Today's Readings and Stuff -- Tuesday, 29 December 2020

My apologies for the extensive gaps in postings lately.  There have been some tough things going on.  My brother's recent and sudden death is just one of them. We had not been close, not ever, and the last 30-some years of distance hadn't helped that.  He'd been to our current hovel a couple of times, but not in the last couple years.  I'd seen him at a -- rare -- family get-together a few years ago, but not since.  It's filled me with a lot of sense of failure and recrimination.  So near as I can determine, he had -- despite our parents' best efforts -- never come to know the Savior.  That makes everything triply tough, at least, and adds, or multiplies, the sense of personal failure.

We are only a few days from the point of turning the calendar into a new year.  Whether that will presage a better time in our world is unlikely in my view, but I've been wrong, often.  We shall see.  I believe that the Lord is still in charge, and very much aware of and part of the situations.  Trusting Him, and being obedient, is all that any of us can do.

It does not help, perhaps, that the song running in my head for several days now, is This World Is Not My Home.  

  Can't argue that line, but does that thought presage my own soon departure?

And, with it, and perhaps tied to my brother's passing, We've A Story To Tell To The Nations.  We do.  Have we been faithful in that charge?  Not sure I like the answer.

We’ve a story to tell to the nations That shall turn their hearts to the right, A story of truth and mercy, A story of peace and light, A story of peace and light. For the darkness shall turn to dawning, And the dawning to noonday bright, And Christ’s great kingdom shall come to earth, The kingdom of love and light. We’ve a song to be sung to the nations That shall lift their hearts to the Lord, A song that shall conquer evil And shatter the spear and sword, And shatter the spear and sword. Refrain We’ve a Savior to show to the nations Who the path of sorrow hath trod, That all of the world’s great peoples Might come to the truth of God, Might come to the truth of God.

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ZECHARIAH 13

God’s People Cleansed

1“On that day a fountain  will be opened for the house of David and for the residents of Jerusalem, to wash away sin and impurity.  2On that day” — this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts — “I will erase the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered.  I will remove the prophets  and the unclean spirit from the land. 3If a man still prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will say to him: You cannot remain alive because you have spoken falsely in the name of Yahweh. When he prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will pierce him through.  4On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not put on a hairy cloak  in order to deceive. 5He will say: I am not a prophet; I work the land, for a man purchased  me as a servant since my youth.  6If someone asks him: What are these wounds  on your chest?  — then he will answer: I received the wounds in the house of my friends.

7Sword, awake against My shepherd,

against the man who is My associate —

this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.

Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; 

I will also turn My hand against the little ones.

8In the whole land —

this is the Lord’s declaration —

two-thirds  will be cut off and die,

but a third will be left in it.

9I will put this third through the fire;

I will refine them as silver is refined

and test them as gold is tested. 

They will call on My name,

and I will answer them. 

I will say: They are My people,

and they will say: Yahweh is our God.” 

ZECHARIAH 14

The Lord’s Triumph and Reign

1A day of the Lord is coming  when your plunder will be divided in your presence. 2I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for battle.  The city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be removed from the city.

3Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations as He fights on a day of battle.  4On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,  which faces Jerusalem on the east. The Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, forming a huge valley, so that half the mountain will move to the north and half to the south. 5You will flee by My mountain valley,  for the valley of the mountains will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled  from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah.  Then the Lord my God will come and all the holy ones  with Him.  

6On that day there will be no light; the sunlight and moonlight  will diminish.   7It will be a day known only to Yahweh,  without day or night, but there will be light at evening.

8On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem,  half of it toward the eastern sea  and the other half toward the western sea,  in summer and winter alike. 9On that day Yahweh will become King over all the earth  — Yahweh alone, and His name alone.  10All the land from Geba  to Rimmon  south of Jerusalem will be changed into a plain. But Jerusalem will be raised up and will remain  on its site from the Benjamin Gate  to the place of the First Gate,  to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses.  11People will live there, and never again will there be a curse of complete destruction. So Jerusalem will dwell in security.

12This will be the plague the Lord strikes all the peoples with, who have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13On that day a great panic from the Lord will be among them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of one will rise against the other. 14Judah will also fight at Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected: gold, silver, and clothing in great abundance.  15The same plague as the previous one will strike  the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the animals that are in those camps.

16Then all the survivors from the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to celebrate the Festival of Booths.  17Should any of the families of the earth not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, rain will not fall on them. 18And if the people  of Egypt will not go up and enter, then rain will not fall on them; this will be the plague the Lord inflicts on the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Booths. 19This will be the punishment of Egypt and all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Booths.

