DBRP_Dec26_2014 Zech10-11 Is63 Rev17

As we have seen before, the Lord loves names and delights to give new names. In Zec. 8 He said,

Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City; the mountain of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will be called the Holy Mountain.

In Zec. 9 we heard the verse Matthew quotes in chapter 21 about Jesus coming riding on the foal of a donkey. The verse is also alluded to in John 12:15. And we heard this verse about the New Jerusalem:

16 On that day the LORD their God will rescue his people,

just as a shepherd rescues his sheep.

They will sparkle in his land

like jewels in a crown.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/zec.10.nlt

We turn to Is. 63. In chapter 62 we heard like what I shared above about the Lord and giving names:

4 Never again will you be called “The Forsaken City”a

or “The Desolate Land.”b

Your new name will be “The City of God’s Delight”c

and “The Bride of God,”d

for the LORD delights in you

and will claim you as his bride.

And at the end of that chapter:

‘Look, your Savior is coming.

See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.’”

12 They will be called “The Holy People”

and “The People Redeemed by the LORD.”

And Jerusalem will be known as “The Desirable Place”

and “The City No Longer Forsaken.”

Note how we will soon see the fulfillment of all this in the last chapters of Revelation.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/isa.63

We turn to Rev. 17. In chapter 16 we heard all 7 of the Bowl Judgments. At the time this judgment happens and the bowls are poured out on the earth, it seems that 100% of the people are opposed to God. No one repents when the judgments happen, but instead curse God. And there are preparations for a final battle of Armageddon with God. However God’s voice from the throne says that “It is finished.” This seems to refer to the punishment against Babylon. In John’s day, Babylon was a code word among Christians for the city of Rome— the capital city of the empire which was built on 7 hills. But in our day Babylon pictures the prevailing evil unified world system of commerce.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/rev.17

 

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DBRP_Dec25_2014 Zech8-9 Is62 Rev16

I hope that you have noticed Jeshua the high priest. He was the one that Satan was not allowed to accuse. He was given clean clothes. He is a priest and was given a clean priestly turban. And the gem with seven facets (literally, seven eyes) was set before him. He is a picture of the Messiah, who is called the Lord’s righteous Branch. Then in chapter 6 yesterday we heard that he was given a crown, and told:

he will build the Temple of the LORD. Then he will receive royal honor and will rule as king from his throne. He will also serve as priest from his throne,f and there will be perfect harmony between his two roles.’

As far as a normal man can do so, he is a picture of Jesus. And Jeshua is a variant of Joshua, which is the same name the Greeks pronounce Yesu, which is where we get our pronunciation of Jesus. From our place in history, how easy it is to see what God was picturing.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/zec.8.nlt

We turn now to Is. 62. Yesterday we heard another Messianic section of Isaiah, the part that Jesus spoke in his hometown synagogue in Luke 4. And he alluded to the same passage when he sent John the Baptist’s disciples back to him in Luke 7:

Luke 7:22

“Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.23And tell him, ‘God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.c’”

Let us not turn away from Him!

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/isa.62

We turn now to Rev.16. Note that we saw another view of the crystal sea in chapter 15, but in that view it was mixed with fire. My theory is that the glassy sea is the same, but it changes in appearance based on God’s prevailing mood. Note that the 144,000 (or all the people victorious over the beast) sang the song of Moses. Note that with just that little hint, the victory over the forces of Satan is pictured as victory over the army of Egypt and release from bondage. The angels are dressed like Jesus in chapter 1. The plagues come from the interiour of the heavenly sanctuary.

We turn from the interlude between the trumpets and the bowls. There is a difference here: You will see that before the plagues struck just a third of whatever object. Now they strike 100%. This is the end.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/rev.16

 

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DBRP_Dec24_2014 Zech6-7 Is61 Rev15

There were so many correspondences to Revelation in the three chapters we read yesterday in Zechariah that I cannot even take time to list them. I single out this one from chapter 3 as especially interesting in the light of Isaiah and Revelation. And the terms, "Branch," or "Rod," or "Shoot," referring to Messiah, are found in Jeremiah and Isaiah.

8“Listen to me, O Jeshua the high priest, and all you other priests. You are symbols of things to come. Soon I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. 9Now look at the jewel I have set before Jeshua, a single stone with seven facets.c I will engrave an inscription on it, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, and I will remove the sins of this land in a single day.

This insight given to Zerubbabel in chapter 4 is a principle for all of us to lay hold of:

It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

This is one of Gale’s favorite verses. We have claimed this repeatedly in our lives:

10Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin…”

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/zec.7.nlt

We turn to Isaiah 61. Once again I sound like a broken record. Isaiah 60 contains these verses which are echoed in Revelation:

1“Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see.

