Burunche’s Blog

Psalm 30: 11 “You have turned my mourning into dancing for me; You have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, ¹² That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.”

King David probably wrote this psalm while he was still herding his father’s sheep. Sheep make a wonderful audience; you can dance and look silly, and the sheep won’t care. Later when King David was bringing the ark into Jerusalem, he danced down the main street of town, leading the worship. Who knows? It’s quite possible that when the angels appeared to the shepherds, they might have been amusing themselves by playing on some kind of flute and singing. And when the shepherds returned from Bethlehem rejoicing? Why wouldn’t they have danced for joy then?

During the Middle Ages, many people were illiterate; if they were to hear the Gospel, it would have to be presented in art, in dance, or in productions known as “Miracle Plays.” Part of the reason for the magnificent stain glass windows in the cathedrals was to illustrate the stories of the Bible. St. Francis of Assisi is supposed to have initiated one of the first living nativity scenes so that everyone could see the Christmas story re – enacted.

The words copied here are part of a much longer song that portrayed the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. There are many movingly lovely versions on YouTube, but the link above is particularly good because it’s likely that this is what the production in the cathedral may have looked like originally. Listen to the music and allow the love of Jesus to fill your hearts with joy!

TOMORROW SHALL BE MY DANCING DAY

Tomorrow shall be my dancing day; I would my true love did so chance

To see the legend of my play, To call my true love to my dance;

Chorus

Sing, oh! my love, oh! my love, my love, my love,

This have I done for my true love

Then was I born of a virgin pure, Of her I took fleshly substance

Thus was I knit to man’s nature To call my true love to my dance. Chorus

In a manger laid, and wrapped I was So very poor, this was my chance

Betwixt an ox and a silly poor ass To call my true love to my dance. Chorus

Then afterwards baptized I was; The Holy Ghost on me did glance,

My Father’s voice heard from above, To call my true love to my dance. Chorus

Then down to hell I took my way For my true love’s deliverance,

And rose again on the third day, Up to my true love and the dance. Chorus

Then up to heaven I did ascend, Where now I dwell in sure substance

On the right hand of God, that man May come unto the general dance. Chorus

PRAYER: Father, today we need joy as never before! Many of us are facing bleak circumstances and problems that appear insurmountable. But Lord, you are the one who can turn our mourning into dancing. Today, please enter our hearts and fill us with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self – control – all the fruits of your Holy Spirit. And help us to rejoice in You! Amen.

Revelation 14:1- 3 “Then I looked and saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of many waters and the loud rumbling of thunder. And the sound I heard was like harpists strumming their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders.”

These days, tattoos are very popular. Some people have one or two discrete tattoos on an ankle or a shoulder while others have extensive tattooing over most of their bodies. These tattoos are selected for their beauty or for their significance to the person receiving them. But the design and location of the tattoos are always a matter of individual preference. Here those who have followed the Lamb have His Name and His Father’s Name written on their foreheads for everyone to see. It’s possible that these marks glow with a holy light. Remember that when Moses would speak with God, afterwards his face would glow so brightly that he had to cover his face before people could stand to look at him. What do these marks indicate?

William Barclay explains:

(i) It could stand for ownership. Often the slave was branded with his owner’s mark, as sheep and cattle are branded. The company with the Lamb belong to God.

(ii) It could stand for loyalty. The soldier would sometimes brand his hand with the name of the general whom he loved and would follow into any battle. The company of the Lamb are the veterans who have proved their loyalty.

(iii) It could stand for security. Those who bear the mark of the Lamb can never be snatched away from Him. The company of the Lamb are those marked for security in life and in death.

(iv) It could stand for dependence. The great Arab chieftains had their humble clients who were absolutely dependent on them. Often the sheikh would brand them with the same mark as he used to brand his camels to show that they were dependent on him. The company of the Lamb are those who are utterly dependent on his love and grace.

(v) It could stand for safety. It was common for those who were the devotees of a god to be stamped with his sign… There was a temple in Egypt which possessed the right of asylum. Any criminal, slave or free man, was safe there from pursuing vengeance. When such a fugitive reached that temple, he was branded with certain sacred marks in token that he had delivered himself to the god and that none could touch him any more. They were the marks of absolute security. The company of the Lamb are those who have cast themselves on the mercy of God in Jesus Christ and are forever safe.

Above all else, it is clear that these Jesus followers belong to Jesus and are loyal to Him and depend on Him. Now and forever they are safe and secure. The question each of us must answer is this: whose mark will we bear? Will we choose to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord and follow Him, or will we choose to go our own way? There is no such thing as neutrality in the spirit world; either we serve Jesus or we serve Satan.

PRAYER: Father God, help each of us to search our hearts and to answer that question: whom are we serving? whom are we following? And if we must answer that we are not serving You, may we turn our lives around and seek Your light and your truth. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Isaiah 61: 1-3 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; he has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; ² To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn, ³ To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

The Prophet Isaiah was given some of the most magnificent prophecies in the entire Old Testament, and this is certainly one of them! This prophecy speaks of the purpose and ministry of the coming Messiah. At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, just after Jesus had completed being tempted by Satan in the wilderness, Jesus returned to his home town of Nazareth. On the Sabbath, Jesus was invited to read the Haftorah and this was the section for that particular day. Jesus took this opportunity to announce the beginning of His ministry. (Luke 4:21 “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled…”)

After the Children of Israel reached the Promised Land, they broke their covenant with God. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that they annihilated their covenant with God! God had warned them to have nothing to do with the terrible religions practiced by the Canaanites and Philistines; however, holiness was such a drag and fertility cults were soooooo attractive. Although the Bible does not state it, Rabbinical tradition holds that evil King Manasseh killed the prophet Isiah by sawing him in two. As a result of this cumulative wickedness, both the Northern and Southern kingdoms were destroyed and many of their citizens carried off to Babylon. There in exile, the Jews began to take their own prophecies seriously and long for the coming of the Messiah. And the passage from Isaiah 61 was one of the best – beloved prophecies.

