Revelation 12
Woman (Israel)verses 1-2
And there appeared a great wonder in heaven
a woman clothed with the sun – and moon under her feet
and on her head a crown of twelve stars
and she being with child cried
travailing in birth
and pained to be delivered
Great red dragon (Satan or devil)verses 3-4
And there appeared another wonder in heaven
and BEHOLD a great red dragon
having seven heads and ten horns
and seven crowns upon his heads
And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven
and did cast them to the earth
and the dragon stood before the woman which was
ready to be delivered
for to devour her child as soon as it
was born
Woman (Israel)verses 5-6
And she brought forth a MAN child
WHO was to rule all nations with a rod of iron
and her CHILD was caught up to God
and to HIS throne
And the woman fled into the wilderness
where she has a place prepared of God
that they should feed her there a thousand two
hundred and threescore days [3 ½ years]
War in heavenverses 7-8
And there was war in heaven
Michael and his angels FOUGHT AGAINST the dragon
and the dragon fought and his angels – and prevailed not
neither was their place found any more in heaven
Great dragon (Satan)verse 9
And the great dragon was cast out
that old serpent called the Devil – and Satan
which deceives the whole world
he was cast out into the earth
and his angels were cast out with him
Voice from heavenverses 10-12
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven
Now is come salvation – strength – kingdom of our God
and power of HIS Christ
FOR the accuser of our brethren is cast down
which accused them before our God DAY and NIGHT
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony
and they loved not their lives unto the death
THEREFORE rejoice – you heavens – and you that dwell in them
Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea
FOR the devil is come down to you having great wrath
BECAUSE he knows that he has but a short time
Great dragon (Satan)verse 13
And when the dragon saw that he was cast to the earth
he persecuted the woman which brought forth the MAN child
Woman (Israel)verses 14-17
And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle
that she might fly into the wilderness – into her place
where she is nourished for a time and times
and half a time (3 1/2)
from the face of the serpent
And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman
that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood
and the earth helped the woman
and the earth opened her mouth
and swallowed up the flood which the dragon
cast out of his mouth
And the dragon was wroth with the woman
and went to make war with the remnant of her seed
which keep the commandments of God
and have the testimony of Jesus Christ
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels. (4171 “war” [polemos] means battle, the waging of armed conflict against an enemy, fighting, conflict, strife, declare a holy war, quarrel, or contest)
DEVOTION: We are first informed of the battles that go on between the angels in heaven in the book of Daniel. He makes us aware of the fact that Michael is a chief prince in the army of the LORD. He had to help the angel with an answer to Daniel’s prayer fight the prince of the kingdom of Persia who was an evil angel fighting this good angel.
Michael was the good angel who is protecting the children of Israel (Daniel 12: 1). He has continued to be the one angel who protects the children of Israel even during this time period. He is fighting against the devil and his angels for remaining in the second heaven. Michael defeats the Devil and sends him to the first heaven and the earth. Satan knows his time is short before Christ returns to defeat him and place him in a pit for a thousand years.
There are battles going on in the air of each of the countries of our world. There is a good angel that is working for America and a bad angel working against America serving the LORD. At present it seems that the evil or bad angel is winning the battle.
The battle is real and we need to be praying for the LORD to give us strength to keep our testimony during these trying times. We need to understand that we should be willing to die for our belief that Jesus is the only way to heaven, if necessary.
We are on the winning side. We might lose some battles but the war is won by Jesus Christ. Our country doesn’t seem to be in prophesy but we can still be an good soldiers of the cross.
Remember God wants us to be HIS servants to the end. Don’t give in to being lazy and selfish about sharing the truth of the Word of God with others. Don’t let Satan shut our mouths when they should be open for the LORD.
CHALLENGE: The battle is REAL!!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (4105 “deceives” [planao] means lead astray, to cause someone to believe an untruth, to mislead, wander about, stray from the truth, or to make to wander)
DEVOTION: Our enemy has many names given him in the Bible. In this book he is the great dragon who is going against the children of Israel for the final time. He was the serpent in the Garden of Eden that tempted Eve to eat of the fruit of the tree that the LORD told them not to eat. He is the devil that Christians are told to flee from whenever he is tempting them. He is a fallen angel named Satan who has one third of the angels of heaven on his side because they fell with him when he rebelled against God.
