Revelation 16 - The third bowl of wrath!

4Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and springs of water, and they turned to blood. 5And I heard the angel of the waters say:

“Righteous are You, O Holy One,

who is and who was, because You have brought these judgments.

6For they have spilled the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”

7And I heard the altar reply:

“Yes, Lord God Almighty,

true and righteous are Your judgments.”

This is complete contamination of the waters on earth. The human race on earth cannot survive long without water. 

Jesus’ return will be eminent.

“They thirsted after blood and massacred the saints of God; and now they have got blood to drink!” (Clarke)

“It is completely fitting that those who delighted in shedding the blood of the saints should now be forced to drink blood. They refused the Living Water, and now will be given death to drink.” (Guzik)

How many around us are drinking from the cup of death by not accepting the Living Water? 

Blessings, David 

Revelation 16 - The Second Bowl of Wrath!

3And the second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it turned to blood like that of the dead, and every living thing in the sea died.

Exodus 7:20So Moses and Aaron did even as the LORD had commanded. And he lifted up the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood. 21The fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile became foul,

In Exodus we had a similar experience with several differences. 

In Revelation “blood like that of the dead,” emphasizing like that of the dead. And “every living thing in the sea died”. While in Exodus the fish in the Nile died.

I can only imagine the foul odor of  “every living thing in the sea died”. 

The third angel is coming!

Blessings, David 

Genesis 41:9-13 NLT

When David and I decided to move back to Michigan, we figured we would take a year to make the move. God had other plans. Four months after we made the decision, our move was complete and we arrived together at our new home. 

Ecclesiastes 3:1 NKJV To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven.

"During the times we think God isn’t doing anything, He is doing the work most important to Him: developing our character and transforming us into the image of Jesus Christ. " David Guzik

Genesis 41:9-13 NLT

9 Finally, the king’s chief cup-bearer spoke up. “Today I have been reminded of my failure,” he told Pharaoh.  10 “Some time ago, you were angry with the chief baker and me, and you imprisoned us in the palace of the captain of the guard.  11 One night the chief baker and I each had a dream, and each dream had its own meaning.  12 There was a young Hebrew man with us in the prison who was a slave of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he told us what each of our dreams meant.  13 And everything happened just as he had predicted. I was restored to my position as cup-bearer, and the chief baker was executed and impaled on a pole.” 

Blessings, Cecilia

Revelation 16 The first plague!

The First Six Bowls of Wrath

1Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out on the earth the seven bowls of God’s wrath.”

2So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and loathsome, malignant sores broke out on those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

The book of Exodus is prominent in the bowls of judgement, sores, water into blood, sun and drought, frogs, hailstones.

The first plague, “malignant sores broke out on those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image”.

If you Google or Bing malignant sores, the pictures aren’t pretty. 

Malignant: (of a disease) very virulent or infectious.

synonyms: virulent · [more]

(of a tumor) tending to invade normal tissue or to recur after removal; cancerous.

These sores alone will plague those with the mark of the beast, it’s a benefit of receiving the mark, a curse from God, un-healable! 

The second benefit (curse) is coming!

Blessings, David 

Revelation 15-Judgement is coming!

Preparation for Judgment

5After this I looked, and the temple—the tabernacle of testimony—was opened in heaven. 6And out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues, dressed in clean and bright linen and girded with golden sashes around their chests.

7Then one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. 8And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed. 

We are reminded by the scriptures that the temple Moses was instructed to build was a duplicate of the temple in heaven. When God entered the temple on earth it was “filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power”.

The angels dressed in clean and bright linen signifies Gods judgement is true. They make ready to pour our the wrath of God, by His orders.

“no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.”

The judgement is irreversible, irrevocable. It is final!

How do we prepare for judgement? 

I read a story about a elderly woman who was ambushed at her home by CNN. The reporter accused her of being a pawn for the Russians for supporting President Trump. CNN posted the video with her address visible. She is receiving death threats stating she should be hanged for treason.

