doing to my output? Do I start mimicking what I hear from Ice Cube? Do I start thinking that there is a really a boogeyman in my closet? What we watch and listen to (TV, music, movies) and who we surround ourselves with (friends, social circles) will help dictate how we think and how we communicate with others. Whether it is media or real people in front of us we know that bad company corrupts good morals (1 Corinthians 15:33). We are to make sure that those we are linked to are with us in our walk with Christ (2 Corinthians 6:14). We are responsible for what we watch, listen to and with whom we spend time. Make your decision wisely.
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