Now we know that he is the one who deceives everyone in the world whenever they will listen to him. Those who don’t know Christ are blind to the truth of the Word of God. They are dead men and women walking on this earth. They are following him because what he tells them is pleasing to their human fallen nature. Most of the world is following him because they don’t want to repent of their sins and follow Jesus Christ.
However, even believers are troubled by him as he sends his angels to tempt us to walk away from the LORD. He lies to us that we could do it for a little while and return to HIM later. He tempts us in our area of weakness.
Not only that but he is every moment of every day accusing believers of wrongdoing. He is not our friend ever. We should never say “the devil made me do it.” Don’t be deceived by him or his servant angels.
CHALLENGE: Trust in the LORD to help you face each temptation with victory. If not victory we can confess our sin and because our standing in Jesus Christ the LORD will forgive us.
: 10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. (2725 “accuser” [kategoros] means against one in the assembly, speaking against someone or a complainant at law)
DEVOTION: The main characters in the Tribulation period are identified. The woman is the children of Israel. The children of Israel had been set aside during the age of Grace or the Church age because of their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah. Some Jews become followers of Christ even now. However, at the beginning of Tribulation 144,000 male Jewish individuals realize who Jesus is and start witnessing to the world. The church is gone to heaven. So there are Old Testament Saints and New Testament Saints and now there are Tribulation Saints. Each group is the elect of God.
The child she brings forth is JESUS CHRIST. HE is going to rule with rod of iron during the Millennial kingdom that has not taken place at this time. They are still in the second half of the Tribulation. The seals and the trumpets have sounded in the first half and now the war in heaven is taking place where the devil and his angels don’t have access to heaven. They are cast down to the earth. At the end of the seven year Tribulation Jesus is going to reign with the rod of iron for a thousand years. This is called the Millennium.
The enemy of both is the RED DRAGON who is the devil or Satan. He is a fallen angel who took one third of the angels with him out of heaven. These evil or fallen angels are the demons who possess individuals for evil purposes. They are servants of the devil. He can only be in one place at one time but with this many angels at his disposal it seems like there is more than one of him.
The complainant against all Christians is this great dragon. This great dragon is also called Satan and the Devil and that old serpent from the Garden of Eden. He has an army of angels that fell with him. This passage tells us that he carried away one third of all the angels to be in his army against God. The angels were given choice. He is the one who stands before God on a regular basis to give accusations against all Christians. He does this day and night.
The book of Hebrews tells us that we, all those who are believers, have an angel with us from God. Our understanding of this concept is difficult. We are not to worship these angels. We will never turn into an angel but we might entertain angels unaware. There is a spiritual reign where fighting is going on that we cannot see.
There are twenty-two different types of angels. We are told of Michael who is fighting against the dragon and his angels. They are the ones with God’s help that kick Satan out of heaven. It is thought by theologians that the good and bad angels live in the second heaven.
So Satan is kicked out of the second heaven into the area of the first heaven where we live. God lives in the third heaven. There are not seven heavens, according to Scripture, only three.
Our responsibility is to listen to the Word of God and live as we ought to while we are here on this earth. All of us fail and have times of failure but the LORD gives us many chances. Satan is speaking against each one of us before God on a regular basis. He doesn’t like us. He wants God to not like us but this will never happen once we are followers of HIM. HE looks at us through the blood of HIS Son. We are declared righteous on the basis of the appeasing sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Praise HIS name. We need to not plan to take advantage of all HIS longsuffering with us. Most of us have used up much of HIS longsuffering with us.
