GN-DBRP_286 EZK.4 EZK.5 SNG.3 MAT.24.23-51

EZEKIEL 4-5:
In Ezekiel 2-3 God commissioned Ezekiel to speak for God to the rebellious people of Israel. God fed Ezekiel a scroll. This tasted sweet, but afterwards I think he would tell us that it produced “bitterness”— as we will see with John who eats a similar scroll in Revelation. God gave these important words to Ezekiel in yesterday’s reading:

Ez. 3:10 NLT …“Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself.

SONG OF SOLOMON 3:
As we have seen, this Song of Songs is high poetry. The woman’s stories— such as what we hear today, are better taken as poetic expressions of her deep love than as true narratives.

MATTHEW 24b:
Jesus said, “Immediately after those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will give no light.” Here is a story from 2014, the first year I was recording these podcasts. I wrote: Just three days ago, in the evening, I was with the Orya people at an open-air youth retreat. The pastor pointed out that the Bible says the moon will turn into blood (or be the color of blood). He had come from town and is not an Orya speaker. He told the people that he had seen that morning on the Internet that on that very night there would be a “blood moon”— or a lunar eclipse where the moon would turn red like blood. And while he was speaking about that and other end-times signs, sure enough, it happened! Nothing like God managing a visual presentation for you! I have never seen a more moving sight.

GNT Translation notes:
Mat. 24:15 “You will see ‘The Awful Horror’ of which the prophet Daniel spoke. It will be standing in the holy place.” ([May the one who reads out loud note this and explain it to those who listen!//Note to the reader: understand what this means!])
27 For [when I,] the Son of Man, [come, it will be//will come] like the lightning which flashes across the whole sky from the east to the west.
30 Then the sign of the Son of Man [(my sign)] will appear in the sky; and all the peoples of earth will weep as they see [me//the Son of Man] coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 The great trumpet will sound, and [I//he] will send out [my//his] angels to the four corners of the earth, and they will gather [my//his] chosen people from one end of the world to the other.
37 [My//The] coming [as//of] the Son of Man will be like what happened in the time of Noah.
yet they did not realize what was happening until the flood came and swept them all away.
39 That is how it will be when [I,] the Son of Man[, come// comes].
44 So then, you also must always be ready, because [my coming as] the Son of Man will come at an hour when you are not expecting [me//him].

NLT Translation notes:
Mat. 24:15 “The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.” ([May the one who reads out loud note this and explain it to those who listen!//Reader, pay attention!])
39 People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came  came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when [I, the Son of Man come.//the Son of Man comes].
44 You also must be ready all the time, for [I,] the Son of Man[,] will come when least expected.

Check out this episode!

NL-DBRP_286 EZK.4 EZK.5 SNG.3 MAT.24.23-51

EZEKIEL 4-5:
In Ezekiel 2-3 God commissioned Ezekiel to speak for God to the rebellious people of Israel. God fed Ezekiel a scroll. This tasted sweet, but afterwards I think he would tell us that it produced “bitterness”— as we will see with John who eats a similar scroll in Revelation. God gave these important words to Ezekiel in yesterday’s reading:

Ez. 3:10 NLT …“Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself.

SONG OF SOLOMON 3:
As we have seen, this Song of Songs is high poetry. The woman’s stories— such as what we hear today, are better taken as poetic expressions of her deep love than as true narratives.

MATTHEW 24b:
Jesus said, “Immediately after those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will give no light.” Here is a story from 2014, the first year I was recording these podcasts. I wrote: Just three days ago, in the evening, I was with the Orya people at an open-air youth retreat. The pastor pointed out that the Bible says the moon will turn into blood (or be the color of blood). He had come from town and is not an Orya speaker. He told the people that he had seen that morning on the Internet that on that very night there would be a “blood moon”— or a lunar eclipse where the moon would turn red like blood. And while he was speaking about that and other end-times signs, sure enough, it happened! Nothing like God managing a visual presentation for you! I have never seen a more moving sight.

