Have you made the Exodus?

So, how is Exodus going......?Laws Laws Laws Laws Laws, huh?  The Israelites complain over and over again....we never do that do we???  Remember that God is teaching his people.   They are learning all about sin.  The Law points to sin.  Sin leads to death.  This kind of Law does not lead to freedom.    There was no one alive that could keep the laws.  God is pointing everything to Christ.   I am so glad to live on this side of the cross.  But Acts 17:10 tells us that God has selected the exact times and places where we live, so rest assured that you are right where you need to be! 

Hang in there with your reading, and know that it is in the Bible for a reason....This gives me so much for our trivia the last Sunday in February!   There haven't been many questions lately, so if this means you have to catch up, don't worry and know that you are not alone.

This is my baby Tay Tay.......right now we are "babies" in the Word in terms of where we are in the Bible.  Tay Tay (AKA Tater) is now over two years old and has matured......he doesn't eat puppy food any more and would prefer meat.    This is what will happen as we mature.  The New Testament puts it that we will quit needing milk, and God wants us to move on to "meat"....you are on your way and you are doing what is delighting God!

CONGRATS TO ANGELA MINISH!!!!

Angela won the Bible Trivia contest this morning, with Karen McBride breathing closely down her neck.  It was intense; people were sweating; competition was fierce.    In a very dramatic moment, Angela practically dived into home plate and screamed out the winning answer.


Angela won the ideal price of some Bible Book Marks, provided by our own Jonathan Langston.    We have a great prize basket, just like if you were good at the dentist.   You too can join us next month, the last Sunday in February.

My own son was score keeper, and delighted his mother when he was the only one in the room that new Israel meant "wrestles with God'.......

Hope you are doing well in reading the Bible...Angela is able to read on her Smart Phone when she needs to.  Use any means necessary!

Thought for the day....

The blog is being tempermental for me in the comment section, so I will make a whole new post today.   These thoughts follow the January 18 reading.....seems like there is an awful lot of sinning going on, huh?    People were taking matters into their own hands.....Sarah was helping God along with is promise, and we got Ishmael....Lot's daughters were helping along the blessing of children and we got two more enemy nations for the Jews.  There are consequences to every decision we make:  back then and now.  This reading has total application for today's culture.  I know that I am sometimes guilty of asking God to bless MY plans instead of listening for what He has planned.

I received an awesome book from a friend that I must recommend:  "Jesus Calling", by Sarah Young.  .....Today's reading fits right in:

I am leading you along the high road, but there are descents as well as ascents.  In the distance you see snow-covered peaks glistening in brilliant sunlight.  Your longing to reach those peaks is good, but you must not take shortcuts.  Your assignment is to follow Me, allowing Me to direct your path.  Let the heights beckon you onward, but stay close to me...........Walk hand in hand with Me through this day,  I have lovingly planned every inch of the way......

Have you ever thought about it like that?????

Great book to purchase...you can get it on your iPhone if you like and start reading today...

Revelation 19-22

Hallelujah!!!!!!

Huge joy from the multitudes...everyone face down to the Lord...the angel tells John to write "Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!

Huge white horse is seen whose rider is Faithful and True..it is the King of King and Lord of Lords...At last!!!!!!  The beast is captured along with the false prophet and they are thrown alive into the fiery lake.  (Beth Moore made an observation that she bets this is when the Jews will say:  "See, now this is what we were waiting for!!)

The dragon is bound for 1000 years and then he will be set free for a short time....

We have the first resurrection...the believers had not worshiped the beast and they are going to reign with Christ for 1000 years.  These were the martyrs for Jesus' name.

Satan's doom is next...he is released and tries to recruit help to spread more evil....nope, it is off to the fiery lake AT LAST!!!!!

The dead are judged...the lost are judged here, not the saved.   There is no condemnation for a believer.  This group is thrown into the fiery lake.   There was no more time to change your mind, here.  No repentance = The End.

Everything is made new....us....creation....our emotions....our bodies.....
And now there is a new Heaven and a new Earth...the New Jerusalem comes down from Heaven and now God is going to live with man again.  Note:  God comes down to meet us!  This is just how it was in Eden, before the Fall...the foundations of the city are now the Apostles, which is the new covenant, not the old....the colors of the stones are like what the High Priest work on his breastplate to represent the 12 tribes.   This new city has no need of the sun or the moon, because that is Jesus and God .  The river of life will run through the city and the throne of God and Jesus will be in the city....the curse (of the land where there were thorns, back in Genesis) has been removed.