CHALLENGE: We need not worry about what the devil has to say about us. We have an advocate that stands in the presence of God the Father on a daily basis defending us. We need to confess our sins, so that, we can keep in close fellowship with HIM. Keep short accounts with God.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. (2288 “death” [thanatos] means 1 the death of the body. 1a that separation (whether natural or violent) of the soul and the body by which the life on earth is ended. 1b with the implied idea of future misery in hell. 1b1 the power of death. 1c since the nether world, the abode of the dead, was conceived as being very dark, it is equivalent to the region of thickest darkness i.e. figuratively, a region enveloped in the darkness of ignorance and sin. 2 metaph., the loss of that life which alone is worthy of the name, 2a the misery of the soul arising from sin, which begins on earth but lasts and increases after the death of the body in hell. 3 the miserable state of the wicked dead in hell. 4 in the widest sense, death comprising all the miseries arising from sin, as well physical death as the loss of a life consecrated to God and blessed in him on earth, to be followed by wretchedness in hell. [Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship])
DEVOTION: What are you willing to die for? We do not usually get to choose when we die or how, but we need to think about why we would be willing to die. Many of our brothers and sisters in restricted access countries are making those decisions on a daily basis. Our eyes were shocked earlier this year to see pictures of Christian brothers being martyred for their faith in ISIS-dominated regions, for example.
Notwithstanding the persecution of believers in Jesus today, the martyrdom of those who follow Him will be on a much larger scale in the future. This persecution will like pale in comparison to the persecution which Christians encountered in the first two centuries. Jesus Himself had predicted that His followers would undergo persecution. But, as Tertullian observed in the second century that the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church. No matter how much Satan seeks to crush the church and true believers, He will always fail, for people are looking for a reality to live and die for.
We seemed to be obsessed with personal comfort today, and the idea of dying for a cause seems farfetched. What we need to be reminded of again is that we can overcome the powers of evil by the blood of Jesus, our testimonies, and being willing to die for Him.
CHALLENGE: What would you say that you are living for right now? You have been called for a purpose. Live up to that purpose. (MW)
: 17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed – which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (3141 “testimony” [marturia] means witness, record, report, testifying, evidence, or martyrdom)
DEVOTION: I was in an accident on Saturday night for the first time in over forty years of driving. I have hit deer or they have hit me at times but no accident with another car. Our town has no traffic cameras so we need individuals to step up and be witnesses. There were cars around to see the accident but no one stopped. Many people don’t like to get involved. I didn’t think I needed a witness because he went through a red light. That is not how it works today.
During hard times for the church many stepped forward to state their witness for Jesus Christ and died in the process. Many countries today have Christians who give a witness for Jesus Christ and they are killed for their witness.
A witness just gives evidence as to what has happened in their life since they became a believer. We should be willing to tell others about what Jesus is doing in our life. It should be normal in our Christian life.
The problem is that many people today want to keep their personal life to themselves and not share Jesus with anyone. So we find that many churches are not reaching their neighborhoods for the LORD.
It would seem that the hardest time to give a witness for Jesus Christ would be during the Tribulation period because it was a death sentence for those who did. Even the two witnesses in Jerusalem were killed.
Our time period here in America is not that bad. People might look at us funny because of our stand for Jesus Christ but they will have to answer for their response when they face the LORD at the Great White Throne Judgment.
Give a witness for the LORD today. Get some tracts from the church or at a Christian book store and give them out through the mail or when you visit doctor’s offices or whenever you have an opportunity.
CHALLENGE: Once you start witnessing for the LORD it will become easier with each opportunity the Holy Spirit gives you.