For the glory of the LORD rises to shine on you.

2Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth,

but the glory of the LORD rises and appears over you.

3All nations will come to your light;

mighty kings will come to see your radiance. …

19“No longer will you need the sun to shine by day,

nor the moon to give its light by night,

for the LORD your God will be your everlasting light,

and your God will be your glory.

20Your sun will never set;

your moon will not go down.

For the LORD will be your everlasting light.

Your days of mourning will come to an end.

21All your people will be righteous.

They will possess their land forever,

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/isa.61

We turn to Rev 15. Note that in chapter 14 the victory over Babylon is proclaimed as already won. But God’s holy people are still warned against receiving the mark of the beast. At the end of the chapter are the two harvests, the wheat harvest of the righteous, and the grape harvest of those who will enter into eternal punishment. These are visions that give an overview, in a similar vein as the vision in chapter 12.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/rev.15

 

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DBRP_Dec23_2014 Zech3,4,5 Is60 Rev14

In Zechariah 1-2 we heard how Zechariah’s dreams often included angels talking with him. There were horses and riders, horns and blacksmiths, and the measuring Jerusalem. Jerusalem will not be nearly big enough. God’s people will come out of captivity in Babylon. Note that by Zechariah’s time, this was already happening, and what is said there probably looks forward to the Babylon in Revelation and the new Jerusalem. Chapter ends like this:

10The LORD says, “Shout and rejoice, O beautiful Jerusalem,d for I am coming to live among you. 11Many nations will join themselves to the LORD on that day, and they, too, will be my people. I will live among you, and you will know that the LORD of Heaven’s Armies sent me to you. 12The land of Judah will be the LORD’s special possession in the holy land, and he will once again choose Jerusalem to be his own city. 13Be silent before the LORD, all humanity, for he is springing into action from his holy dwelling.”

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/zec.3.nlt

We turn to Isaiah 60. In Isaiah 59 we again heard beautiful messages that harmonize with what we are reading in Revelation. The beginning verses contain foundational truths:

1Listen! The LORD’s arm is not too weak to save you,

nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call.

2It’s your sins that have cut you off from God.

Because of your sins, he has turned away

and will not listen anymore.

Ephesians 6 is not the only place we hear of spiritual armor, but this time it is the Lord who wears it.

Is. 59:17 17He put on righteousness as his body armor

and placed the helmet of salvation on his head.

The last verse of the chapter says, “My spirit will not leave them” (those who are God’s redeemed people and enjoy a covenant with Him). And the verse that before prophecies again of Christ:

20“The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem

to buy back those in Israel

who have turned from their sins,”b

says the LORD.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/isa.60

We turn to Rev 14. Note that the beast that comes up from the sea— which we heard about in chapter 13, is under the ancient dragon of chapter 12. It says this about the beast:

7And the beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation. 8And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life before the world was made—the Book that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered.b

Note that the Book of Life belongs to the Lamb, and note when the names were written in it. This should encourage us who are on the path of Life! God knew you from before the world was made!

Back in chapter 12 we heard how long all this would last: a time, times, and half a time = 3 ½ years, 42 months, or 1260 days. We heard those times in Daniel. But remember these are symbolic numbers, and God alone knows how to calculate them.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/rev.14

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DBRP_Dec22_2014 Zech1-2 Is59 Rev13

 

We read both chapters of the little book of Haggai yesterday, and heard how Haggai motivated his discouraged audience to return to the task of rebuilding the temple. Haggai certainly must have known and worked with our next author.

We turn now to Zechariah 1. There are between 27-30 men named Zechariah in the Old Testament, and the name means ‘Yahweh remembers’. The HCSB Study Bible gives a good overview of Zechariah:

[Zechariah] sought to inspire those who had returned from captivity to rebuild the temple and rededicate their lives to the Lord. The message of encouragement involved surrealistic visions and vivid poetic images, focused on a reversal of God's judgment, and called for a reversal of the people's behavior.

That comment is right about the surreal visions! This book is called the ‘Apocalypse of the Old Testament’. (The Apocalypse is another name for the book of Revelation.) Since we are also reading Revelation, you will get a double dose of this genre and prepare to see interesting correspondences.