God gave John a glimpse of eternity to show us.  John says the Jesus is most certainly coming.  Revelation ends just as Genesis began...in paradise with evil gone forever.  This scary book has a true message of hope.

We have been on a journey for a year....I do so hope that this has opened up the characteristics of God to you.....To me, there is a whole lot more majesty to God....thunder and lightning are cool to me, now...I just love how God has taken us from the beginning of His book to the end...and pulled it all together in a way our little human minds can fathom.   We have the detail we need, and the mystery that God chooses to use.  It is all an evolving plan of salvation.  We have met some really cool, flawed human beings that are there to teach us....and the fact is:  God loves His children.  We have been chosen.  As believers we have eternal life NOW!!!  Let's not hog it.....let's share the news because our God is big enough!!!  Clearly, I am a lay person and not an ordained person, I just love God.  The Word of God is for everyone, and thank you for the honor of traveling through this blog and the Bible with me.

Revelation 12-18

This is major Spiritual Warfare.....the battle between good and evil has been going on forever.   For some reason God has allowed Satan to rule the earth, but it is all a part of the plan.   God is in control, will always be in control, and remains in control.

The woman in chapter 12 is God's faithful people, the twelve stars on her head are the 12 tribes of Israel...Satan tried to use Herod to kill the baby Jesus.  Satan has been trying to get Jesus forever, and now tries to get his children.  Verse 12 tells us that Satan is furious because he knows that his time is short...he will use whatever weakness we have to get us away from God if he can.  When Jesus was resurrected, the devil had a huge blow struck against him and he is stepping up his persecution to counterfeit anything that God does. Who is like the beast that comes out of the sea?  This is the counterfeit of Jesus...the beast that comes out of the earth is the counterfeit Holy Spirit.  If you get a mark of the beast, it is all over for you.  The mark can't be revoked.  Those of us that are believers already have a mark of God on us, and the beast can't mark us...he can toy with us and try to tempt us, but we are God's.

3 angels appear, one preaches the gospel to everyone, one tells us that Babylon has fallen, and one warns against worshiping the beast.  Then the earth is ripe and it is time for the harvest.....

Seven plagues are poured out....you remember that God used plagues in the Old Testament..these are judgments.

The final victory is where the great prostitute/Babylon is going down!  The whole message of Revelation, according to Beth Moore can be summed up with verse 14:  The will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings-and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.


God's title of King of Kings now belongs to the son.  The evil earth system has been defeated.

Revelation 6-11

From Genesis to Revelation....all things have pointed to the second coming of Christ.  God allowed Daniel, Ezekiel, John, and Isaiah to see some things, but the mystery  remains.....God simply doesn't want us to know everything yet.

We have the opening of the seven seals.  Remember that the number 7 stands for perfection or completeness.  These scrolls are the first of three 7 part judgments.  The end of human history is coming in to play.  The four horses appear as the seals are opened...God is judging sin and rebellion.   The martyrs are eager for justice, but they are told to wait.

144,000 are sealed...many different interpretations exist for this number....just know that the faithful have been marked by God.  Notice the reverence....who can stand?  What will you do when you see Him?

The seventh seal is opened and there is silence in Heaven for a half an hour......amazing..

The seven trumpets begin to be sounded.  There is destruction for the non-believers.   Agony and torment are for the non-believers and to think, after these plagues, some still do not repent.   Do you remember the plagues of the Old Testament?  Do you think things are coming full circle?

John gets the little scroll and is told to eat it....remember Ezekiel eating a scroll?  

The two witnesses are by the Wailing Wall (did you know that the Wailing Wall is in Jerusalem and is the last known part of the temple?).  Some think these two are Moses and Elijah...Some think it is symbolic of the Old and New Testament together.

There is the sounding of the 7th trumpet and it signals the arrival of the King...there is no turning back now.....Woe to the non-believers....I simply cannot fathom who would not believe!!!!

God's temple in heaven is opened and there is the ark of the covenant....no shadowy pattern of what was here on earth...it is the real deal!!!!  Praise God!!!