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Testimony of Jesus Christverse 17
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Commandments of Godverse 17
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
Godverses 5, 6, 10, 17
Throne of Godverse 5
Kingdom of Godverse 10
Satan accused believers before Godverse 10
Commandments of Godverse 17
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
Childverses 2, 4, 5
Man childverses 5, 13
Rule all nationsverse 5
Caught up to heavenverse 5
Powerverse 10
Christverses 10, 17
Blood of the Lambverse 11
Jesus verse 17
Jesus Christverse 17
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Dragonverses 3, 4, 7, 9, 13, 16, 17
Great red dragonverse 3
Stars of heaven (angels)verse 4
One third of angels followed Satanverse 4
Michael (good angel)verse 7
Angelsverse 7
Great dragonverses 9, 13
Old serpentverses 9, 14, 15
Devilverses 9, 12
Satanverse 9
Deceiver (Satan)verse 9
Accuser of our brethren (Satan)verse 10
Devil has great wrathverse 12
Devil knows his time is shortverse 12
Face of the serpentverse 14
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Brethrenverse 10
Overcameverse 11
Word of their testimonyverse 11
Loved not their livesverse 11
Testimony of Jesus Christverse 17
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Womanverses 4-17
Remnant of her seedverse 17
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Woman (Israel): clothed sun, moon, twelve starsverses 1-2
she was with child (Jesus)
travailing in birth
pained to be delivered
Great red dragon (Satan or devil)verses 3-4
seven heads and ten horns
seven crowns on his head
tail drew third part of the
stars of heaven (angels)
devour the child (Jesus)
Woman (Israel)verses 5-6
she brought forth man child (Jesus)
HE was to rule all nations
with rod of iron
her child was caught up to God
and to HIS throne
she fled into the wilderness
place prepared of God
she was fed 2, 260 days
War in heavenverses 7, 8
Michael and his angels vs. dragon
and his angels
Great dragonverses 8-9
prevailed not
no place in heaven
cast out
names: old serpent, Devil, Satan
deceived the whole world
cast to the earth with his angels
Voice from heavenverses 10-12
salvation and strength
accuser of brethren is cast down
accused day and night
overcame by blood of the Lamb
word of their testimony
loved not their life
rejoice ye heavens
woe to the inhibiters of the earth
devil has come down – great wrath
short time
Great dragonverse 13
persecuted the woman
Womanverses 14-17
given two wings
flew to her place in wilderness
she was nourished 3 1/2 years
serpent (devil) cast out water
earth helped woman
dragon was wroth
made war with remnant of her seed
which keep commandments and testimony
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QUOTES regarding passage
12 Satan has failed. Therefore, the heavens and all who are in them should be glad. But Satan does not accept defeat without a bitter struggle. His final death throes are directed exclusively toward “the earth and the sea.” Therefore their inhabitants will mourn, for the devil will now redouble his wrathful effort in one last futile attempt to make the most of an opportunity he knows will be brief (three and one-half years; cf. vv. 6, 14). (Johnson, A. F. (1981). Revelation. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews through Revelation (Vol. 12, p. 518). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
Therefore (δια τουτο [dia touto]). “For this reason” as in 7:15; 18:8 (15 times in John’s Gospel, Charles notes). It points back to verse 10. Rejoice (εὐφραινεσθε [euphrainesthe]). Present middle imperative of εὐφραινω [euphrainō] as in 11:10; 18:20. O heavens (οἱ οὐρανοι [hoi ouranoi]). Plural here alone in the Apocalypse, though common elsewhere in the N. T. Satan is no longer in the heavens. They that dwell therein (οἱ ἐν αὐτοις σκηνουντες [hoi en autois skēnountes]). Present active articular participle of σκηνοω [skēnoō] (see 7:15 and 13:6) to dwell (tabernacle) as of Christ in John 1:14 and of God in Rev. 21:3. The inhabitants of heaven (angels and saints) have cause to rejoice, and earth reason to mourn. Woe for the earth and for the sea (οὐαι την γην και την θαλασσαν [ouai tēn gēn kai tēn thalassan]). The accusative after οὐαι [ouai] as in 8:13, but nominative in 18:10, 16, 19 in place of the usual dative (Matt. 11:21; 18:7, etc.). Is gone down (κατεβη [katebē]). Second aorist (effective) active indicative of καταβαινω [katabainō], “did go down.” But a short time (ὀλιγον καιρον [oligon kairon]). Accusative of extent of time, “a little time.” The devil’s departure from his warfare in the heavens reveals (εἰδως [eidōs], knowing, perfect active participle) to him that his time for doing harm to men is limited, and hence his great wrath (θυμον [thumon], boiling rage). (Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Re 12:12). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.)
