July 22, 2014 (Tuesday)
John was exiled to the island of Patmos when he had a marvelous revelation of the majesty, splendor and power of almighty God revealed in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He wrote it all down and sent it to the churches for their encouragement. Persecution was getting worse and Christians were being killed for sport by the Roman emperors, who demanded to be worshiped. Revelation is “Apocalyptic Literature,” a special type of writing which makes use of symbols and dramatic scenes. If one sits down and reads it all at one sitting, pretending he is in a theater watching a colorful pageant, he gets the feeling that John had when he saw the vision himself. Without a doubt, it portrays judgment upon sinful people and nations, and victory for the Christ and His church. Beyond that broad conclusion, however, Christians and Bible scholars cannot agree on the specific historical events described in the book. Without going into details, suffice it to say people do not agree on interpretations of Revelation, but there are points of agreement around which we can rally and find unity among Christians. We can agree we serve a sovereign God who has not abandoned this world and He is steadily moving it toward climactic events which will bring a far better world than we have ever known.
Revelation – a devotional thought
A time is coming when all the saved of all nations and all times shall gather around the throne of the Lord Jesus Christ in glory, singing: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” (5:12 NIV). And then, “God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (3b-4).
This blog brings us to the end of our trek through the Bible, with brief summaries of the books and devotional thoughts discovered along the way. I hope it has all been a blessing to you.
Try this little mythical tale to list the books of the New Testament. Not real facts. Just a gimmicky story to help us remember, in order, the books of the New Testament:
There were 4 guys, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, whose Acts pleased the Romans who lived in Corinth, which had two classes of people: First Corinthians and Second Corinthians. Obviously Corinth was a very cosmopolitan city that included Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and two classes of people from Thessalonica (First Thessalonians and Second Thessalonians), as citizens. A set of twins, oddly named First Timothy and Second Timothy, had a couple of friends named Titus and Philemon. They all were numbered among the Hebrews who lived there. A fellow named James seemed to be their leader, but some say that Peter was a better leader (Their slogan was First Peter and Second Peter). Others preferred John, whose followers proclaimed First John, Second John and Third John! Some liked Jude . Each of these men received a Revelation from God that they shared with others. (..writ by hand at my house among the bays in Rockport).