20On that day, the words

HOLY TO THE LORD

will be on the bells of the horses.  The pots in the house of the Lord will be like the sprinkling basins before the altar. 21Every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of Hosts. Everyone who sacrifices will come and take some of the pots to cook in. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite  in the house of the Lord of Hosts.

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This completes this year's scheduled reading in the Revelation.  As most here know, I have a policy of NEVER commenting upon this book:  I don't claim any wisdom with respect to it, and have heard far too many who had claimed such wisdom and insight to be, at best, of doubtful accuracy and fidelity to the text as written.  My own faults are many, and there is no need to add to that voluminous array.  Perhaps the Lord will point something out to you.

REVELATION 22

The Source of Life

1Then he showed me the river  of living water,  sparkling like crystal,  flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb  2down the middle of the broad street of the city. The tree of life  was on both sides of the river, bearing 12 kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month.  The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations,  3and there will no longer be any curse.  The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city,  and His slaves will serve Him. 4They will see His face,  and His name will be on their foreheads.  5Night will no longer exist,  and people will not need lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will give them light.  And they will reign forever and ever.

The Time Is Near

6Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.  And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets,  has sent His angel to show His slaves what must quickly take place.”  

7“Look, I am coming quickly!  The one who keeps the prophetic words of this book is blessed.” 

8I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown them to me. 9But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow slave with you, your brothers the prophets, and those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”  10He also said to me, “Don’t seal the prophetic words of this book, because the time is near.  11Let the unrighteous go on in unrighteousness; let the filthy go on being made filthy; let the righteous go on in righteousness; and let the holy go on being made holy.” 

12“Look! I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me  to repay each person according to what he has done.  13I am the Alpha and the Omega,  the First and the Last,  the Beginning and the End. 

14“Blessed  are those who wash their robes,  so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. 15Outside are the dogs,  the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying. 

16“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to attest these things to you  for the churches. I am the Root  and the Offspring of David,  the Bright Morning Star.” 

17Both the Spirit and the bride say, “Come! ” Anyone who hears should say, “Come! ” And the one who is thirsty should come. Whoever desires should take the living water as a gift. 

18I testify to everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. 19And if anyone takes away from the words of this prophetic book, God will take away his share of the tree of life and the holy city, written in this book. 

20He who testifies about these things  says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.”

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! 

21The grace of the Lord Jesus  be with all the saints.  Amen. 

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Tuesday, 22 December 2020

 This will be brief.  

This has turned into a very tough day.  I got a call an hour or so ago from my youngest brother.  He'd gotten a call from the coroner over in the Akron area, letting him know that the brother between us in age had died.  More than that we don't know, he's driving over to Akron tomorrow to get with the coroner's office, then to see about funeral homes and arrangements, etc.  He had still been working (planning to retire early this coming year) so we suppose that there is some life insurance to cover funeral costs, etc.  Beyond that, no one knows.  He was divorced, having been married for less than 10 years, until her kids from her first husband were grown, at which point she threw him out more than 10 years ago.  He paid off the house for her to keep her claws out of his retirement accounts.  I guess he kept contact with one of her kids but I know nothing more than this.  So I'm not in a real upbeat mood right now.

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Haggai is counted as the first of the post-exile minor prophets.  Keep the book of Ezra in mind.

HAGGAI 1

Command to Rebuild the Temple

1In the second year of King Darius,   on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through Haggai  the prophet to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,  the governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest: 

2“The Lord of Hosts says this: These people say: The time has not come for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.” 

3The word of the Lord came through Haggai the prophet: 4“Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses,  while this house  lies in ruins? ” 5Now, the Lord of Hosts says this: “Think carefully  about  your ways:

6You have planted much

but harvested little.

You eat

but never have enough to be satisfied.

You drink

but never have enough to become drunk.

You put on clothes

but never have enough to get warm.

The wage earner puts his wages

into a bag with a hole in it.” 

7The Lord of Hosts says this: “Think carefully about  your ways. 8Go up into the hills, bring down lumber, and build the house. Then I will be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the Lord. 9“You expected much, but then it amounted to little. When you brought the harvest to your house, I ruined  it. Why? ” This is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts. “Because My house still lies in ruins, while each of you is busy with his own house.

10So on your account, 

the skies have withheld the dew

and the land its crops. 

11I have summoned a drought

on the fields and the hills,

on the grain, new wine, olive oil,

and whatever the ground yields,

on man and beast,

and on all that your hands produce.”

The People’s Response

12Then Zerubbabel  son of Shealtiel, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the entire remnant of the people  obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the words of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. So the people feared the Lord. 

13Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, delivered the Lord’s message to the people, “I am with you”  — this is the Lord’s declaration.

14The Lord stirred up the spirit  of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the spirit of the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. They began work on the house of Yahweh of Hosts, their God, 15on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius.

HAGGAI 2

Encouragement and Promise

1On the twenty-first day of the seventh month,  the word of the Lord came through Haggai the prophet: 2“Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and to the remnant of the people: 3Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Doesn’t it seem like nothing to you?   4Even so, be strong, Zerubbabel” — this is the Lord’s declaration.  “Be strong, Joshua son of Jehozadak, high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land” — this is the Lord’s declaration. “Work! For I am with you”  — the declaration of the Lord of Hosts. 5“This is the promise I made to you when you came out of Egypt,  and My Spirit is present among you; don’t be afraid.”

6For the Lord of Hosts says this: “Once more, in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth,  the sea and the dry land.  7I will shake all the nations so that the treasures of all the nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,”  says the Lord of Hosts. 8“The silver and gold belong to Me” — this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts. 9“The final glory of this house  will be greater than the first,”  says the Lord of Hosts. “I will provide peace in this place”  — this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.

From Deprivation to Blessing

10On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Haggai the prophet: 11“This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Ask the priests for a ruling.  12If a man is carrying consecrated meat in the fold of his garment, and it touches bread, stew, wine, oil, or any other food, does it become holy? ” 

The priests answered, “No.”

13Then Haggai asked, “If someone defiled by contact with a corpse touches any of these, does it become defiled? ” 

The priests answered, “It becomes defiled.”

14Then Haggai replied, “So is this people, and so is this nation before Me” — this is the Lord’s declaration. “And so is every work of their hands; even what they offer there is defiled.

15“Now, reflect back from this day: Before one stone was placed on another in the Lord’s temple, 16what state were you in?  When someone came to a grain heap of 20 measures, it only amounted to 10; when one came to the winepress to dip 50 measures from the vat, it only amounted to 20. 17I struck you — all the work of your hands — with blight, mildew,  and hail,  but you didn’t turn to Me” — this is the Lord’s declaration. 18“Consider carefully  from this day forward; from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid; consider it carefully. 19Is there still seed left in the granary? The vine, the fig, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yet produced. But from this day on I will bless you.” 

Promise to Zerubbabel

20The word of the Lord came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month: 21“Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah: I am going to shake the heavens and the earth.  22I will overturn royal thrones and destroy the power of the Gentile kingdoms.  I will overturn chariots and their riders. Horses and their riders will fall, each by his brother’s sword. 23On that day” — this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts — “I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, My servant” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “and make you like My signet ring,  for I have chosen you.”  This is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.

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If some of this sounds altogether too much like the "one world" system that the "globalists" seem to be dragging us into, you're not alone in that.

REVELATION 17

The Woman and the Scarlet Beast

1Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls  came and spoke with me: “Come, I will show you the judgment of the notorious prostitute   who sits on many  waters.  2The kings of the earth  committed sexual immorality with her, and those who live on the earth became drunk on the wine of her sexual immorality.”  3So he carried me away in the Spirit   to a desert. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered  with blasphemous names and had seven heads and 10 horns.  4The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls.  She had a gold cup in her hand filled with everything vile  and with the impurities of her  prostitution. 5On her forehead a cryptic name  was written:

BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTESAND OF THE VILE THINGS OF THE EARTH.

6Then I saw that the woman was drunk on the blood of the saints and on the blood of the witnesses to Jesus.  When I saw her, I was greatly astonished.

The Meaning of the Woman and of the Beast

7Then the angel said to me, “Why are you astonished? I will tell you the secret meaning of the woman and of the beast, with the seven heads and the 10 horns, that carries her. 8The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up from the abyss  and go to destruction.  Those who live on the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world  will be astonished when they see the beast that was, and is not, and will be present again. 

9“Here is the mind with wisdom:   The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated. 10They are also seven kings:  Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he comes, he must remain for a little while. 11The beast that was and is not, is himself an eighth king, yet he belongs to the seven and is going to destruction. 12The 10 horns you saw are 10 kings  who have not yet received a kingdom, but they will receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.  13These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast. 14These will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings.  Those with Him are called, chosen, and faithful. ”

15He also said to me, “The waters you saw,  where the prostitute was seated, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages.  16The 10 horns you saw, and the beast, will hate the prostitute.  They will make her desolate and naked, devour her flesh, and burn her up with fire.  17For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His plan by having one purpose  and to give their kingdom  to the beast until God’s words are accomplished.  18And the woman you saw is the great city that has an empire  over the kings of the earth.”