12:10–12. John then heard a hymn of praise uttered by a loud voice in heaven. Announcement was made of the coming demonstration of divine salvation and power with the advent of the millennial kingdom. Satan was characterized as the one who accuses believers before our God day and night. The principle by which he was overcome and cast out of heaven was the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. Not only did Christ provide the victory, but also those who were martyred took part in that victory. Those in the heavens were called on to rejoice because of Satan’s defeat, but the earth was warned that the devil was filled with fury, because he knew that his time was short. The devil knew that his time was limited to 1,260 days, the period of the Great Tribulation. By no stretch of the imagination can these prophecies be spread to cover the whole Interadvent Age as some attempt to do. (Walvoord, J. F. (1985). Revelation. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 959). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
Revelation 12–13 introduces us to the three key characters in the drama of the last half of the Tribulation: Satan the dragon, the false Christ, and the false prophet. These three are, in a sense, an evil trinity, opposing the true God and His people on earth. While these events will be of special significance to God’s people at that time, the message of these two chapters can encourage suffering saints during any age.
Satan is the great enemy of the church, and he fights against God and His people by accusing the saints in heaven and attacking them on earth. However, Christ has overcome the old serpent, and He gives victory to His people.
The adversary always works through human means, in this case, “the beast” (false Christ or Antichrist) and the false prophet. Satan is an imitator, a counterfeiter; and he seeks to control men by means of deception. “The beast” is the future world dictator who promises to solve the pressing problems of the nations; the false prophet is his “propaganda minister.” For a time, it appears that the satanic trio is succeeding; but then their world empire begins to collapse, the nations assemble for one final battle, Jesus Christ appears, and the battle is over.
Has this not been the pattern for the church’s conflict with evil over the centuries? Whether the ruler has been a Caesar, a Hitler, a Stalin, or an agnostic humanist, Satan has energized and motivated him. The ruler has promised the people all that they want and need, only to lead them into slavery. He has usually had an associate to promote his program to the people and to entice them, if not force them, to obey. Often their submission amounted almost to worship.
God has permitted His people to suffer under the despotism of these rulers, but He has also enabled His people to experience great victories, even in martyrdom. They have been true overcomers! Then He has brought deliverance, only to have the cycle repeat itself, with each succeeding dictatorship worse than the previous one. The climax will come with the appearance of the Antichrist in his time (2 Thes. 2). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, pp. 601–602). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
Ver. 12. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them, &c.] So in the prophetic language, at times, and upon occasions of rejoicing, the heavens are called upon to join, and bear a part therein, Psal. 96:10, 11; Isa. 44:23 and by these may be meant here the angels of heaven, who rejoice at every advance of Christ’s kingdom and interest; they rejoiced at his incarnation, and so they do at the conversion of every single sinner; and much more may they be thought to do so at such a time as this, when there were such multitudes of conversions, and the churches and interest of Christ in so flourishing a condition, and Satan’s kingdom so much weakened; and to these may be joined the souls of the saints departed, who might be made acquainted with this wonderful change of things in the empire; and it may also be understood of the saints, the members of the several churches, even all heavenly-minded persons, who were born from above, and were partakers of the heavenly calling, and whose conversations were in heaven; these are called upon to take their part in this song of praise and thanksgiving: woe to the inhabitants of the earth, and of the sea: such as are of the earth, earthy, sensual, and earthly-minded persons; and who are like the troubled waters, and raging waves of the sea, cannot rest, but cast up mire and dirt, and foam out their own shame; the barbarous nations of the Goths and Vandals, carnal professors of religion, and the antichristian party, which quickly upon this sprung up, may be intended, on whom this woe is denounced; the reason of which follows: for the devil is come down unto you; and a greater woe can’t be upon men on earth, than to have the devil among them, who always brings mischief with him, and breathes nothing but ruin and destruction to men; he having lost his power in the Roman empire, possessed the above persons, and took up his residence among them; he came down, but not willingly, he was forced to it, he was cast down: having great wrath; because he was conquered, and cast out of heaven, and was deprived of the worship that had been long given him, as the god of the world, and of that authority and influence which he had over men: and this his great wrath was seen in stirring up the Arians to persecute the Christians; and in the times of Julian, when he endeavoured to regain his lost power; and in bringing in the Goths, Huns, and Vandals, into the empire, to waste and destroy it; and in moving the antichristian party, which soon prevailed, to make war against the saints: because he knoweth he hath but a short time; ere he should be shut up in the bottomless pit, or be confined in the place of torment, and ere his full punishment should be inflicted on him; which time of his to tempt, deceive, disturb, and distress men, is to be no longer than during the forty-two months of antichrist’s reign, and the 1260 days, or years, of the witnesses prophesying in sackcloth, and of the church’s being in the wilderness, and no longer than till the thousand-years’ reign of Christ with his saints begins, which, in comparison of his long reign in the Gentile world, is but a short time; and though, after the thousand years are ended, he will be let loose, yet it will be but for a season, a very small time, when he will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, and be tormented night and day, for ever and ever. (Gill, J. (1809). An Exposition of the New Testament (Vol. 3, p. 785). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
The Pillar and Ground of the Truth
“These things write I unto thee, hoping to come into thee shortly: But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” (1 Timothy 3:14-15)
The church has been ordained by God to be the primary instrument through which His work on Earth is to be accomplished. Here Paul uses three phrases to describe three aspects of the church:
The house of God: The Christian family with husband, wife, and children performing their God-given roles, provides a beautiful picture of the relationship of the church (the “bride” of Christ) to the Lord. The household of God consists of a family of believers where love controls and where He is honored. “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5).
