Revelation 16

It strikes me how similar these events are to the Plagues.  Water turning to blood, the sores, even the image of the frogs.  Eerily similar.

3 The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.

I think we know enough now about how reliant we are on our Oceans to know if this happened.....its all over.  

10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. 

This one caught my eye.  There isn't a gender reference here.....hmmm.  I did read a couple of other translations, and they said "his".  I find that interesting.  Perhaps the embodiment of evil takes no gender.

have a great weekend.

I will be out next week in Vegas.  I'm not even bringing my computer along, so I will pick Revelation back up on the 7th of Nov.

Revelation 15

short chapter...short take

No one was permitted to enter the Temple until the seven disasters of the Seven Angels were finished.

sounds a little like the temple in the OT, doesn't it?  Only the priests could enter.  Only the Levites had "inside the temple responsibility."   In the OT case, this was true until Jesus was crucified, and then all could enter.  Here, nobody is allowed in until all 7 disasters are complete.  Interesting.

tp

Revelation 14

20 They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia. 

I don't have much of a take from today.  I did scan through that site you sent from yesterday.  It always amazes me how much can be written in response or analysis of the bible.  So are people just making stuff up or is there that much more to the words of the bible than meets my eye?  sometimes I think yes, sometimes I think people just like to theorize.

I did find this note interesting--
 'There is only one valley in Israel that fits the mile description. It is the Jordan Valley, which extends from just north of the Sea of Galilee to Eilat at the Red Sea.'

I guess its because I find the connections of the bible to things that can be seen and measured today fascinating.

not much of a take--
knut

Revelation 13

18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man.[e] That number is 666.

More images and stories, they are very descriptive but I'm still not sure what is the message for us.  I guess one message is being certain that no person should want to be in the place where they are deceived and following the ways of the devil--or dragon.

I picked this verse because of 666.  It seems everyone probably knows 666 is a bad sign.  Imagine if everyone on earth that knows 666 had also read all the other chapters of the bible, how might the world be a different place?

knut

Revelation 12

11 11 They triumphed over him
    by the blood of the Lamb
    and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
    as to shrink from death.


There is so much imagery again in this chapter, more than I know what to do with or how to interpret.  Some like the dragon are obvious but others like the mother are not to me.  So I looked it up and its funny to read someone say the woman is the church, with confidence (which I thought were the lampstands).  Another says the woman represents the city of Jerusalem, again with confidence.  so who knows?

Regardless, I love verse 11 which has put Overcome in my head, a song I love and will ring through my head the rest of the day. We have over come by the blood of the Lamb and the words of our testimony...overcome....overcome!!  We have over....!!!

have a great day!
knut

Revelation 11

3-6 “Meanwhile, I’ll provide my two Witnesses. Dressed in sackcloth, they’ll prophesy for 1,260 days.

This number keeps coming up.  I guess it equates to 3.5 years.....isn't that the same amount of time that Jesus was teaching?  hmmm

11 “Then, after three and a half days, the Living Spirit of God will enter them—they’re on their feet!—and all those gloating spectators will be scared to death.”

Then this....again, 3 1/2.

Lots of scary stuff here.  I find myself wondering if what he saw was from the future, therefore he didn't really understand what he was looking at?  Maybe that's why there is so much descriptive craziness.  I don't know.  Wild chapters.

Revelation 10

He said, “Take it, then eat it. It will taste sweet like honey, but turn sour in your stomach.” I took the little book from the Angel’s hand and it was sweet honey in my mouth, but when I swallowed, my stomach curdled.

Weird, right?
I needed help with some of this.  

http://www.discoverrevelation.com/Rev_10.html

The "Little Book" that was seen in heaven in verse 2 has a similar mission as that given to Ezekiel 3 v.1-3 and Jeremiah 15 v.16. The prophetic Word, which is what the "Little Book" is, contains the "sweet" message of God's wonderful plan for mankind including the coming of Christ, the Millennium Kingdom, and Heaven, but it also contains the Judgment of God on sinners who do not repent and come to Him, and their ultimate consignment to hell.

Just the fact that it is opened tells us that it is to be revealed to those who will consume it. As believers, we are told to eat this book, just as John was told to eat it. This "little book", I believe, is the Word of God, the Bible.

The Bible (Word) is alive.  When we eat the Bible it gives us the strength to live victorious lives before Him. Jesus is in dominion over everything. He is our source of power. Studying the Bible is more important to our life than our daily bread.  Praise God, the Bible is of no private interpretation. God the Holy Spirit will teach each of us what the Bible is saying to us.

The planting of the feet on the sea and the earth (dry land) shows Christ's authority over the earth in its entirety, and the appropriation of His promised inheritance as Messiah.