Why do I bring this up?

Has politics blinded you to forget Jesus’ commandments? 

Matthew 22:37-39 “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38“This is the great and foremost commandment. 39“The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 

Satan loves to blind people to the truth. Did the CNN reporter or the people making the threats follow this command?  ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 

Are they committing murder? If it’s in their heart, yes!

They are blinded judgement is coming!

Are you preparing for judgement?

Blessings, David 

Revelation 15-For You alone are holy!

The Song of Moses and the Lamb

1Then I saw another great and marvelous sign in heaven: seven angels with the seven final plagues, with which the wrath of God will be completed.

2And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, beside which stood those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name. They were holding harps from God, 3and they sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb:

“Great and wonderful are Your works,

Lord God Almighty!

Just and true are Your ways,

O King of the nations!

4Who will not fear You, O Lord,

and glorify Your name?

For You alone are holy.

All nations will come and worship before You,

for Your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Revelation isn’t in chronological order, it’s an arrangement in which John goes back over prophecies in greater detail.

The sea of glass is a physical representation of the Word of God.

“beside which stood those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name”. 

The martyrs conquered the beast even though they were murdered by the antichrist. Their victory was eternal life which the beast cannot take away.

They were singing the ultimate worship to our Lord. Our worship on earth is only a prelude, a practice session to the ultimate worship we will do in heaven.

“For You alone are holy.”

“Lord God Almighty!”

Blessings, David 

What Are You Waiting For? Genesis 41:1-8 NLT

In this instant gratification world we want it all now. Our internet is too slow, the microwave should heat things quicker and will that red light at the intersection ever change!?!  It can be hard to slow down, to pause quietly and wait for life to happen. But what we do with that time of waiting is just as important as what we are waiting for. 

Joseph waited two more years in prison. What was he doing during this time? Was he growing bitter at God for leaving him there? Was he plotting to get back at the cup bearer for forgetting him? Maybe plotting against Potipher's wife for her lie that landed him in jail in the first place. Why stop there? Why not go all the way back to his brothers cruel dealings, selling him as a slave to foreigners traveling through the land. If it hadn't been for them, none of this would have ever happened! 

But that wasn't what he was doing, that wasn't Joseph's way. God had a plan and Joseph patiently waited for God to reveal it. God could have reminded the cup bearer any time of Joseph's deeds but it wasn't time yet. Potipher's wife couldn't stop God's plan, Joseph's brother's weren't in control. 

I suspect during that next two years in prison, God was continuing to prepare Joseph's heart to serve Him. I suspect Joseph was continuing to mature in his faith in God. At the right time, the cup bearer remembered  Joseph. 

Genesis 41:1-8 NLT 

Pharaoh’s Dreams 

1 Two full years later, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing on the bank of the Nile River.  2 In his dream he saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river and begin grazing in the marsh grass.  3 Then he saw seven more cows come up behind them from the Nile, but these were scrawny and thin. These cows stood beside the fat cows on the riverbank.  4 Then the scrawny, thin cows ate the seven healthy, fat cows! At this point in the dream, Pharaoh woke up. 

5 But he fell asleep again and had a second dream. This time he saw seven heads of grain, plump and beautiful, growing on a single stalk.  6 Then seven more heads of grain appeared, but these were shriveled and withered by the east wind.  7 And these thin heads swallowed up the seven plump, well-formed heads! Then Pharaoh woke up again and realized it was a dream. 

8 The next morning Pharaoh was very disturbed by the dreams. So he called for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. When Pharaoh told them his dreams, not one of them could tell him what they meant. 

Blessings, Cecilia

Revelation 14-The wine press of Gods wrath is coming!

17Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18Still another angel, with authority over the fire, came from the altar and called out in a loud voice to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the vine of the earth, because its grapes are ripe.”

