It is a deception which restricts the understanding to only what can be seen with the naked eye.

The book of Revelation is, for most, very hard to read. It is important to remember two things. Firstly, the sequence in the book is not chronological and it sometimes rewinds. Secondly, it is highly symbolic even though it represents real things which are unseen by eye.

In this passage there is a ‘trinity of evil’. The dragon, the first beast coming out of the sea, and the second beast coming out of the earth. These spiritual forces are the enemies of God and his people. They deceive the inhabitants of the earth and persecute those who love, trust in and follow Jesus. They do not, however, succeed. God’s people will always be kept safe and the persecution they suffer only serves to purify them.

There has been much confusion over what is called ‘the number of the beast’ which is 666. This number is not something that has to be decoded. It is the number for man and has reference to the beginning of the earth. The number 6 represents failure and is one short of the number 7 which is God’s number for perfection. The ‘trinity of evil’ can never prevail against God because in both the seen and unseen worlds His purposes are always accomplished. We see this in Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection so that ‘the vilest offender who truly believes that moment from Jesus a pardon receives’.

 

 

 

There is a type of waiting which stands apart from all the rest.

We do a lot of waiting in life … hospital visits … birthdays to come … on the wedding day. There are also times when this waiting can be stressful. In this passage, Psalm 27, David encourages us to ‘wait on the Lord’ knowing that this will not be in vain. With him there is nothing to be afraid of. God is David’s fortress, security and comfort.

This Psalm reminds us that no matter what the enemy does eventually he will fall. David can still have confidence in the Lord to do what is right because He has saved him through His sacrificial love which we see displayed at the cross. His deepest desire and longing is to be with God because of who He is and such a wondrous salvation.

David does seek the Lord and finds reassurance. Christ endured malicious accusations, suffered on the cross, waited 3 days and was then vindicated. As the Lord didn’t let go of Jesus, so he will not let go of his children when we face accusations. We need to learn to wait for the Lord. The cross gives us the greatest confidence … it was fixed in time so we can be sure our waiting will not be in vain.

 

 

There is a time for everything and especially for looking at things in a different way.

There is a lot of pressure these days from advertising and media to consider ourselves as the most influential and important ones. In this passage we see the direct opposite of that. The disciples of John the Baptist were concerned when people started responding to Jesus’ ministry in increasing numbers. John said to them ‘He must increase, I must decrease’.

John also said that the ‘bride’ is joyful when she sees the ‘bridegroom’ arriving and identified himself as among those who were joyful at the coming of Jesus. John understood that it was only Jesus who could save people from their sins and that he would do this through dying and rising again from the dead.

There are also some very important words for us as the end of this passage. Whilst for some there will be great joy, for others there is great danger …….. ‘Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them’. The modern focus on our own importance stands in stark contrast to the vital wisdom of John.

 

 

 

 

 

Global recovery from the coronavirus pandemic points to something more wonderful.

In this passage we see that the barrier between Jew and Gentile is broken down. The message of grace in Jesus Christ unites and reconciles people from all kinds of different backgrounds. We are to value what God has done to bring about a new humanity. We are told that ‘…. in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.’ No longer does a person have to become a Jew in order to be near God.

The ‘building’ of a new humanity is what God Himself is doing and in which He dwells ….. God’s household. Jesus is the cornerstone of this building and everything in the building is set in reference to Him. Dividing walls such as language, cultural backgrounds, nationality, race, age, gender and fear are no longer able to separate people who have embraced the gospel … people who believe Jesus died for their sins.

 

 

COVID-19 theology causing social distancing is not a new phenomenon

In the gospel, the ‘good news’ of forgiveness for sin is offered as a completely free gift to be received by faith alone. Believers have all their sins forgiven … past, present and future. The payment for this was made by Jesus who underwent a most horrific death on the cross, as a substitute, even though He was completely innocent.

These passages relate to a very serious problem which the apostle Paul addressed in his letter to the Galatian churches.  It was a great danger for the believers from a Gentile (non-Jewish) background. This ‘different gospel’ showed up in the matter of circumcision and Jewish law. Jewish believers were trying to force the law and, in particular, circumcision, on Gentile converts.  This is known today as legalism … an addition to the gospel which also nullifies it.

An incident which occurred at Antioch, where the apostle Peter (Cephas) sided with the believers from a Jewish background, drew a very strong rebuke from Paul. He quite correctly saw that Peter’s behaviour would create serious division in the church and was not in line with the truth of the gospel. The gospel is the same for both Jew and non-Jew … every nation, tribe and tongue.