Revelation 1-5

Many of you have just done the Beth Moore study on Revelation with me.   I encourage you to remain open with the interpretation and symbolism in this book.  There are many different views taken on this book of the Bible.   My position is that it only matters if it is a Saving Issue.....this is how I evaluate everything.  I don't think any of us have it completely right, and that is why there are multiple denominations.  I also think that you have to be open to Jesus Christ and how he chooses to fulfill his plan.   Specifically, the Jews missed Jesus Christ because they thought prophecy indicated that He would come as a King and not a servant.  Our Lord Jesus Christ can do anything He wants in anyway He chooses.  

I am going to borrow from Patricia for this entry, because she covers the churches and gives a nice description of the Kingdom Calendar

Posted by Patricia in Revelation. 12 Comments

I am not sure what your “take-home” on this will be today but mine is the Greatness of Jesus.  I think my vision of him is as a “human or in his carnate” state.  Jesus is not a man, He is Lord.   Our vision of Him must not be what we see from movies on Easter but of the Mighty Warrior He is up in Heaven.    John writes this “unveiling” of who Jesus our Christ really is.

A reminder of His love and our Purpose are stated in 1:5

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father

John is told in verse 19 to write: what you have seen, what is now, and what will take placelater.  John writes of his vision of Jesus starting in vs 13, Jesus is dressed in High Priest garments, holding the angels in his hand.  His hair is as white as snow, and  His eyes blaze with Holiness and the only thing Jesus speaks is the Word of God (sword).

We could spend 5 months on these 5 chapters, but sometimes the less I say the better.  Here are the 5 churches (which one describes your church or YOU)

1. Ephesus: (Loveless), you are a hard worker, reject evil, persevere but have fallen out of love for Faith.  Jesus tells them to repent and do what you used to do for God.
2. Smyrna: (Suffering for good)  Jesus comforts them with encouragement and for them to remain faithful for they will be given the crown!
3. Pergamum (loves the world) You may love Christ and don’t deny him but tolerate other false religions “to each his own” mentality, and immorality in the world does not bother you.  He warns us to repent!
4. Thytira (False Doctrine), Jesus warns them that they are a “deed based” faith (MANY are)  and you also tolerate other religions and worship idols and can be immoral.  He warns Judgement is coming, so repent.
5. Sardis (a restaurant in NY, how ironic) ( Spiritually dead)  a group or church that is spiritually dead and Jesus warns to wake up to the few that remain so they will  not be blotted from the book of life.
6. Philadelphia (Spiritually Alive) they have kept God’s word! And they will be rewarded in Heaven.
7. Laodicea (lukewarm, complacent).  You are neither hot nor cold for Jesus and your Faith, and Jesus would rather you be one or the other!  He warns, turn from your indifference or you may never see eternity.

Please know that there are soooo many views on the end of times but in 1 Thessalonians the Greek word for Rapture was used so, I believe in a Rapture of the Church.  I believe in a literal Revelation and ALL of this book will come true Word for Word. (But I am truly ok if you take a different view( as many do)  I believe that God first revealed himself to Israel, then to the Gentiles (Church) and then the Rapture will occur when CHrist will come and take believers before the tribulation occurs (Chapter 4).  The Great Tribulation is a time when severe calamities will occur and people who come to know Christ then will still suffer greatly.  Then the second coming of Christ will occur on earth and He will reign for what is called the Millenium here on earth and then finally there is a Final Judgment when the earth will cease to exist.

Chapter 4 speaks in vision and if you remember Ezekiel this lines up exact!  What all of it means I really don’t know and I think it is dangerous to think we can “figure” it all out.  Some scholars have represented the 24 elders and the uniting of the Old Testament and the New Testament with the 12 Tribes and the 12 chosen Disciples. 

The four creatures  may represent the four attributes of Jesus

• Lion is Power
• Ox is faithfulness
• Man is intelligent
• Eagle is Sovereignty.

But I also think it might me

• Lion is KING!
• Ox as a SACRIFICE
• Man as The Christ (Perfect)  Man
• Eagle as Sovereign and Supreme

So now we begin to read of the End Times and what it will be like.  There is a scroll with seven seals that only Jesus is worthy of opening.  Note the constant comparison between Lion and Lamb.  He is The King of Kings yet He was willing to take our place against sin as a Sacrifice to overcome satan’s grip on us.  So tomorrow we will jump into the 7 years of tribulation, the seven seals broken…

If you want to prepare for what you about to read so that none of this comes as a shock take a few Minutes to read Matthew 24 again.  Jesus has already told us the story and warning of his unveiling.