Today, I am reading and commenting on  Revelation 9-12.

One thing I want to note about the Book of Revelation: it reads like an account of a dream.  The best way I can describe what I mean is by giving an example from dreams I have had.  I have had dreams which took place in the house I grew up in with people who would have been in that house while I was growing up, then I go through a door into a room that was never in that house and the people who were with me are now different people, and yet the same.  There appear to be scene shifts in John’s vision which involve real world events which are only connected in terms of God’s plans, not anything we can see without revelation from God (and I wonder if some of the events described in this vision take part solely in the spiritual realm with no connection to real world events we can recognize).  With that introduction I will start writing about today’s passage.  John describes smoke which rose from the earth after a star fell from the sky.  Out of the smoke came locusts which had the power to inflict pain in the manner of scorpions.  These locusts will inflict torment on those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. The star fell from the sky after the blowing of the fifth trumpet.  After the five months of torment, the sixth trumpet will sound.  When the sixth trumpet sounds four angels will lead mounted troops throughout the earth to slay a third of mankind with fire, smoke, and sulfur.  Reading that I can make no connection to what that would look like in physical world events.  I wondered if the seal of God on the forehead would have a physical manifestation which could be seen, or if it will be purely figurative?  Which leads me to ask, to what degree are the rest of the things described in this part of John'[s vision figurative and to what degree will they have physical manifestations which we can connect to what he describes?

I am going to skip to the end of today’s passage to a scene which most clearly illustrates that dream-like jump in focus I referred to at the beginning of today’s blog.  In the account of the woman and the great dragon, the dragon waits in an attempt to devour the woman’s child, but is thwarted when the child was snatched up to God.  The dragon is the devil, or Satan, while the child is Jesus.  John makes it clear that from the moment of His birth, Satan sought to destroy Jesus, but failed.  The woman is the Jewish people collectively.    The dragon pursued the woman, but she flew to a safe place which had been prepared for her.  I cannot help but think that the safe place described is the modern state of Israel (but it may be something much more figurative).  Unable to destroy the woman, the dragon turned its attention to her other offspring, those who follow Jesus.  So, Satan, the devil, has sought to destroy the Jewish people, and seeks to destroy those who follow Jesus.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Revelation 4-8.

When I read this passage, I always feel like I should write something about the opening scene of John’s vision…OK, now I have something to write.  Chapter 4 is not exactly the opening scene, but in some ways everything which comes before this is like the credits portion at the beginning of a movie, or maybe like a “short” before the movie begins.  Chapter 4 sets the mood/stage for the rest of this letter.  Then we get to the scroll being presented.  I am not quite sure of the symbolism, but it seems to me to present the idea that the scroll remained sealed throughout history until after Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Then things changed and the scroll could be unsealed, by Jesus.  The change was not just that the scroll could be opened, the “ceremony” taking place in Heaven before God’s throne changed as well.  This is one of those things which I have trouble fully working my head around because I also believe that the place described here exists outside of time.

Next we come to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  I am sure I have written this before, but the Four Horsemen do not ride out together.  Instead, they ride out one at a time.  I am not sure how we are intended to understand this, but here is what I see.  First, a conqueror rides out, intent on conquest.  We are not given any idea how much of the world he conquers.  He is followed by war and violence.  A quick look at history reveals to us that war all over the world follows a conqueror, whether it results immediately after the conqueror rise up, or after the conqueror dies and war breaks out to fill the vacuum left behind.  The nest Rider is Famine, which always follows war.  Interestingly, John’s description of Famine speaks of inflation as part of it (he mentions the high price of grain).  The final Rider is Death, which comes by way of violence, starvation, and disease.  Again, those are all things which follow after what comes before.  What I am unsure of about this passage is whether the Four Riders represent a singular time above and beyond what we see repeated throughout history, or just a reflection of how these things work.

I want to highlight that the Book of Revelation emphasizes that we should recognize that when times look dark it is a sign that the Lord will return soon.  All events move things towards fulfilling God’s plan.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Revelation 1-3.

I am not sure where I am going with my blog today.  I have some not really connected thoughts.  First I want to point out how John connects Jesus as God.  John writes that God says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”  Then a few verses later he writes that he saw someone “like a son of man” who said to him, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.  I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”  Now from the statement, “I was dead,…I am alive for ever and ever” we can only conclude that this is Jesus, because no other being fits that description.  Further, when John writes that God says, “I am the Alpha and Omega,” that is another way of saying, “I am the First and the Last.”  So, in the vision, Jesus told John that He and the Father were one being.  I want to go on to look at the power of God’s statement that He is the One “who is, who was, and who is to come.”  That means that every place and time, God is present.  When good things happen, God is there.  When bad things happen, God is there.  God knows the joys you experience, and the suffering which you experience.  He knows when you bring joy to others, and will reward you.  He knows when you bring pain to others, and will hold you accountable.  Think of the most horrible event you know happened, God was there, offering comfort to those who suffered, and preparing the fate for those responsible for that suffering.

When I started this I intended to write on the messages to the specific churches, But I think  I will stop here.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.