 

 

In this battle there is never a need to justify ourselves.

In this passage the apostle Paul sends a reminder. He tells the people that their struggle ‘is not against flesh and blood’. Too often we think in terms of what other people are doing to us personally and  respond  in a direct way against them  in order to justify ourselves. Here we are told that the battle is actually against forces which we cannot see ….. ‘spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms’.

This raises a question. How is this different kind of battle to be fought? Paul tells us this also. The weapon of this warfare is prayer which is connected also to the word of God. Prayer focusses our attention on God and His power which is the gospel message. It is this alone which can truly reconcile enemies because it brings people into a right relationship with God and therefore one another. In the gospel there is no need to justify ourselves because everything is done for us in Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

Adding anything to the Gospel nullifies it because this nullifies God’s grace.

The apostle Paul says that he wrote this conclusion with large letters. This was likely because he wanted to emphasize the message of grace. The Gospel is no longer ‘good news’ if our works are added as a requirement for forgiveness. A common one of these in Paul’s day was circumcision. The believers from a Jewish background were saying that the Gentile believers had to be circumcised if they were truly God’s people.

Paul rejected this by saying that even the Jewish believers could not keep God’s law perfectly so they were in no position to be boasting about their circumcision. He says “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal 6:14 NIV). He then draws their attention to what really counts … having become a new creation through believing In what Jesus has done for them.

He concludes the letter by drawing their attention to the reality of his sufferings for the Gospel which validate the authority he has for writing this letter to them. Finally he mentions grace in order to remind them that it is through what Jesus has done that they have become God’s people and he calls them brothers and sisters in what should be taken as a call for unity in the church.

 

 

 

We do a lot of waiting in life but there is a type of waiting which stands apart from all the rest.

We do a lot of waiting in life … hospital visits … birthdays to come … on the wedding day. There are also times when this waiting can be stressful. In this passage, Psalm 27, David encourages us to ‘wait on the Lord’ knowing that this will not be in vain. With him there is nothing to be afraid of. God is David’s fortress, security and comfort.

This Psalm reminds us that no matter what the enemy does eventually he will fall. David can still have confidence in the Lord to do what is right because He has saved him through His sacrificial love which we see displayed at the cross. His deepest desire and longing is to be with God because of who He is and such a wondrous salvation.

David does seek the Lord and finds reassurance. Christ endured malicious accusations, suffered on the cross, waited 3 days and was then vindicated. As the Lord didn’t let go of Jesus, so he will not let go of his children when we face accusations. We need to learn to wait for the Lord. The cross gives us the greatest confidence … it was fixed in time so we can be sure our waiting will not be in vain.

 

Whether we know it or not we are all part of one particular battle which belongs to God.

 

The well-known story of David and Goliath, which we read about here, is a reminder of the ancient battle between good and evil. Whether we know it or not we are all part of this battle. David connects Israel’s honour with God’s. Sitting back and doing nothing was not an option for David. To him it was not a question of who would win the battle but how God would be honoured.

Just as it is a question of God’s honour, so too, in the battle between good and evil, it is important to keep in mind that this is His battle. If we try to make it our own, eventually we will no longer be able to fight. The way to fight the battle against sin is to remember that, in Jesus, we have already been rescued.

The battle between David and Goliath was seemingly so unequal that no-one could say it wasn’t God’s victory. When challenged by Goliath, David said ‘and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.’ It is the same with His people today …… united to Jesus in His victory over sin and death accomplished at the cross … received by faith alone.

 

 

 

 

A common response to Easter is to ignore it but momentous things did happen which have changed the lives of people forever.

This passage records that on the Friday, known as Good Friday, the disciples saw Jesus die. On the Sunday, however, when the women went to the tomb expecting to find a dead body they became afraid. This is because they found the tomb empty and met an angel who told them “He is not here, He is risen”.  As they were returning home they met Jesus.

Jesus resurrection was like a glimpse of the future for His followers … it guarantees our resurrection and new bodies which will last forever. Jesus defeated death and when He returns He will banish death forever.

For His followers, our transformed lives should show that the resurrection really did happen and that we look forward to a new world without any pandemics. Death will not have the last word in our lives and this changes everything. We are stewards of the gospel message … Jesus died for our sins and rose again to show that we have forgiveness forever in Him. This is a message that even the pandemic cannot stop. At Easter something did happen.