Jesus taught that all scripture testifies about him so that in him we might have life (John 5v39-40). King David taught that it is only by living according to God's word that we're kept on the right path (Psalm 119v9). What then could be better than reading the entire Bible? Click the menu to read about the program, choose a month or Bible book - or just work through the blog posts day by day.
BEGIN WITH PRAYER
"Lord open my eyes and my heart."
Read
slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God,
thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for
you, your family, your church and the world.
Wisdom to chew on
The wife of nobel character...Proverbs 31:24
The wife of nobel character...Proverbs 31:24
Understanding to grow in
If you're doing this program in a year, today should be Christmas Day. And it's quite an appropriate reading. The woman is Israel, giving birth to Christ as prophesied in Psalm 2v9. But Satan and the angels (stars) who fell with him seek to devour him. Christ, however, ascends to heaven and the Jewish people end in a wilderness place for the three and a half years that mark the church age - the time of persecution (12v17). What follows implies that during Christ's ministry or at his ascension, the dragon and his angels were defeated, and are now overcome as God's people are cleansed by Christ's blood and stand firm in faith even to death. Nevertheless they do retain some power on earth for the time being. That comes to the fore in an evil trinity comprising the dragon (Satan), a beast that holds his power and imitates Christ's death and resurrection (anti-Christ individuals), and a second beast (false prophets who represent anti-Christs) that looked lamb-like but made people worship the first beast, which in turn made people worship the dragon! By this means, for the forty-two months (3.5 years) the world will be deceived and God's people opposed. They are therefore encouraged to "patient endurance and faithfulness." It is possible the beast of 13v1 referred to seven Caesar's who claimed divinity and did these things, but the reference to the entire church age implies the same things being represented in all all false religion and worldviews, because they further Satan's purposes. But, so that we don't despair, chapter 14 pictures the entire body of the redeemed (the symbolism of 144,000) secure with Christ and bearing the name of his Father. They belong to the Lord not Satan and have been marked by purity (the sense of v4-5). And with the declaration of judgment, we learn that Babylon and all who worship the beast are punished in hell, being reaped from the earth on the last day like a harvest. By contrast, those who die in Christ receive blessing and rest. In the light of the Jewish exile to Babylon six centuries earlier, Babylon is a symbol of all hostile and ungodly society, and especially the Rome of John's day. As you read note what expectation these verses give of life as a Christian.
If you're doing this program in a year, today should be Christmas Day. And it's quite an appropriate reading. The woman is Israel, giving birth to Christ as prophesied in Psalm 2v9. But Satan and the angels (stars) who fell with him seek to devour him. Christ, however, ascends to heaven and the Jewish people end in a wilderness place for the three and a half years that mark the church age - the time of persecution (12v17). What follows implies that during Christ's ministry or at his ascension, the dragon and his angels were defeated, and are now overcome as God's people are cleansed by Christ's blood and stand firm in faith even to death. Nevertheless they do retain some power on earth for the time being. That comes to the fore in an evil trinity comprising the dragon (Satan), a beast that holds his power and imitates Christ's death and resurrection (anti-Christ individuals), and a second beast (false prophets who represent anti-Christs) that looked lamb-like but made people worship the first beast, which in turn made people worship the dragon! By this means, for the forty-two months (3.5 years) the world will be deceived and God's people opposed. They are therefore encouraged to "patient endurance and faithfulness." It is possible the beast of 13v1 referred to seven Caesar's who claimed divinity and did these things, but the reference to the entire church age implies the same things being represented in all all false religion and worldviews, because they further Satan's purposes. But, so that we don't despair, chapter 14 pictures the entire body of the redeemed (the symbolism of 144,000) secure with Christ and bearing the name of his Father. They belong to the Lord not Satan and have been marked by purity (the sense of v4-5). And with the declaration of judgment, we learn that Babylon and all who worship the beast are punished in hell, being reaped from the earth on the last day like a harvest. By contrast, those who die in Christ receive blessing and rest. In the light of the Jewish exile to Babylon six centuries earlier, Babylon is a symbol of all hostile and ungodly society, and especially the Rome of John's day. As you read note what expectation these verses give of life as a Christian.
Finish this reading by pausing to ask yourself:
1) What’s the main thing it teaches me about God or his purposes in Christ? Then praise him for this.
2) What’s the main thing it teaches me about his will for me or the world? Then pray that home.
Devotion to offer up
You could read this aloud and perhaps as a springboard to further prayer.