GNT Translation notes:
Mat. 24:15 “You will see ‘The Awful Horror’ of which the prophet Daniel spoke. It will be standing in the holy place.” ([May the one who reads out loud note this and explain it to those who listen!//Note to the reader: understand what this means!])
27 For [when I,] the Son of Man, [come, it will be//will come] like the lightning which flashes across the whole sky from the east to the west. 
30 Then the sign of the Son of Man [(my sign)] will appear in the sky; and all the peoples of earth will weep as they see [me//the Son of Man] coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 
31 The great trumpet will sound, and [I//he] will send out [my//his] angels to the four corners of the earth, and they will gather [my//his] chosen people from one end of the world to the other.
37 [My//The] coming [as//of] the Son of Man will be like what happened in the time of Noah.
yet they did not realize what was happening until the flood came and swept them all away. 
39 That is how it will be when [I,] the Son of Man[, come// comes].
44 So then, you also must always be ready, because [my coming as] the Son of Man will come at an hour when you are not expecting [me//him].

NLT Translation notes:
Mat. 24:15 “The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.” ([May the one who reads out loud note this and explain it to those who listen!//Reader, pay attention!])
39 People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came  came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when [I, the Son of Man come.//the Son of Man comes].
44 You also must be ready all the time, for [I,] the Son of Man[,] will come when least expected.

Check out this episode!

DayStarters_073 LUK.13

Re-release of the New Testament reading from GN series edition 62.

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GN-DBRP_285 EZK.2 EZK.3 SNG.2 MAT.24.1-31

EZEKIEL 2-3:
Yesterday Ezekiel described his vision of the four cherubim, and the chapter ended just as Ezekiel started hearing a Voice. The last verse ends of chapter 1 says:

When I saw this, I fell face downward on the ground. Then I heard a voice

SONG OF SOLOMON 2:
Song of Solomon has many speaking parts for the woman, the man, and the chorus parts for people of Jerusalem or the other young women.

MATTHEW 24a:
After a full chapter (chapter 23) of Jesus’ stern and harsh criticism and warning to his enemies, the Pharisees and teachers of religious law, Jesus teaches his disciples about what will happen in the future. Some of these warnings are about what will happen to Jerusalem 40 years after Jesus was crucified. But will those prophecies be the kind that will be re-fulfilled at the end times?

GNT Translation notes:
Mat. 24:10 Many will [stop believing in Me//give up their faith] at that time; they will betray one another and hate one another.
15 “You will see ‘The Awful Horror’ of which the prophet Daniel spoke. It will be standing in the holy place.” ([May the one who reads out loud note this and explain it to those who listen!//Note to the reader: understand what this means!])
27 For [when I,] the Son of Man, [come, it will be//will come] like the lightning which flashes across the whole sky from the east to the west.
30 Then the sign of the Son of Man [(my sign)] will appear in the sky; and all the peoples of earth will weep as they see [me//the Son of Man] coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 The great trumpet will sound, and [I//he] will send out [my//his] angels to the four corners of the earth, and they will gather [my//his] chosen people from one end of the world to the other.

NLT Translation notes:
Mat. 24:15 “The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.” ([May the one who reads out loud note this and explain it to those who listen!//Reader, pay attention!])
36 “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or [Me,] the Son himself. Only the Father knows.
37 “When [I, the Son of Man return// the Son of Man returns], it will be like it was in Noah’s day.
39 People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came  came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when [I, the Son of Man come.//the Son of Man comes].
44 You also must be ready all the time, for [I,] the Son of Man[,] will come when least expected.

Check out this episode!

NL-DBRP_285 EZK.2 EZK.3 SNG.2 MAT.24.1-31

EZEKIEL 2-3:
Yesterday Ezekiel described his vision of the four cherubim, and the chapter ended just as Ezekiel started hearing a Voice. The last verse ends of chapter 1 says:

When I saw this, I fell face downward on the ground. Then I heard a voice

SONG OF SOLOMON 2:
Song of Solomon has many speaking parts for the woman, the man, and the chorus parts for people of Jerusalem or the other young women.