19So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes of the earth, and he threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. 20And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and the blood that flowed from it rose as high as the bridles of the horses, for a distance of one thousand six hundred stadia.

It’s harvest time! In chapter 13 it looked like Satan was going to win but now God says enough. Man has reached his fullness in sinful nature, just as the analogy of ripe grapes!

“Swing your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the vine of the earth, because its grapes are ripe.”

“pictures grapes fully grown in the prime almost bursting with juice . . . The spurting of the grape juice from under the bare feet of those treading the grapes in the winepress is compared to the spurting of blood and speaks of the awful human carnage.” (Walvoord)

“the blood that flowed from it rose as high as the bridles of the horses, for a distance of one thousand six hundred stadia.”

1600 stadia equals 200 miles!

But how high is a horses bridle?

Answer: 4-6 feet! 

The blood was 4-6 feet high and 200 miles long!

The wine press of Gods wrath is coming!

Blessings, David 

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Genesis 40:9-23 NLT

We've probably all been there, sitting in church on Sunday morning and it seems someone has been talking about you to the pastor. He knows of your recent shortcomings. They had to, he's speaking directly to you! He's even making eye contact! The sermon makes you squirm in your seat and you can't wait for the service to end. 

Being a Christian doesn't mean everything will always go great. It doesn't mean you won't have problems. Life still happens, the good, the bad and the ugly. The Bible isn't a book of feel good stories. It's a book of lessons and sometimes those lessons are hard to take. If you believe the Bible is the word of God, you have to believe it all, not just the happy endings. 

Genesis 40:9-23 NLT 

9 So the chief cup-bearer told Joseph his dream first. “In my dream,” he said, “I saw a grapevine in front of me.  10 The vine had three branches that began to bud and blossom, and soon it produced clusters of ripe grapes.  11 I was holding Pharaoh’s wine cup in my hand, so I took a cluster of grapes and squeezed the juice into the cup. Then I placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” 

12 “This is what the dream means,” Joseph said. “The three branches represent three days.  13 Within three days Pharaoh will lift you up and restore you to your position as his chief cup-bearer. 14 And please remember me and do me a favor when things go well for you. Mention me to Pharaoh, so he might let me out of this place.  15 For I was kidnapped from my homeland, the land of the Hebrews, and now I’m here in prison, but I did nothing to deserve it.” 

16 When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given the first dream such a positive interpretation, he said to Joseph, “I had a dream, too. In my dream there were three baskets of white pastries stacked on my head.  17The top basket contained all kinds of pastries for Pharaoh, but the birds came and ate them from the basket on my head.” 

18 “This is what the dream means,” Joseph told him. “The three baskets also represent three days.  19 Three days from now Pharaoh will lift you up and impale your body on a pole. Then birds will come and peck away at your flesh.” 

20 Pharaoh’s birthday came three days later, and he prepared a banquet for all his officials and staff. He summoned his chief cup-bearer and chief baker to join the other officials.  21 He then restored the chief cup-bearer to his former position, so he could again hand Pharaoh his cup.  22 But Pharaoh impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had predicted when he interpreted his dream.  23 Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer, however, forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought. 

Blessings, Cecilia

Revelation 14-Son of Man, swing Your sickle!

The Harvest of the Earth

14And I looked and saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was One like the Son of Man,c with a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.

15Then another angel came out of the temple, calling in a loud voice to the One seated on the cloud, “Swing Your sickle and reap, because the time has come to harvest; for the crop of the earth is ripe.” 16So the One seated on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

What exactly is being harvested here?

And who is doing the harvest?

“One like the Son of Man” speaks of Jesus.

“with a golden crown on His head” This is a crown of victory!

