Thoughts From the Bible

Read Mark 13: 12- 23-   Jesus is teaching the disciples and us about the Tribulation at the end of  the age. He is  describing   very difficult   times,  and he also includes a message we all need to tuck away in the back of our minds. In verses 22 and 23, Jesus says,  “ For false  christs  and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. (23) but take heed; see I have told you all things beforehand. ”   This is where we can lean on the love and power of the Holy Spirit in those times to reveal  the truth to us.  We will know with complete assurance w hen  Jesus Christ returns but the Holy Spirit  will be with us through any ordeal and we can depend on that manner of God’s love for us.  I know I need to depend on the Holy Spirit for guidance and revealing to me where the truth lies in this life and how I should follow His guidance.    Proverbs 10: 23 -...

Read Revelation 22: 1- 5- During the Tribulation, Satan will be pushing to terrify people into following him and ruining a ny chances of them to leave forever with God.  Satan will be requiring people to take his mark, a form of the number 666, and this will denote his ownership of these people.   See what is written in verses 4 and 5 , “They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.  And night will be no more.  They will need no light or lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” God will show His place in the hearts of His followers with His name on our foreheads. We have spoken of the glory of God serving to light the world but to know the God of the universe considers us His own children is a thought we should carry with us each day.  Again, His love for us is shown daily.

Revelation 20: 4- 6- “Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed.  Also, I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.  The rest o f the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended .   This is the first r esurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with Him for a thousand years.”   As Satan reigns in the Tribulation period, it will take great courage for those to deny him and be committed to God.  God’s plan rewards those courageous people by giving them a special place in His Kingdom. God’s great plan for the peo...

Read Revelation 18: 1- 24- I do not usually take a long passage because I typically prefer to look at smaller passages of scripture and really dwell on what it says while not losing its context with the greater whole of the chapter or the book itself.  This chapter is somewhat different because there is a healthy amount of description of the destruction that awaits Babylon.  Some believe this will be in Iraq.  Some have t alked about this being New York City.  If you look at this as a literal city, it could be possible.  If one looks at this as a government rather than a city, it could be wherever Satan has established a stronghold in the final days.   What doe s matter is what is announced at the very beginning of the chapter, “After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory.  And he called out with a mighty voice, ‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dw...

Revelation 17:1 5 -18- And the angel said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is sealed, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages .  And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, for God has put it into their hearts to carry out His purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.   And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.” Sometimes God’s plan seems to be complicated.  Why would He allow all this evil to persist in the world? Why would God allow Satan to preside over the last days of the world as we know it with such vile and evil actions? I believe God has put a plan into place that allow s man to decide who they will follow.  We have all had a chance to make that choice.   God has revealed to us...

Read Revelation 18:7- 14 -   Many people have studied Revelation, and we have been told we will be blessed if we study Revelation. There is much symbolism in Revelation and many theologians have worked to make Revelation clearer.  Some things are clear. It is an epic confrontation between Satan and those who decide to worship him and the God of the universe. Things still boil down to whether we accept Jesus Christ as Savior or not. People will need to work to not be deceived by Satan.  In verse 8, “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction.  And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written i n the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.” It is interesting how people will continue to give Satan a voic e because the end is know n .  Verse 14 tells us, “They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conqu...

Read Revelation 17: 7- 14 God revealed to John how there will be leaders of the world who will be all in for what Satan has for them in the final days. Many believe we are living in the final days so we should be very aware of the leaders in our society and what they believe.  We need to be sensitive to the subtle ways Satan will work to control society and those leaders who make social and political policies so we will not be deceived through his tricks.   Verses 13 and 14 say, “These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast.  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 chosen and faithful.” Try as he might, deceive as he might, Satan will not win this battle with God. W e want to be among those who are called “chosen and faithful.”

Read Revelation 16: 1-21 - I found it hard to divide this chapter into smaller parts.  The pouring of the bowls on the face of the earth are so dramatic it is hard to simply separate them.   John writes people suffering from these judgments will not acknowledge their sins.  How great is their deception? The hand of God resting on all the earth and people still do not ac knowledge their sins against God.  God saw fit to warn us all through the entire book of Revelation so we can be prepared and prepare our hearts for Him.   Then John writes in verse 15, “Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed.” God would that every one come to Him, but He has given man a free will and He knows not all will accept Him.  As Christians, we must keep our hearts and minds focused on God and His goodness.  The reward is great.  

Revelation 14:2- 5- “...and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders.  No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.  It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins.  It is these who follow the Lamb wherever He goes.  These have been redeemed from mankind as firsfruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.” This passage talks of only positive things.  In a time of such upheaval and evil, Jesus has returned and the 144,000 with Him, singing a song that only they could sing.  This 144,000 have been specially redeemed and preserved by God in the Tribulation and now have special status with Jesus as they praise and worship Him.  They stayed true to the foundations of Christ in their lives and were obsessed, if you will, with Jesus and His principles and His ways even in the ...

Revelation 14: 1- Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads.” Take a minute to stop and imagine this site.  The world is in chaos.  People live in fear and are trying to make sense of their lives and then this happens.   This is something that has never, ever been seen before. God Almighty, Jesus Christ appears in the heavens with the ultimate multitude. He stands for all to se e on Mount Zion and His followers have His name on their foreheads, not 666. The media will not have time to freak out over this event.  They will be in shock just like everyone else in the world.   Once their human bodies have had a chance to really assimilate what is happening, they will realize their time is done and they will know the impact of their decisions to follow Satan, the Anti-Christ, and the False Prophet.   Jesus Christ’s day of ultimate victory will b...

Read Revelation 13:11- 15- During this time in the tribulation, people will be living in fear.  Satan will be counterfeiting the power of God but doing it through terror.   Revelation 13:15 says, “The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed.” This is a lesson for Christians and for people who have not decided to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.  There is no time to wait.  No one wants to live through a time of such fear and u ltimate destruction.  We need to take the scriptures and read them thoroughly and know Jesus Christ offers people, those who He created, the only life of pea ce and joy.  We can see that now and know this period of humanity noted in this passage will be something Christians will not see.