The proverb writer reminds us that God desires that we speak up for those unable to speak for themselves. We need to seek justice for the poor and needy, for those who do not have the means to seek it for themselves.
The psalmist calls on everyone and everything to praise the Lord. No matter who you are, no matter what you are, God is deserving of your praise. If it was not for God you would not exist. If it was not for God none of the things which give your pleasure would exist. I will praise His name for the wonderful things which He has done.
This passage is one of the most heavily debated in the Bible. There are at least three schools of thought about this passage. The first two believe it to be a literal, thousand year reign of Christ on this earth. The third believes it to be figurative. One school of thought believes that there will be a time of great tribulation when Christians throughout the world are persecuted even more than ever in the past followed by Christ’s return when He will rule over the world for one thousand years. The second school of thought believes that Christ will return and rule over the world for one thousand years followed by a time of great tribulation. The third school of thought holds that Christ’s thousand year reign will be a figurative reign, not one where He is literally sitting as the head of government for the entire earth. My understanding of how Biblical writing works inclines me towards a literal thousand year reign. However, the various prophesies regarding Christ’s return and the end of the world make it hard for me to see how such a literal reign could fit into the other events we are told will occur.
Of course, having written what I wrote about the passage in Revelation, I come to this similar passage in Zechariah. Zechariah prophesies of a day when the nations of the earth will attack Jerusalem and sack it. However, God will provide a path of escape for His people and immediately after the fall of Jerusalem God will come in force and strike down those nations. Zechariah prophesies that God Himself will rule over all of the earth. There will be but one God which all people will worship. A plague will strike every nation which marched against God’s people. Those who survive the plague will worship God. Those who refuse to worship God will have droughts and famines. It is clear that Zechariah is also prophesying a literal reign by God on this earth.
For today, One Year Bible Online links here. We are approaching the end of the year and the beginning of a new one. Let us seek to serve God in all that we do in the New Year.
The writer calls on us to speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves. If we want our society to prosper we must speak up for the poor and the helpless. We must seek to ensure that they receive justice. Any society which does not ensure that those who cannot speak for themselves receive justice will find itself in decline.
This psalm calls on everyone and everything to praise God. Not for any particular reason except that God is our creator. Reading this psalm brings to mind one of my favorite songs. I know that song as Hymn 606 because it was number 606 in the Mennonite Hymnal I grew up with. I would encourage anyone who is unfamiliar with this hymn to search for “Mennonite Hymn number 606” on Youtube and watch a few different videos of it. Being part of a group singing that song in four part harmony, even if not very well, can lift your spirit in much the manner intended by this psalm.
Next in John’s vision Satan is bound for a thousand years. During that thousand years Satan is unable to deceive the people of the world. During that thousand years those who had died for resisting the beast were raised from the dead and ruled over the earth. When the thousand years comes to an end Satan will be released. He will immediately proceed to deceive the people of the world once more. He will gather the nations to make war on God’s people but the vast army will be struck down by fire.
This battle will be followed by the coming of God’s judgement on the living and the dead. Everyone will be judged according to what they have done. Anyone whose name is not found in the Book of Life will be thrown into the lake of fire, which is the second death. What strikes me as I read this is that a casual reading seems to indicate that some will avoid the lake of fire because they lived exemplary lives. However, only those whose name is written in the Book of Life will avoid the lake of fire. It is not spelled out here, but elsewhere in the New Testament it is made clear that we do not earn our way into the Book of Life by our good behavior. Rather, we exhibit good behavior because our name is written in the Book of Life.
Zechariah’s prophecy here resembles part of John’s vision in the book of Revelation, but it is not quite the same. If this prophecy is referring to the same events as the similar prophecy in Revelation there are enough differences that it is clear there is a different lesson here for us. In this vision we learn that Israel’s enemies will strike Jerusalem and defeat its armies taking many captive. Yet as soon as that has happened God will enter the battle on Israel’s behalf. His first act will be to provide them with a miraculous path to flee the destruction.
God will come and rule over the world and no one will worship any other gods. A plague will come upon those who refuse to worship God and nations which do not worship Him will experience famine. As I read this passage it reminds me to redouble my prayers for my friends who do not yet know the Lord. Zechariah tells us that the day will come when everyone will realize who God truly is and worship His name. The suffering experienced by those few who refuse to worship Him will be obvious to all.
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. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
Zechariah prophesies that there will come a day when all the nations will gather to attack Israel. They will overrun and sack Jerusalem. When the conquest is completed, God Himself will fight against those nations. He will make a path for His people to flee from their enemies, while He brings down their armies. Once this has happened, a river of life-giving water will flow out of Jerusalem to the east and another to the west. God will send a plague on the nations which fought against Israel (the effects of the plague sound a lot like the descriptions of zombies). In the end, the people who survive the plaque will worship the Lord.
The prophecy tells us that Jerusalem will be completely destroyed by its enemies, but no sooner will they have gained the victory then God will strike them down and rescue His people. God will exhibit His power on the earth and people will turn to Him for salvation. People from all over the earth will gather to worship His name. Those who refuse to worship the Lord will suffer, not because people persecute them, but because nature itself will turn against them. On the other hand those peoples who worship the Lord will prosper. There will be peace throughout the earth as everyone turns to the Lord and is governed by His will.
