Thoughts From the Bible

Revelation 6: 9- 11- “When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.  And they cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’ T hen a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.”   This fifth seal that is opened can easily be called “the cry of the martyrs”.  I s ee the human nature of the martyrs asking when their deaths will be avenged. God did not say the martyrs would not be avenged.  There would be a judgment coming.  We need to know there is a judgment coming for all of us.  God, in all His glory, sees the honor due to those martyred and give them unblemished wh ite robes.  We ...

Read Revelation 6: 3- 8 - This is the part of Revelation where the events of the world begin to become rough.  The opening of the three seals in these passages denote war, famine and death. Verse 8 says, “So I looked, and behold, a pale horse.  And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him.  And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.”   These are directed to those who do not recognize Jesus  as their own personal Savior .  I need to internalize at this point with what is written in Revelation how grand God actually is .  I need to realize I am seeing the Creator of the Universe beginning to bring His plan for me and for us to an everlasting point.

Read Revelation 6: 1- 2- When we read the Bible in its entirety, we get a picture of a world that is continual conflict.  People rebelled against God in the Old Testament.  The r eligious leaders felt threatened by Jesus Christ and worked to eliminate Him.  The disciples were pursued, and many were martyred.  In this chapter of Revelation, we begin to see the culmination of God’s plan for the world, God’s plan for us individually.  Jesus mounts a white horse and goes out to conquer, or to end the conflict.  W e need to internalize God’s overall plan for man and know He started all of this with the end in mind, knowing He would be conquering evil and then loving us in the whole process.   Revelation 6: 1-2, “Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, ‘Come and see.’ And I looked, and behold, a white horse, He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to Him, and...

Read Revelation 5: 13- 1 4 - “And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying, ‘Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever.’”   We are living in a time when inclusion is something that is important to some people and is discussed by many people.  I am taken back by the inclusion I read in the 13 th verse of this chapter.  This message from God says every creature will be praising Him.  It doesn’t matter who they are or where they are. They will all be praising God.   We need to work to make sure we are prepared for an event we can probably not be prepared to experience.  We can only imagine.