What is the meaning of Christmas IV

I ran these ads on the local radio station here on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. 

What is the meaning of Christmas? Linus shares it with Charlie Brown in the special made for TV. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night, and lo the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid, and the angel said unto them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior, tis Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown. 

What is the meaning of Christmas III

I ran these ads on the local radio station here on the Eastern Shore of Virginia

What is the meaning of Christmas? John 3:16 tells us that God so loved the world that God gave us His Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. We come to this season to celebrate the birth of God’s love in the world. A time when we see that love lived out in the charity and compassion of people that we do not see any other time of year in such a way. That is the meaning of Christmas. 

What is the meaning of Christmas II

I ran these ads on the local radio station here on the Eastern Shore of Virginia

What is the true meaning of Christmas? Ask Ebenezer Scrooge or the Grinch. Both encountered that it is not the things we buy or own or strive to possess. It is an inner spirit of love and compassion that permeates our very natures especially at this time of year. It is a desire to see smiles on young and old alike. It is a time of music as the Hoo’s sing of Christmas and of dinners on the table as the family gathers round. It is a time of sharing what God has so bountifully given us. That is the meaning of Christmas. 

What is the meaning of Christmas I

I ran these ads on the local radio station here on the Eastern Shore of Virginia

What is the meaning of Christmas? It was the winter of 1914 and all along the Western Front fighting had been fierce. But on Christmas Eve as the sounds of O Christmas Tree and Silent Night floated over the trenches, soldiers from both sides climbed out, greeted each other and exchanged gifts. For a brief moment both sides, English and German soldiers experienced the love of Christmas and let that love override the need to bring violence against one another. 

Revelations Chapter 8

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Chapter 8 – The Bowl Judgments

Read chapters 15 and 16

In Apocalyptic writing the numbers 3 and 7 are often used to mean completeness, perfection or finality. Certainly John has brought us to this place of completeness with the three groups of judgment. There were the Seven Seals followed by the Seven Trumpet judgments and now we have the Seven Bowl judgments. We are introduced to seven angels who have seven plagues to be poured down on the people who have accepted the Mark of the Beast. These new plagues will bring to mind the plagues brought upon Egypt in order to set the people of Israel free. They were isolated to that individual nation of Egypt and did not affect the whole world. Then we were introduced to the plagues from the Trumpets and Seals. But those judgments affected only part of the earth. Here we have the completion of the judgments against those who refused to accept God. We should note that those who have received the mark of God as opposed to the Mark of the Beast are exempt from the judgments that are inflicted on a person. Just as God has provided for those who are faithful when the Mark of the Beast refused those same folks to not be able to buy and sell, God will provide for those who are left to face these final judgments. It does not say in scripture that the faithful will not face pain and suffering when food and water supplies get short. But we are reminded that our reward will be great in heaven.

As we await the pouring of the bowl judgments upon the earth we see the Saints standing on a sea of glass (see Rev 4:6) with fire mixed in it and they are singing. They are singing the Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb. The Song of the Lamb is sung by those who are martyred for God throughout time while some say that they are the martyred from the Tribulation period alone. The Song of Moses (see Exod 15) was introduced to us when Moses and the Israelites had successfully crossed the Red Sea and they celebrated the drowning of the Pharaoh’s Army by God. It is a song that has been sung repeatedly throughout the history of the people of Israel, used in the dedication of the new Temple after the Babylonian Exile (Psalm 118) and then at major holidays since till our present day. It is a song of celebration of what God has done. The song of the Lamb is also a celebration to God. But we should notice that at no time in the words of the song is anyone other than God praised.

In verse five we are told that the angels come from within the Temple of the Tent of Witness. John may well have has pulled this descriptive from the Old Testament understanding in Exodus when the Temple of God was a tent with the Israelites in the wilderness before Solomon’s Temple was built (Numbers 9:15; 17:7; 18:2). The Temple fills with smoke (see Isa 6:4; Ezek 10:4) as God moves within it and the Angels come forward to do God’s bidding. One of the four living creatures we were introduced to in the beginning of John’s Revelation hands the bowls to the angels. Remember that the four living creatures represent the best in heaven. The seven bowls are filled with the full wrath of God. What we glean from this is that these judgments are the final judgments against the people, the demons and the Beast who have aligned themselves with the lawless one.

The first angel steps forward and unleashes the first bowl on the people of the earth who have taken the Mark of the Beast. They develop painful sores that cause them to desire to be dead and yet they cannot die. We are reminded of the 6^th plague in Egypt (Exod. 9: 8-12) and the story of Job (Job 2:7). The second Angel steps forward and pours the second bowl into the sea. Some would argue that this is strictly the Mediterranean Sea but most would argue that at this point the plagues are world-wide. Imagine the stench and the destruction of food supplies and world-wide commerce when all the animals of the oceans die and rise up to the surface. We are reminded of the 1^st plague that God brought upon the Egyptian people (Exod. 7: 14-25). The third Angel pours the third bowl into the waters of the world’s rivers and springs and they turn to blood. Our water supply for crops, drinking and other uses are now ruined. We are told that this in retribution for the blood of the Saints who have been martyred by the world. Now we come the fourth Angel and the fourth bowl. This will be the final bowl judgment upon the living people directly. The bowl is poured out and the sun becomes dangerous to those exposed to its light. Imagine for a moment that without water the world becomes a parched, hot, and hostile environment. Some have argued that these are all done through nature as God has continuously done throughout the history of the world. We have red tides (see news for Florida in September 2014) where algae contaminates the water and killed off sea life and left a blood like look to the water. Some might point to the current dangers of Global warming as the fulfillment of this prophecy of the sun. I suspect that these are all future events since even the Preterists cannot point to specific events in the past that align themselves with the Bowl Judgments.