MATTHEW 24a:
After a full chapter (chapter 23) of Jesus’ stern and harsh criticism and warning to his enemies, the Pharisees and teachers of religious law, Jesus teaches his disciples about what will happen in the future. Some of these warnings are about what will happen to Jerusalem 40 years after Jesus was crucified. But will those prophecies be the kind that will be re-fulfilled at the end times?

GNT Translation notes:
Mat. 24:10 Many will [stop believing in Me//give up their faith] at that time; they will betray one another and hate one another.
15 “You will see ‘The Awful Horror’ of which the prophet Daniel spoke. It will be standing in the holy place.” ([May the one who reads out loud note this and explain it to those who listen!//Note to the reader: understand what this means!])
27 For [when I,] the Son of Man, [come, it will be//will come] like the lightning which flashes across the whole sky from the east to the west. 
30 Then the sign of the Son of Man [(my sign)] will appear in the sky; and all the peoples of earth will weep as they see [me//the Son of Man] coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 The great trumpet will sound, and [I//he] will send out [my//his] angels to the four corners of the earth, and they will gather [my//his] chosen people from one end of the world to the other.

NLT Translation notes:
Mat. 24:15 “The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.” ([May the one who reads out loud note this and explain it to those who listen!//Reader, pay attention!])
36 “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or [Me,] the Son himself. Only the Father knows.
37 “When [I, the Son of Man return// the Son of Man returns], it will be like it was in Noah’s day. 
39 People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came  came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when [I, the Son of Man come.//the Son of Man comes].
44 You also must be ready all the time, for [I,] the Son of Man[,] will come when least expected.

Check out this episode!

DayStarters_072 LUK.12.21-59

Re-release of the New Testament reading from GN series edition 61.

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GN-DBRP_284 EZK.1 SNG.1 MAT.23.13-39

EZEKIEL 1:
Yesterday in the last chapter of 2nd Chronicles, we heard of the quick succession of the kings of Judah at the very end before the exile to Babylon: Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. And after the fall of Jerusalem, chapter 36 also told of the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy about Cyrus, who gave the decree to rebuild the Temple of God. While Jeremiah prophesied about the fall of Babylon and specified the 70 year duration of the exile, it was Isaiah who mentioned King Cyrus by name— one of the most stunning of all prophecies.

Ezekiel was not only a prophet, but also a priest. When he was 25 years old, he was carried into exile in Babylon along with the upper class of people in 597 BC. Ezekiel was no doubt a pupil of Jeremiah before Ezekiel was taken into exile. The 48 chapters of this book are divided right in the middle.

*1-24 Pre-siege, prophecies about the destruction of Jerusalem.

*The second half can also be divided into two parts: Chapters 25-32 talk about after the fall of Jerusalem, prophecies dealing with the punishment of Judah’s enemies.

*33-48 Prophecies about the restoration of Judah.

Ezekiel is a book that is highly important for understanding the book of Revelation in the New Testament, because things that Ezekiel saw, John also saw.

SONG OF SOLOMON 1:
In this book Solomon extols how wonderful love is. This may be a series of wedding songs. (And Solomon needed such songs frequently!) The main question is: Is this book merely a series of songs calling for sexual faithfulness to one’s spouse? The well-known allegorical interpretation goes back at least to the Puritan period, but probably much farther to the church fathers. However, it usually seems to me that making this about Christ and the church is a bit forced. I don’t think Solomon had Christ and the church in mind. However I think Jesus may have been inspiring things that Solomon did not know.

MATTHEW 23b:
Yesterday we heard the first part of Jesus’ invective against the Pharisees and teachers of religious law. Jesus told the truth. In a way, it was a loving act— to warn them. He already knew that these were the very men who would crucify him.

Check out this episode!