Mears gives this interesting comment, and this is something I want to watch for as we go through this book:

Someone has said that to correctly read the visions of this book, you must shine two lights on them— the light of the cross and the light of the crown. Otherwise, you will find that you don’t have the proper perspective or background to understand Zechariah’s visions. The prophet, looking far into the future, saw two aspects of the future Messiah— one Person, but two appearances. First, he saw Him in humiliation and suffering; then he saw Him in majesty and great glory. Jewish people who do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah ignore the Christ of the cross. Christians too often ignore the Christ of the crown. Both are wrong.

Notes:

[The messiah speaks:] 8After a period of glory, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies sent meb against the nations who plundered you. For he said, “Anyone who harms you harms my most precious possession.c9I will raise my fist to crush them, and their own slaves will plunder them.” Then you will know that the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has sent me.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/zec.1.nlt

We turn to Isaiah 59. Although chapter 58 didn’t use the word ‘hypocrisy’, that is what God was preaching against. After telling us the kind of fasting that God desires most, God gave beautiful promises to those who live as He teaches.

Notes:

15b The LORD looked and was displeased

[when he saw that//to find] there was no justice.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/isa.59

We turn to Revelation 13. Following the 7th trumpet blast in chapter 11, the vision in chapter 12 is an overview. The woman who gives birth to ‘he who will rule the nations with a rod of iron’ is not just Mary. This is an overview. I encourage you to dig deeper to find out more about the picture of the glorious woman. I will give you my take about the dragons’s seven heads and seven crowns. The dragon, as we will see will do his best to masquerade as God. He is doing that still today. Look out, and don’t be fooled! An important teaching in that chapter is to explain about the source of the spiritual battle we now see being played out in the world.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/rev.13

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2015_DBRP_000 Inviting you to join us in 2015!

This podcast is my invitation to you! Come with me on a tour through the whole Bible in one year— using just 20-24 minutes per day. This is called the Daily Bible Reading Podcast, or DBRP for short. Starting in 2015, through cooperation with Bible.com/Youversion.com, it will be easier to just read the plan, just listen to the podcasts, or do both at the same time.

This podcast tells the things I would like you to know if you are thinking of following our Digging Deeper Daily reading plan in 2015.

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DBRP_Dec21_2014 Hag1-2 Is58 Rev12

I hope you saw correlations to Revelation in the 3rd chapter of Zephaniah yesterday— in what God plans for the nations and for those who come to the new Jerusalem. And these verses from that 3rd chapter are interesting because of correlations all over Scripture:

I will remove all proud and arrogant people from among you.

There will be no more haughtiness on my holy mountain.

12Those who are left will be the lowly and humble,

for it is they who trust in the name of the LORD.

Mears gives a helpful summary about the prophets: Of the 16 prophets, most of them— 11, prophesied before the exile, just 2 prophesied during the exile (Ezekiel and Daniel), while 3 prophesied after the exile. We turn to the first of these now— Haggai.

This book consists of four prophecies in four months— each dated and all in the second year of King Darius’ reign. (In the modern calendar these dates would have been between August 29 and December 18, 520 B.C.) This places Haggai’s messages two months before Zechariah started to prophesy. Haggai’s purpose was to move a discouraged nation to rise up and build the temple. Remember that opposition to the rebuilding of the temple caused a postponement of the work, which caused the discouragement.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/hag.1.nlt

We turn to Isaiah 58. In Isaiah 57, we saw again that God considers idolatry to be a sin against him that is just like a wife being unfaithful to her husband. In such a context of explicit and harsh condemnation, these words stand out:

18I have seen what they do,

but I will heal them anyway!

I will lead them.

I will comfort those who mourn,

19bringing words of praise to their lips.

Then God says,

20“But those who still reject me are like the restless sea,

which is never still

but continually churns up mud and dirt.

And finally for the second time in Isaiah God says,

21There is no peace for the wicked,”

says my God.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/isa.58.nlt

We turn now to Revelation 12. In Revelation 11, John again took an active part in the vision he was seeing. He was given a rod and told to measure the temple, the altar, and count the worshippers. What other prophet participated in measuring a temple in a vision? John was told not to measure the court of the Gentiles. I encourage you to dig for gold there. Check out some on-line study Bibles on this. And while you are at it, find out what ideas people have about the two witnesses. John is not the first prophet that saw olive trees on both sides of a lamp and lamp stand. Who was the prophet? And how is John’s vision different than the other prophet’s vision?

At the end of the chapter, we heard ‘the last trumpet’. Say, is the last trumpet that Paul mentions?! The words of praise by the 24 elders and the last verse in the chapter give a big clue as to what the seventh trumpet brings. What happens in the next 2-3 chapters is not the direct result of that trumpet blast.

Modifications:

11And they[— our brothers and sisters,] have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/rev.12.nlt

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