John also tells us of a time when God shall reign on this earth. Satan will be bound for a thousand years, unable to deceive the people of the earth. During that time Christ will rule over the earth. At the end of that time Satan will be released and once more he will deceive people. He will gather armies from the ends of the earth to attack God’s people. His army will be as numberless as the sand on the sea shore. It will gather to attack God’s people, but before it can strike, fire will come from heaven and consume it. Satan, the beast, and the false prophet of the beast will be thrown into a lake of fire.
Christ will come on a white horse and the earth and sky will be no more. All people from all time will be brought before Him to be judged according to their deeds. When the judgment begins death and the grave will be cast in the lake of fire, no more to have power over anyone. Those whose names were not recorded in the Book of Life will also be cast into the lake of fire. Both John and Zechariah tell us that the day will come when those who continue to refuse God’s grace will suffer for the consequences of the sins they have refused to repent. At the same time, God will rule over the earth and reward those who have accepted His grace and allowed Him to mend their ways.
The psalmist reminds us to praise the Lord, for if it were not for Him we would not exist. He created us and gave us life. Let everything that is praise the Lord. From the least to the greatest, we owe God praise for all of the joy we have experienced. The surest way to experience more joy is to thank and praise God for the joy you have already experienced. I will praise the Lord.
The writer tells us to speak up for those unable to speak for themselves. Let us fight for justice for those who are unable to fight for it for themselves. The only way to be sure that we will receive justice is to fight for justice for those who cannot do so for themselves.
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.
Zechariah says to watch for the day of the Lord is coming. When it does, the nations will gather to attack Jerusalem and the city will be sacked. After Jerusalem is sacked, God Himself will do battle against the nations on behalf of Jerusalem and His people. Once again I find this passage reminding me of passages in Revelation, yet when I read closer I see differences which suggest that this prophecy refers to something different than the similar passage in Revelation (although I am less convinced of that here than in the other passages). Zechariah tells us that on that day, God will strike down those who oppose His people and His power and show the entire world that He is the only one to worship.
Zechariah describes a plague which will strike all of the nations which go to war against Jerusalem. The description sounds much like the Zombie Apocalypse image from many horror movies. Those who survive the plague will go up to Jerusalem each year to worship God. Any nation which refuses to worship God will suffer drought and a resurgence of the plague. I had never realized that the first description of the “zombie apocalypse” was in the Bible. This passage paints a scary image, but it also paints a picture of hope. It describes a day when all of the world will worship God, when people will no longer doubt the existence, might and goodness of God. In that day the effects of fighting against God will be quickly and clearly evident to anyone. Yet even today, the negative consequences of opposing God can be seen by anyone willing to look. Unfortunately very few are willing to look. All too many seem to think that there is no connection between sin and the negative consequences of sin, that if science advances just a little further no one will ever again need to suffer the consequences of their sins. Rather than learning that the way to avoid the consequences of sin is to avoid the sin, they seek a way to “cure” the consequences of the sin. Such an attitude turns us into walking corpses (figuratively even if not necessarily literally).
Following the battle between the Rider who is the King of all Kings and the armies of the beast, the writer tells us that an angel came down from heaven and bound the dragon who is the devil. Once he had bound the devil the angel threw him into the bottomless pit for one thousand years. After the devil has been cast into the bottomless pit, those who have been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and the word of God will be resurrected. They will reign with Christ for a thousand years. At the end of the thousand years, Satan will be released from the bottomless pit. When he is released from the bottomless pit, Satan will gather the armies of the world on a broad plain surrounding God’s people and the “beloved city” (which is generally another term for Jerusalem). Fire will come down from heaven and destroy them. The devil will then be cast into the lake of fiery sulphur along with the beast and the false prophet. This passage certainly bears resemblance to the passage we read from Zechariah today. The armies of the world gather against Jerusalem, which is now in the middle of a great plain. God uses His mighty power to strike down the armies and defend Jerusalem. Yet there are differences. In Zechariah, the attacking armies are struck by a plague that causes them to re-enact a zombie apocalypse scene. In Revelation, God strikes down the attacking armies with fire from heaven.
Once Satan has been cast into the lake of fire, God will raise the dead for a final judgment. The books will be opened, including the Book of Life. All who had ever lived will stand before God and be judged according to what they had done. When this judgment is complete, death and the grave will be cast into the lake of fire. The writer tells us that the lake of fire is the second death. After all of humanity has been judged according to their deeds, those whose names are not written in the Book of Life will also be cast into the lake of fire. Perhaps I am reading too much into this, but I noticed that the judgment for our deeds is one step. We will all be judged according to our deeds. But after the judgment, those whose names are recorded in the Book of Life will be spared from the second death. We will all have to account for our actions before God. I can and will make no defense of my sins. All I can do is throw myself on God’s mercy in Jesus’ name.
Today’s psalm is a psalm of praise. It calls on all created beings and things to praise God. When I read this psalm I think of the wonder of God. It reminds me of the beauty and awe I feel when I spend time in nature. Whether it is locally or when I visited the Grand Canyon, the grandeur of looking at nature puts me in awe of how great our God is. This psalm evokes those same feelings of awe and wonder.
Today’s proverb calls on us to speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves. It calls on us to seek justice to those who are powerless to mount their own defense. We should use what power we have to ensure that those who have less power than us receive justice. This is not just a matter of seeing to it that those who are accused of a crime have an opportunity to defend themselves against the accusations. It is also a matter of seeing that victims of oppression and injustice receive a voice. We are to call for judgment against the powerful when they use their power to victimize the weak.