The church of the living God: The ekklesia, or “called-out ones,” serve the living God. “The blood of Christ [shall]… purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:14).
The pillar and ground of the truth: A facade pillar of a building is not used for support but rather for display by elevating or calling attention to something else. The ground provides the support. The church should function to support and display the whole truth in such a way that all men can see and believe it.
It should be a family of believers exhibiting brotherly love, individually and corporately serving the living God out of a pure conscience, defending the truth, and displaying it to the lost. May each of us as church members enjoy and support such a church.
(JDM, The Institute for Creation Research)
David is anointed to be king.
INSIGHT
David is indeed an outstanding individual. As a teenager, he is known to be “skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him” (v. 18). In each of these things, David is not just lucky. David works hard at all the things for which he is known, including the fact that “the Lord is with him.”
Each of us has been given talents and abilities. Like David, if we are to achieve our God-given potential, we must be slaves to the things that advance those abilities. (Quiet Walk)
TRUE AND FALSE HAPPINESS
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Matthew 5:6
Man under the influence of alcohol may feel perfectly happy for the time being, but the question is, has he solved his problems? To place happiness before health and to regard it as the supreme good is to be guilty of a fundamental fallacy in the matter of standards.
Such unthinking procedure includes also the fallacy of failing to see that ultimately happiness depends upon health and is something that results from health. Any other type of happiness is negative and dependent only upon the absence of conditions that prevent happiness. However much we may strive to lessen our unhappiness, while there is disease, there can be no true happiness. Nothing is so fallacious, therefore, and so fatal to true happiness as to make ease and happiness ends in and of themselves.
When our Lord said, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6), he did not say that they would be happy who hungered and thirsted after happiness. The blessedness, the happiness, the joy is something that will result from our seeking righteousness and from our becoming righteous. It is a by-product, an end-result. We are not to place blessedness or happiness in the supreme position. We are to seek righteousness, and, having found it, we shall then find ourselves to be happy and filled with blessedness.
What ultimately accounts for the failure of the false prophet to think clearly is the fact that he is deliberately determined to defend himself and to think well of himself. Pride is the root cause of the trouble. The view of the false prophet starts with the postulate that whatever else may be the cause of the troubles in life, it is not man himself.
A Thought to Ponder:The blessedness, the happiness, the joy is something that will result from our seeking righteousness and from our becoming righteous.
(From Truth Unchanged, Unchanging, pp. 48-50, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
People are not just numbers on the rolls; they are individuals who have unique needs and struggles. The strength and advantage of the small church is that we can deal with people as individuals and we can have a direct ministry in each of their lives. Because of this, the responsibility of the board is to personally contact everyone within the congregation. This can be done by having each person in the church assigned to a board member who is responsible to minister to and provide spiritual care for him or her. (p. 130)
We should regularly contact the people under our care for prayer requests so that we can be regularly praying for them as part of our personal devotions. (p. 137)
If the people have a conflict with others in the church or with the direction and decisions of the church, then we need to bring the issue to the rest of the board to discuss how we can handle the situation in a godly manner in order to bring them back into fellowship.
(p. 137) (Developing Leaders for the Small Church by Glenn C. Daman)
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