“How different it will be to see him with a crown of gold upon his head from what it was to see him wearing that terrible crown of thorns which the cruel soldiers plaited, and thrust upon his brow! The word used here does not usually refer to the diadem of power, but to the crown won in conflict; and it is very remarkable that it should be said that, when Christ comes to judge the world, he will wear the garland of victory, the crown which he has won in the great battle which he has fought. How significant of his final triumph will that crown of gold be about those brows that were once covered with bloody sweat when he was fighting the battle for our salvation!” (Spurgeon)

“Swing Your sickle and reap, because the time has come to harvest; for the crop of the earth is ripe.” 

Sickle: a short-handled farming tool with a semicircular blade, used for cutting grain, lopping, or trimming.

“It must be remembered that evil has its harvest as well as good. There is a harvest of misery and woe, – a harvest for the gathering, binding, and burning of the tares, – as well as for the gathering of the wheat into the garner of heaven.” (Seiss)

Sickle and harvest are farming terms used to describe how Jesus judges man. During crop harvest special care is taken to gather the “tares”.

Tare: (in biblical use) an injurious weed resembling wheat when young (Matt. 13:24–30).

“The crop of the earth is ripe”

Jesus is going to harvest the earth and separate the “saved” (wheat) from the “unrepentant sinners” (tares).

The question is, will you be wheat or a tare?

Blessings, David 

Revelation 14-The glorious dead!

12Here is a call for the endurance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

13And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead—those who die in the Lord from this moment on.”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, for their deeds will follow them.”

Here is a distinction of the saints who are slaughtered from this point on while keeping the faith. They will “rest”, they are glorious dead.

“These are the only glorious dead . . . they die in the cause of God, they die under the smile and approbation of God, and they die to live and reign with God for ever and ever.” (Clarke)

“for their deeds will follow them.”

Our work for Jesus and His Kingdom will also follow us to heaven. 

Do you remember the parable of the coin?

Matthew 25:14-30

What will you do with yours?

Blessings, David 

A Bitter Cup. Genesis 40:1-8 NLT

Joseph clearly had reasons to be bitter. He was betrayed by his own brothers, made a slave in a foreign country, lied about and placed in prison. We never hear of him grumbling or complaining. Instead, we hear Joseph still had compassion for those around him. He noticed the chief cup-bearer and baker looked upset and cared enough to ask why.  

What about you? Are you bitter from what life has thrown at you? Do you grumble and complain? Or do you look outside of yourself and have compassion on those around you? 

The best way to take the focus off of yourself is to look to those around you. Go see who you can be a blessing to today. 

Genesis 40:1-15 NLT 

1 Some time later, Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer and chief baker offended their royal master.  2 Pharaoh became angry with these two officials,  3 and he put them in the prison where Joseph was, in the palace of the captain of the guard.  4 They remained in prison for quite some time, and the captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, who looked after them. 

5 While they were in prison, Pharaoh’s cup-bearer and baker each had a dream one night, and each dream had its own meaning.  6 When Joseph saw them the next morning, he noticed that they both looked upset.  7 “Why do you look so worried today?” he asked them. 

8 And they replied, “We both had dreams last night, but no one can tell us what they mean.” 

“Interpreting dreams is God’s business,” Joseph replied. “Go ahead and tell me your dreams.” 

Blessings, Cecilia

Revelation 14-The third angel!

9And a third angel followed them, calling in loud a voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image, and receives its mark on his forehead or hand, 10he too will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented in fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11And the smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever. Day and night there will be no rest for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

““If anyone worships the beast and its image, and receives its mark on his forehead or hand,”

Anyone means anyone! This is not accidental acceptance, this is willingly! It’s no different than burning incense to Caesar. 

Who is your lord?

Mordecai only had one Lord and refused to bow to Haman. 

Who do you bow to?

Do not drink the wine of God’s anger!

Look what awaits those that worship the beast! “he will be tormented in fire and brimstone”, “the smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever.”

“Day and night there will be no rest for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

There is a fork in the road, one way you receive God’s mark or the other way you receive the mark of the beast. 

Who are you bowing and burning incense to?

