For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas Day yesterday. God bless us every one.

    If you have exalted yourself, blown your own horn, or otherwise promoted how wonderful you are to others, you have been foolish and should be ashamed of yourself. If you have planned evil, you should be even more ashamed of yourself.

    Each generation will tell the next of God’s wonderful power. I will meditate on the works which God has done and proclaim His deeds. If you are a faithful follower of God you will speak of the glory of His kingdom and give examples of His power. Let us tell others how God has worked in our lives and exalt Him before all we meet.

    After the seven plagues, one of the seven angels took John to show him another vision. He saw a woman dressed in purple and scarlet, the colors of royalty and wealth, sitting on a scarlet beast. The beast had seven heads and ten horns. I am sure that John believed the woman to be the Roman Empire, and he may have been correct (at least partially). The passage tells us that the seven heads are seven kings, five of whom have already fallen from power, a sixth who is currently ruling, and a seventh who has yet to rise to power. Then we are told that the beast is an eighth king. We are told that the ten horns are ten kings who have not yet risen to power.
    The angel in the vision tells John that the beast was alive, is not now, yet will come up out of the Abyss. Those who do not serve God, whose names are not written in the Book of Life, will be amazed when the beast reappears. The beast and the ten horns will hate the woman. They will combine their power first in order to attack God and those who serve Him. They will be defeated, but before that happens they will destroy the woman. The woman is the city who rules over all the kings of the world.
    As I read this passage, parts of it seem to fit into something I can understand, then I read on, or refer back, and it all slips away. However, there are a few points which always remain. First, secular power is always transient. Those peoples and nations who have power today will lose that power before long. The second is that secular powers will, sooner or later, end up defying God and persecuting those who faithfully serve Him.

    Zechariah prophesies that Israel’s neighbors who are also her enemies will be destroyed. Further he prophesies that the remaining Philistines will join the Jews in worshiping God, becoming a clan of Israel. God promises to protect Israel from being overrun ever again. Does this prophecy apply today? Or is it for some time yet to come?
    Zechariah then gives a prophecy concerning the coming of Israel’s king, a prophecy which I see as clearly a prophecy of the Messiah. Zechariah speaks of Israel’s king riding into Jerusalem victorious, but humble. Zechariah tells us that when the Messiah comes, it will not be with great military power. In fact, the Messiah will destroy all military equipment and bring peace to the world. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem, at the height of the crowd’s Messianic fervor for Him, it was this passage which He chose to embody. By doing this, Jesus was telling us that He was already victorious and would not be using military force to bring about His Kingdom.

     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 the fall and destruction of all of Israel’s neighbors. Their destruction will be so devastating that those who survive will turn to God and join with the Israelites in worshiping Him. At the same time, God will send a King to bring peace to Israel and the world. This King will not bring peace through might and power, instead He will bring peace through humility and service. The King will come, not as a ruler, but as a servant leader. He will do away with weapons and armies. God’s people will be victorious as they follow the King He has given them, not through military might, but through serving and relying on God.

     Next in John’s vision was the image of a woman sitting on a beast with seven heads and ten horns. John is told that the woman is a prostitute who rules over much of the earth. The rulers of the world have committed adultery with her and the people of the world have indulged, to the point of drunkenness, in her immorality. The beast upon which she sits will gather the power of many kings and go to war against the Lamb of God, but they will be defeated by the Lamb. Despite the fact that the woman has provided immoral delights to the peoples and rulers she rules over, they will hate her. In the form of the beast, and the rulers who are represented by its heads and horns, the peoples of the world will turn on the prostitute and destroy her.
     There is a lot of symbolism in this passage, and I believe it refers to a specific set of events. I am also convinced that there are general messages for us in this passage as well. One general message is that nations and people can come to be dominant in the world through offering trade and things which people desire. Yet if that nation and people do not maintain a godly set of morality, the peoples they dominate will hate them and turn on them at the first opportunity, even if that means yielding authority and power to those who are blatantly evil, those who are obviously a beast. The only path to peaceful victory is to follow the Lamb’s example of servant leadership.

     The psalmist reminds us that each generation must tell the next of God’s mighty acts and wondrous deeds. I will meditate on God’s majesty and splendor, but I will not stop there. I will go from meditating on God’s greatness to proclaiming it to those I meet. God keeps His promises and helps those bent beneath their loads. He will keep close to those who call on Him and satisfy the desires of those who fear Him. He protects those who love Him but destroys the wicked. I will praise the Lord and call on everyone to bless His Holy name.

     If you have boasted of your greatness or plotted evil, now is the time to recognize your error and change your ways. Do not continue to boast, or follow through on your plots. Otherwise, you will suffer for your actions.