We now reach the point where God will turn the wrath of God on the Beast and the Dragon. The fifth bowl is poured on the very throne of the Beast. It brings total darkness to the residence of the evil force John calls the Beast, also known as the Anti-Christ. There is some discussion here about exactly where this will be. If we are Preterists and we believe that Nero was the beast then we should be able to look back and find an event that fits this during his reign. Some say it is when Rome burned and the sun was obliterated by the smoke. Futurists on the other hand point to this as a future event but argue whether the throne will be in rebuilt Babylon near present day Baghdad, Rome or even Jerusalem. Saddam Hussein had in fact begun construction at the site of ancient Babylon, the capital city of the Babylonian Empire. For those pointing to Jerusalem they argue that the Anti-Christ taking up resident in the Temple is the true desecration of the Temple described in Luke 21: 20-21. Preterist’s look to Antiochus IV but this was well before Jesus prophecy. This reminds us of the 5^th trumpet and the 9^th plague on Egypt (Exod 10:21-23) We are told that men curse God but that no-one repents.

The sixth bowl is poured out on the Euphrates River and it dries the river up. The people of the John’s time would look to the Euphrates as the edge of the known civilized world and as a natural barrier to the forces that lived beyond it. Here we are introduced to two new actors in this vision, the False Prophet and the King of the East. The False Prophet is believed to be the little horn in earlier prophecy (Daniel 7:8; Rev 13) and most folks believe this to be either symbolism for the Roman Catholic Church or the Head of the church during Tribulation. The king of the East may be a literal presence or symbolism for the evil forces that will gather depends on your world view at this point. Futurists take this literally and believe that this will be a King from China with an army that moves towards Israel. At this point the Dragon and the Beast are desperate so they deceive the armies of the world to begin to assemble to go to war with God in a place the NRSV calls Harmagedon. Literally that would mean the Mountain or Hill of Megiddo which is a real place. The valley of Megiddo has been the center of battles throughout history with at least 34 major battles for control of the trade routes to the East and Middle East. In Biblical times we have the stories of Barak (Judges 4), Gideon (Judges 6:3), Saul’s death (1^st Samuel 31:8), and then in history Pharaoh Thutmose III in the 15^th century, Napoleon and battles in World War I. Napoleon described the valley as the most natural battlefield in all the world.  Here the final confrontation will occur. I dare not call it a battle since you will see that it is one sided in favor of Jesus.  (Zech 12 & 14; Zeph 3:8; Isa 24)

The seventh and final bowl judgment is poured out on the air. It is the final bowl judgment and the final of the 3 groups of God’s wrath. Ephesians 2: 2 describes the Devil as the Prince of the Air. It is quite likely that John is aware of that description here. In that moment there is a great earthquake in the great city. Again there is disagreement whether this is Rome, Babylon, or Jerusalem. The city is torn in thirds and all the cities (probably a reference to all the major cities) of all nations will fall. The people are then confronted with large hailstones weighing as much as 100 pounds (7^th plague on Egypt Exod 9:22-26) that cause them again curse God without repentance.

So ends the judgments phase for those living. 

Questions

I have a question? Actually I am interested in your questions. Our Sunday night service is called "Questions" and each week we try to tackle a relevant question about faith, religion, the challenges of our day and/ or life. I would very much like to hear what questions you would like to be topics for that service and even what you might like to hear preached (Individual sermon or sermon series) about during the regular 9 AM or 11 AM Sunday services. You can respond by comment to this posting, send me an e-mail at donaquila@gmail.com or leave a note under my door. Thanks ahead of time for your help. 

Sometimes I wonder

Sometimes I wonder what makes people tick. But I understand Paul in chapter 16 of Romans better when he tells us to stay away from those whose purpose is to stir negatively. I asked a simple question to get some more material for my Questions service that is offered Sunday evenings at Grace. It is an interactive service where we explore a topic much like a Bible Study but we have the elements of worship including prayer and singing. I got one legitimate question and two folks who desired to teach me about the Bible or about what to preach. Did they not read the Blog to understand that legitimate input would be helpful? I am always looking for questions that those who want to know more about Christianity, the Bible or life to explore. Promoting your worldview or Biblical view is why many folks stay away from religious places. We are not about hating, but about loving one another. We are not about excluding but including everyone into the opportunity of redemption and grace that God offers. But that does not mean we cannot question and discuss the issues of the world around us. That's my two cents.

Questions

I have a new service called Questions which raises the issues that we often have about church, God, religion, etc. I am curious for those who follow my blog if you would be willing to help me in accumulating the lists of questions that my Sunday service can explore. Could you reply to this post? I will endevour to explore them on here as well.