Revelation 9

He unlocked the Well of the Abyss—smoke poured out of the Well, billows and billows of smoke, sun and air in blackout from smoke pouring out of the Well.

this imagery is incredible.  It makes me want to draw it.....from the side you see this jagged hole in the scorched, dry, rocky earth.  Smoke pours out in a huge cylindrical column up into the air.  The bottom portion of the pillar is painted orange from the whatever is below.  The air is hot and moist.  Everyone gasps at the sight!  Then the smoke slows down.....and there is quiet.  Then a noise starts.  Quietly at first.  You can't quite make out what it is.  Then it gets louder and louder.  The buzzing is deafening.  Then suddenly the column of smoke is exchanged for a column of locusts.  Flying in every direction.  As if they had been in a torturous prison, and had finally been released.  They look to destroy everything in their path.

WOW!  That is frightening!  The description of the locusts are really crazy!

tp

Revelation 8

8 When the Lamb ripped off the seventh seal, Heaven fell quiet— complete silence for about half an hour.

The reference to about a half hour seems strange to me.  God is timeless, I imagine Heaven to also be outside the bounds of time.  So a 30 min break must be like a millisecond in heaven.  

Beyond that you could pick any number of verses that describe a scary end for earth.  To be on earth as these portions of future history begin to unfold would likely be terrifying.  I'm thinking even believers will experience this part of the end of time since Jesus has not yet returned at this point in the process--right?

knut

Revelation 7

14-17 Then he told me, “These are those who come from the great tribulation, and they’ve washed their robes, scrubbed them clean in the blood of the Lamb. That’s why they’re standing before God’s Throne. 

There's something around clothing....and how our sin affects our clothes.  Remember in the garden when Adam and Eve sinned, that caused the first animals to be sacrificed to provide them with clothing.  Actually, God killed the animals, I think.  Now here we see a picture of a large group of people who's robes have been made clean by Jesus' sacrifice for us.  Because of that sacrifice, we can be in God's presence.  There's so much imagery here, it is almost overload for me.

tp

Revelation 6

16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us[f] from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!

So we have the different colored horses each with a special meaning probably beyond me, I remember this section now.  I'm not sure what to take away again from this chapter but I did think what a terrible time to be on the wrong side of Jesus when he comes back.  The wrath of the Lamb is not something anyone should want to suffer.

knut

Revelation 5

5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

More imagery.  I enjoy reading and trying to create these images in my mind but at the same time I have trouble finding meaning or something to learn.  I see the clear references to Jesus but am waiting for the teaching or insight to be gained from the message.

So we are fortunate we had Jesus who is the only one able to break the 7 seals to open the scrolls, but at the moment I don't know what is written on the scrolls and I don't honestly remember from previous Revelation reading if we will find out.  I'll wait and see.

knut

Revelation 4

2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.

So John transitions here from the voice like a trumpet that had been speaking to him in the previous chapters to being in the Spirit.  He gets a view of heaven like maybe no one else had previously been granted.  He paints a picture for us of the throne room of God.  This chapter must be right up your alley, for me I googled some images to help further my imagination something you probably are able to skip.

I have a feeling no matter how descriptive his words the actual image he was privileged to see exceeds what he could document.  Still he paints a pretty powerful picture of God in action on his throne.  That image is just as true today as it was when John wrote about it over 2,000 years ago. Seems like a long time to us, yet it is just a blink of the eye for God.

no real take today, just enjoyed trying to stretch my mind to get a glimpse of what a portion of heaven looks like.

look forward to your take.
knut

Revelation 3

3 “To the angel[a] of the church in Sardis write:...I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

First, I thought you made a insightful observation of how quick things had run a muck within the church.  They are living in the days near the resurrection yet the church is already becoming a mess.

Today I a see instruction for a church near the time of Jesus that remains an instruction over 2,000 years later.  As a church it is easy to put on a fake covering that looks like we have it all together or that we are truly doing the will of God.  But He knows our hearts, are we truly worshiping him and living for him or are we falling prey to the ways of the world we live in?  Its not to late for change, it says strengthen what remains and is about to die.  So we have an opportunity to remember what we had received, go back to those days when you first believed and the enthusiasm of a new found faith.  I'm wondering along in my thoughts without a clear objective to state.  I guess just be authentic in your faith and don't get caught up in human made rules and ways of doing church but be alive and truly worship the God of the entire universe, keeping the words of this book close to your heart.   enough of my rambling thoughts.

knut

Revelation 2

 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.


In out society it seems there are few who truly believe in God based on the actions that can be observed on the outside.   When polls are conducted in the US, a very high percentage of people say they believe in God.  In the end, it doesn't matter what I or anyone else says or does, God is able to search our hearts and minds and knows the truth.  Our eternity in heaven or hell is on the line based on what he finds,  Better have our hearts in the right place.

short and to the point today.
knut