For today, One Year Bible Online links here. Christmas is coming soon. Let us remember what it is truly about, the birth of Jesus Christ. Let us strive to not be caught up in the commercialism which is what this season is about for many in our society today.
I believe that these words are sarcastic. Well, maybe not the first part where he declares himself weary. It strikes me as being written by someone who has been arguing with another for some time. The writer of this bit is tired of the argument and “concedes” to his opponent. It strikes me that he has been having a disagreement with someone who does not believe in God. So he asks him, where did everything come from? Surely, since you say there is no God, you can tell me how it all came to be?
…
And where did that come from?
This psalm is both a beautiful song of praise and a reminder that part of serving God is praising God. Let us praise God both day and night as we strive to be His servants.
Here John describes the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. However, they are not the “Four Horsemen” of popular culture (even though those in popular culture derive from them). In popular culture the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are: War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death. In this passage there is no Pestilence.
The first Horsemen is “Conquest” or “Victory”. There are several possible interpretations of this. I will look at two of them. The first interpretation is that the first Horsemen is Christ Himself. This interpretation sees Christ as riding forth and conquering before the Apocalypse begins. It’s fulfillment comes in the spread of the Gospel throughout the world to all peoples and nations. The second interpretation sees the first Horseman as the Anti-Christ, who will rise to prominence and conquer the world to begin the Apocalypse. The second interpretation has some merit. My reservations about it are based on the fact that the author of Revelation also wrote 1 John. In 1 John he tells us that there is not a singular Anti-Christ, rather there are many anti-christs. I said I was only going to look at two interpretations of the first Horseman, but a third one occurred to me that I have not seen mentioned elsewhere (although I find it hard to believe that no one has come up with it before). My thought is that the first Horseman represents a person, or nation, which will conquer so much of the world that there is no place on earth where there power is not felt.
In many ways, the other three Horsemen follow that third interpretation as naturally as night follows day. When the conqueror loses control over the territory he held, War, and Famine, and Death will surely follow. How the Four Horsemen fit together is a bit of a mystery to me, but the rest of this passage is clear. Over the course of history there will be numerous people who will be martyred for serving Christ. They will be rewarded for their faithfulness and will cry out for God to bring His promised judgement. They will be assured that this Judgement will come. Then we have the sixth seal. When it is broken, everyone will see that God’s day of judgement is coming. But rather than repent of their sins and turn to God, the vast majority will seek to hide from God.
Micah prophecies against Israel and Judah. He tells them that destruction is coming because those who have power do evil simply because they can. They should love good and hate evil but instead they love evil and hate good. When the leaders want a piece of land, they find a way to seize it. Micah bemoans those who talk about caring for the poor and powerless while using their position and power to enrich themselves. Over the last few months, I have heard various politicians praised for speeches they have made decrying how our system favors the rich and is stacked against the poor. Yet these same politicians made a fortune working in the system they now want people to believe they will work to change. If the rich and powerful do not stop using their power to take advantage of the poor and powerless, all the while using their rhetoric against such actions as an excuse to further their own power, God’s judgement will fall upon our nation.
Yet mixed throughout his condemnation of the sins of the people, Micah reminds us of God’s great faithfulness. He tells us that the day will come when people from all over the world will worship God. He tells us that the day will come when God will mediate between peoples and settle the disputes between nations. In that day they will turn their weapons of war into tools of peaceful industry. They will no longer study the methods of war.