Author: Larry Soape

Re: Verse reading–Revelation 14 (day four)

God was speaking to the prophet Habakkuk, centuries before the birth of Christ.  In chapter 1, God said, “Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days—you would not believe if you were told.”  (Habakkuk 1:5)  All through history, God has been at work to redeem mankind from sin.  He has painted His picture of redemption in everything.  Unbelievers see God’s activity but have no comprehension of its meaning.  To those who have spiritual discernment, His work tells of His heart and will.

When you are looking for God’s activity, you will learn of His character and His will.  Here in Revelation, even at the very end, God is proclaiming the Gospel one last time.  He is giving men and women every opportunity to come to Christ.  Watch for God’s message…watch for His works…they speak of Him.  Be alert for a fresh understanding…God has mighty plans for the present and the future!

Re:Verse passage: Revelation 12:1-6, 13-17; 13:1-4, 11-18 (day four)

Revelation is full of symbolism.  In this week’s passage, there is a dragon and two beasts.  Three separate pictures, but seemingly one purpose.  The common thread that weaves them together is death and power…they each use their power to blaspheme the Lord and to divert worship to them instead of God.  Deception…idolatry…destruction…whatever they could use to turn the world away from God.

We see it in today’s world…the whole culture seems bent on using an overwhelming authority to divert worship from God to a culture of death.  What are the beasts around you?  What is trying to turn you away from God?  Is it your friends?  Is it your job?  Is it your leisure activities?  Learn to recognize the ‘beasts’ around you.  They work together in conjunction with each other to claim your worship and devotion.  Remember verse 11:  “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.”

Re:Verse passage: Revelation 10:1-9; 11:1-15 (day four)

Our God is a God of details.  At the creation of the world, even the smallest details of design were carefully planned and executed.  Now, as we read in our Re:Verse passage this week, we discover that the end of time has been carefully planned out with every detail in place.  From start to finish, God has established a well-ordered design.  Every event in history, from creation to final judgment, has been a part of God’s grand design.

For a God to be able to plan such a vast array of details…each one building to a climax of grace and judgment…why do we question whether or not He can take care of the details of our lives?  Something happens…good or bad…in our lives, and we begin to “re-calculate” the direction of our life, based on the new circumstances.  Our “re-calculations” may be accompanied by great anxiety or great excitement, depending on the circumstances.

When will we learn to go to God first to seek His counsel…His direction…His wisdom…His comfort.  Paul said it best…”Be anxious for nothing, in everything give thanks.”

Re:Verse reading–Revelation 8 and 9 (day four)

These chapters could sour you on the trumpet section of an orchestra.  Seven trumpets…when each blows its blast, bad things happen.  Things are destroyed…people and animals die…pain and torment prevail.  Is this the same God that Scripture describes as ‘Love’?

God is Love!  Never is His love demonstrated any more than through His justice and judgment.  The world has tried to paint a picture of a god of their own design.  They create a god of their selective choosing that preserves their desire for control of their own lives.  This is called idolatry.

Do we, likewise, fashion a god of our own design?  Do we live our lives as we choose rather than how God describes His followers?  Holiness, purity, consecration, Godly character…are those expectations of our lives or are they ancient pictures no longer valid in our modern world?  One of God’s characteristics is that He is Unchanging.  Guard against discounting Scripture to fit your own idolatrous preferences.  His choices have not changed!

Re:Verse reading–Revelation 7 (day four)

Reading chapter 7, you come away with a feeling of protection…shelter…tabernacle …provision.  This is the antithesis of the feeling of judgment you get when the seals are broken.  The difference is the target group.  Chapter 7 deals with the people who have a relationship with God through the blood of the Lamb.  The seal of protection is applied to God’s bond-servants…those who have been washed from their sin encircle the throne …springs of the water of life flow and God will wipe away their tears.

Protection and provision sound immensely better than wars and pestilence and death.  How can we be sure that we are in the right group?  It is the relationship with the Lamb…Jesus Christ!  No wonder heaven celebrated that the Lamb was worthy to break the seals.  Jesus is the only name given under heaven that can bring salvation.  (Acts 4:12) Many have looked to others, but only the Lamb is worthy.  Only the Lamb can give protection…shelter…tabernacle…provision.  Eternity is a long time, choose wisely!

Re:Verse reading–Revelation 6 (day four)

There was joy in heaven…the Lion of Judah was worthy to break the seals and open the scroll.  You might expect that good things were going to happen.  As each seal was broken, tragedy came upon the earth…war, famine, death, martyrs, terror.  The people of the earth tried to run and hide, but there was nowhere to hide.  They even wanted the mountains and rocks to fall on them to hide them from the presence of God.  The great day of wrath had come…they had put it off for too long.  “I still have time to follow Christ.  I’ll maybe do it after I have done all that I want to do.”  Is this the reasoning that you have been making?  We do not know when the Day of the Lord will come, but when it does…like a thief in the night…it will be too late to repent.

Will you have joy like the angels in heaven or will you be looking for a deep cave to collapse upon you?  What will you do with Jesus?

Re:Verse reading–Revelation 4:1-7, 5:1-14 (day four)

Israel was looking for a lion!  Their concept of the coming Messiah was a military leader and conqueror who would lead a rebellion against Rome and overthrow their government.  Jesus was none of that.  The Jews crucified Jesus because they did not recognize Him as the messiah.  What they did not understand was that before there could be a ‘Lion of Judah’, there had to be a ‘Lamb of God’.  The picture that John sees in heaven when he looks for the Lion is a small Lamb, standing as if it were slain.  The Lion of Judah was worthy to open the scroll because He had given His life as a sacrificial lamb on the cross in obedience to the Father.

What are you looking for?  Are you looking for a deliverer who can conquer all your enemies and provide you all the comforts of life?  Are you wanting to share in the rewards of victory without the discipline of obedience?  Don’t miss God’s plan for your life because you are looking for your own self-defined Savior!

Re:Verse reading–Revelation 2:1-11; 3:1-6, 14-21 (day four) 

Seven churches…Christ had something for them all.  Most had things they were doing right as a church, but there was, in every case, sin that needed to be corrected.  Just like us…we may be doing some things right in our lives before God, but there is always something that needs to be repented of and corrected.  The church at Ephesus had a lot of commendation, but without correcting their one error of losing their first love, their lampstand would be removed.  Approval was not on a majority basis…sin would not be tolerated in any form.

Have you ever said, “That is my one vice!”…as if, since you only had one, it was OK?  God is a holy God and we should not be content with anything less than His holiness.  No…we will never attain perfection, but it should be our goal.  Only perfection will allow our names to be written in the book of Life.  “He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.”  Since we are unable…we have need of a Savior.  We need one who has overcome to stand for us!  (Hebrews 4:15)

Re:Verse reading–Revelation 1 (day four)

Let’s ask one of the ‘5 Ws and an H’ that form the basis for an inductive bible study…WHAT.  What did John see while he was in the Spirit?  In our passage this week John first saw the ‘son of man’…He was overwhelming and awe-inspiring.  John’s response was to fall at His feet as a dead man.  He could not even process the glory!

The second thing John saw was the seven stars and seven lampstands.  The stars represented the angels of the seven churches and the lampstands were the seven churches of Asia.  The awesome ‘son of man’ stood in the midst of the lampstands.

The glory of the risen, reigning Christ stood in authority and judgment over the churches.  Picture this Christ over our church or your church…what would He have to say to us?  Would there be commendation or condemnation?  “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”