I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
The prophet begins this section by talking about the day when Jerusalem will be so full of people and livestock that there will not be room for everyone. The prophet then continues by calling the people of Israel out from among those not of the people of God. He instructs them to shout and rejoice because God is coming to live among them. The prophet tells us that many nations will join themselves to the Lord in that day and they will be His people. It is interesting that the prophet tells us that in his vision the Lord said that He would live among us and we would know that the Lord Almighty had sent Him.
Then, in a vision that has similar themes to the visions recounted in the Book of Revelation, the prophet tells us that he saw the high priest stand before God. He saw Satan standing next to the high priest accusing him. And once again we have this interesting dichotomy where the prophet tells us that the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you.” Next in the vision the prophet saw the high priest’s dirty clothes removed. Then he saw the high priest dressed in fine, clean clothes. The Lord told the high priest that He had taken away his sins. In the vision the Lord describes a stone that He has placed in front of the high priest with seven eyes. He says that He will place an inscription upon the stone and take away the sins of the land in a single day.
As I read this passage, the first thing that struck me was how this passage refers to Satan as standing before God accusing the high priest. This reminded me of how yesterday’s passage from Revelation referred to Satan as the one who accused us to God. In this passage the Lord rebukes Satan for accusing the high priest. In the passage in Revelation Satan was cast out of heaven to stop him from bringing accusations against the righteous before God. It is Satan who accuses us of sin. Jesus has rebuked Satan and driven from before the face of God.
I found it interesting that as I read this passage I once again saw a connection to the imagery used in Revelation. When I read about the stone that was before God that had seven facets, or eyes, it immediately reminded me of the passage in Revelation where the seven stars and the seven gold lampstands were explained. A closer reading revealed that the message from this passage and the message from the passage in Revelation are not very closely connected. Yet, they are. This passage refers to the Branch through whom God will take away the sins of the land. The passage in Revelation was about Jesus through whom God took away the sins of the world.
The writer describes two beasts in today’s passage. The first beast rose out of the sea. It had seven heads and ten horns. Each horn had a crown. Each head had names written on them which blasphemed God. The dragon, which we were told in yesterday’s passage is Satan, gave his power to this beast. One of the beast’s heads appeared to have been fatally wounded, yet it was healed. The world marveled at this and worshiped the beast for it. Further they worshiped the dragon for giving the beast the power to heal its wound. The beast waged war against God’s people and conquered them. The beast was given authority to rule over the entire earth. Those whose names were not written in the Book of Life worshiped the beast. Those of us who strive to follow Jesus must be prepared to face persecution.
The second beast rose out of the earth. It had two horns, like those of a lamb, but spoke with the voice of a dragon. The second beast performed many miracles in order to get people to worship the first beast. The second beast created a statue of the first beast which it then gave life. The statue commanded that anyone who refused to worship it must die. The writer then tells us that “He” (we are not told if this is the first beast, the second beast, or the statue of the first beast) required everyone to get a mark on either their forehead or their hand. No one could buy or sell anything without having the mark. This passage ends with telling us that the number of the beast is 666, which represents complete imperfection or perfect incompletion. I had found a great website that gave the meanings of numbers as understood by first century Jews. I cannot find it now. However, the numbers three and seven have slightly different meanings, but both contain an element of meaning either perfect or complete. Six on the other hand is one less than seven and thus holds, in part, the meaning of falling short. So, 666 can be seen as completely falling short or of utter failure to obtain godliness. It is the number of any attempt to obtain utopia without God.
I really cannot say it better than the psalmist
Listen when I cry to you for help!
Accept my prayer as incense offered to you,
My desire is to make my prayers incense offered to God.
and guard my lips.
All too often Lord, I say that which I should not, please grant this prayer.
or take part in acts of wickedness.
Don’t let me share in the delicacies
of those who do wrong.
How easy it is to allow myself to drift away from that which is good.
It will be a kindness!
If they correct me, it is soothing medicine.
Don’t let me refuse it.
Do not allow me to become too proud to accept correction.
The four things in this proverb are amazing things. There is a beauty and a sense of rightness that we experience when we witness these things.