Blessings, David 

Just Ask. Genesis 39:19-23 NLT

When God wants to use someone, no-one can stop Him. No matter how difficult the situation gets, God still is in control. Joseph has gone from the pit to the palace to the prison and God's not done with him yet. 

Joseph's brother's tried to stop God's plan for Joseph. God used him anyway. Potiphar's wife couldn't get what she wanted so she tried to ruin Joseph. Potiphar could have executed Joseph but he put him in prison instead. Even in prison, Joseph prospers. God blessed Joseph anyway. 

You can't stop God. Whether you're in a pit or a palace or a prison, if God wants to bless you, He can. He will. Just ask. 

Genesis 39:19-23 NLT 

20 So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held, and there he remained.  21 But the LORD was with Joseph in the prison and showed him His faithful love. And the LORD made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden.  22 Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison.  23 The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The LORD was with him and caused everything he did to succeed. 

Blessings, Cecilia

Revelation 14-The second angel!

8Then a second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great,b who has made all the Gentiles to drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.”

“Prophetically, ‘Babylon’ sometimes refers to a literal city, sometimes to a religious system, sometimes to a political system, all stemming from the evil character of historic Babylon.” (Walvoord)

Spiritual immorality. Look around you today, are they drinking the wine of the passion of immorality?

We just had a young man go into a school and kill at least seventeen teenagers. Who’s wine was he drinking? It wasn’t Gods! It’s safe to say he was drinking the wine of the passion of immorality. He was doing the work of Satan.

Don’t blame the tool, blame ourselves for voting in godless self serving leaders. 

The Bible is chock full of examples to what happens when nations turn from God and “drink the wine of the passion of her immorality”.

He removes His hand of protection.

Pray for a revival! 

Blessings, David 

An Uncomfortable Decision. Genesis 29:6b-20 NLT

We all sin everyday, if not in action, in our head with evil thoughts. A pastors wife told me she believed some sin is worse in God's eye's then other sins. Her reasoning was some sin is specified in the Bible. Adultery, murder , pride, theft, etcetera. I don't agree. If I filled out that "favorite quote" space in my Facebook profile it would say "Sin is sin, no matter the size." 

If only we thought about the ramifications of our sin before we moved forward in sin. A shattered family, a destroyed reputation, financial disaster, death. 

What about the sin of not doing something we know we should? The sin of omission. Peter sinned when he denied Jesus. What about that urging to pray with someone or share the love of Jesus. Isn't that the same as Peter's denial  when we stay quiet?

What about when doing the right thing costs us dearly? It cost Joseph his security, his stature, his comfort but he did what was right and God blessed him for it. 

It's so easy to sin, it's much harder to do the right thing when faced with discomfort as a result. But if you stay true and faithful to God, He will reward you for it. 

Genesis 29:6b-20 NLT 

6b Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man,  7 and Potiphar’s wife soon began to look at him lustfully. “Come and sleep with me,” she demanded. 

8 But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household.  9 No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.” 

10 She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible.  11 One day, however, no one else was around when he went in to do his work.  12 She came and grabbed him by his cloak, demanding, “Come on, sleep with me!” Joseph tore himself away, but he left his cloak in her hand as he ran from the house. 

13 When she saw that she was holding his cloak and he had fled, 14 she called out to her servants. Soon all the men came running. “Look!” she said. “My husband has brought this Hebrew slave here to make fools of us! He came into my room to rape me, but I screamed. 15 When he heard me scream, he ran outside and got away, but he left his cloak behind with me.”

16 She kept the cloak with her until her husband came home. 17 Then she told him her story. “That Hebrew slave you’ve brought into our house tried to come in and fool around with me,” she said. 18 “But when I screamed, he ran outside, leaving his cloak with me!”

19 Potiphar was furious when he heard his wife’s story about how Joseph had treated her. 20 So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held, and there he remained.

Blessings, Cecilia