Good morning group! Hope you all had a great weekend- and what a crazy weekend we had with the wind and the power outages. Others certainly had it worse and our thoughts go to the people of Kentucky and other places that were hit hard with tornadoes. I can't even begin to imagine how that must feel.
My Bible begins with "Then I saw another portent..." A portent (I think I defined this before but needed to look up again for myself!) is a sign or warning that something calamitous is about to happen. Oh no! Not again! Seven angels come with the final plagues of God. After this- God will have completed the work God has to do. The wrath of God will have completed an eternal purpose. This isn't God just blowing off steam and throwing things- this is God working out God's plan. Still doesn't sound like a God of love and peace! More about the angels in a short while.
John also sees a "sea of glass" (possibly meant to reflect the image of God) that had fires on it (to remind us of the fires of judgement). Fires, red in color, may also remind the Hebrew people of the Red Sea and the Exodus from Egypt- a delivery from bondage- the fires represent the delivery from bondage to sin. Those that had conquered the beast- although many were martyrs- they survived and are rewarded with eternal life. The tribulation is still progressing (we have more to go), so these are not the survivors of the tribulation- but those that have faith. These survivors have harps (as did the 24 elders in 5:8); they worship with music. The song they sing is known by two names: the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. One song that gives us a union between Law (Moses) and Love (Lamb), between the "Old" (Moses) and "New" (Jesus) Covenant. The song praises God's works, ways, worthiness, and worship. These martyrs are focused on God, the pronoun "you" comes up many times in this brief song.
The heavenly tabernacle John sees is based on Exodus 25:8-9; the tabernacle that God instructed Moses to make is based on a plan in heaven. The seven angels that John saw earlier are the same seven he tells us about now- they come directly from the tabernacle, directly from the place of God; they are working on authority from God. Each angel is given a bowl of judgement that will be poured out. They were probably more like saucers than bowls. This style of dish was used in sacrifices as the contents were easily poured out.
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| (gregsloop.com, "Seven Angels- Seven Plagues") |
The coming judgement cannot be stopped as God fills the tabernacle with smoke. The end of the earth as we know it is coming quickly.
Pastor Paul
Oh my - this seems never ending! God/Jesus tells us many many times in the NT that God will be vengeful if we do not live as we should or ask for forgiveness or believe in Him. We (especially as Methodists - sorry) tend to forget that - there was always the threat of judgement and with judgement - punishment. In reading this, I forget that this doesn't happen one after another, like it seems to happen in this Book. There are many years of judgement and proclamation (giving a chance for people to repent). When we are done with this, I think I will reread it and write down all that will happen and the timeline. But my Bible translation does say that this is the last of the seven plagues. Hopefully, the last of the torment.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine how John observed all of this and could still write it down.
Prayers for all the people (especially those in Kentucky) who have recently suffered and their families.
Jack I hope you are all healed.
Blessings
Thank you, Donna. I still have some black and blue marks under my eyes, but they are slowly going away. I get the stitches removed on Wednesday.
DeleteI agree with your comment- the Methodist church is about forgiveness and grace and we do forget the story of Revelation!
DeleteThis whole event lasts seven years (that's the common thought) and that much of this is happening simultaneously.
Yes- these are the last seven things to happen and then things begin to look up!
Thanks
This chapter is preparing us for the last of the final judgements. Not looking forward to reading the next chapter. So far the earth has been partly destroyed and many people have died. What will God's final judgement be What are the 7 plagues? We have had many times to repent and I fear now it is too late, only those that have already repented will have eternal life now?
ReplyDeletePrayers for all those affected by the tornadoes. So sad.
There isn't too much left of earth is there!
DeleteAnd you bring up a good point- people have had many opportunities to repent and ask for forgiveness, but they haven't!
Thanks
I am sure happy to see God’s wrath come to an end, but it doesn’t sound like we are there yet. In the first sidebar for this chapter, it explains that God is angry at “… those who reject Christ as Savoir and those who persecute believers.”
ReplyDeleteThe second sidebar deals with when God’s wrath will be completed. There are some who feel it was in the early days of the church. There are others who think that “… they represent judgments during the time between Christ’s first and second coming” (in other words: now), and still others who think that “… they are predictions of God’s wrath just prior to Christ’s return.” The second and third alternatives are quite nerve wracking, to say the least. I do not want to get caught in the middle of God’s wrath, but I know that none of us has any choice in the matter.
I am looking forward to the slaying of the beast.
These plagues and other bad things are directed at those that don't believe in Christ and those that persecute- so hopefully we would not be included!
ReplyDeleteThere have been several people through the years that look at Revelation and then also look at current world events and make conclusions that the judgement is happening now! Some days it may feel like it but I don't believe that!
Thanks