Sadly, after years of waiting for the Messiah to appear, many of the religious leaders failed to recognize Him when He actually came. The Jewish religious leaders expected the Messiah to be a triumphant military leader; in no way did Jesus fit their expectations. Today Jesus still comes in ways that we least expect. But the purpose of Jesus’ coming has not changed. Jesus still comes “to comfort all who mourn, ³ To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” Who among us does not need comfort? Who among us has not watched treasured hopes and dreams turn to ashes? Who among us has not suffered from a spirit of heaviness? And who among us can honestly state that he/she feels like a tree of righteousness?

Jesus came to heal, to restore, and to give us joy! But we cannot dictate terms; we cannot cling to darkness if we expect light to come into our lives. The speed of light is also the speed of darkness; darkness flees when light comes. Jesus came as the Light of the world. Today, let us open our hearts to receive Jesus’ Light and Joy!

PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father, today many of us are sad. It has been a tough year. Many of us have lost loved ones, jobs, hopes, dreams, perhaps even our homes. Lord, you are the One who sent Jesus to comfort all who mourn. Please comfort us! Give us joy! And give us hope that with Your help, this coming year will bring new beginnings. Amen.

Luke 2: ⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” ¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”

Sheep are really stupid and stubborn! Give a sheep any chance at all, and before you know it, the sheep will have wandered off following the next attractive clump of grass. There’s a meme that has appeared on Facebook showing a sheep standing on a small rock that is caught between two cliffs with a chasm below. When the Bible refers to us as sheep, it’s no complement! And sheep stink! There is a particular odor to the lanolin that comes off the wool of a live sheep. That stinky lanolin plus the grease from the sheep’s wool will come off on anybody who touches the sheep. What would shepherds who had to work with sheep and sometimes carry them smell like? And given the fact that there might not be a great deal of water out in a pasture, bathing might not have been a priority for shepherds either.

While the Scriptures may have spoken of King David as having begun as a shepherd and of the Messiah as feeding His flock like a shepherd, the religious leaders of Israel wanted nothing to do with real shepherds. Shepherds were low – class and poorly educated. Watching sheep leaves little time to study Torah. It’s likely that the Bethlehem shepherds had started as children and that herding sheep and goats was the only thing they really knew. And yet, here is the miracle, the mystery, the wonder of it! God sent angels to these shepherds! Angels! And moreover, the shepherds joyfully received the message the angels brought and obeyed immediately. When Zechariah, an educated priest, met the Angel Gabriel, Zechariah refused to believe the message and had to suffer as a mute for 9 months. But the shepherds had no such problem; they believed and acted instantly. What made the difference?

Shepherds lived outside much of the time, in all kinds of weather. Being a shepherd meant adjusting to whatever natural conditions prevailed and accepting the way sheep would behave. Meanwhile, the religious leaders had reached the point where they had everything dissected, cut, dried, itemized, and parsed. It’s possible that even had angels appeared in the temple, the religious leaders would not have recognized them but would have merely thought that there was an unusual amount of light for some reason. Later when Jesus was baptized and God said, “This is my beloved Son,” some people only heard thunder. Elizabeth Barrett Browning once wrote, ““Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God, but only he who sees takes off his shoes; The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.”

Today, God wants to send you joy! But are you willing to receive that joy? We are never told of the problems the shepherds were facing. We know nothing about their poor pay or their difficult living conditions. All we are told is that the shepherds received the angels gladly, they obeyed and found the Baby Jesus, and they told others. May God give each of us spiritual eyes to see the joy set before us!

PRAYER: Father, today we ask that you will help each one of us to stop wallowing in our problems and to see the joy that you want to give us. Thank you that you are going to give us special tokens of your love and care! Help us to recognize the common bushes aflame with God and take off our shoes in reverence and awe. Amen.

Revelation 13:16-18 “And the second beast required all people small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark—the name of the beast or the number of its name. Here is a call for wisdom: Let the one who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and that number is 666.”

In the vision, those worshiping Caesar had marks on their right hands and on their foreheads. Barclay comments, “This mark is another of the grim parodies which occur in this chapter; it is a parody of a sacred Jewish custom. When a Jew prayed, he wore phylacteries on his left arm and on his forehead. They were little leather boxes with little scrolls of parchment inside them on which were written key scriptures from the Torah.”

Marks and tattoos of various kinds were commonly used in the Roman Empire in a variety of ways. Again, Barclay comments, “The word for the mark of the beast is charagma, and it could come from more than one ancient custom.

(i) Sometimes domestic slaves were branded with the mark of their owner. But usually they were branded only if they had run away or had been guilty of some grave misdemeanor. Such a mark was called a stigma; we still use the word in English. If the mark is connected with this, it means that those who worship the beast are his property.

(ii) Sometimes soldiers branded themselves with the name of their general, if they were very devoted to him. This, to some extent, corresponds to the modern custom of tattooing upon one’s person the name of someone specially dear. If the mark is connected with this, it means that those who worship the beast are his devoted followers.

(iii) On every contract of buying or selling there was a charagma, a seal, and on the seal the name of the emperor and the date. If the mark is connected with this, it means that those who worship the beast accept his authority.

(iv) All coinage had the head and inscription of the emperor stamped upon it, to show that it was his property. If the mark is connected with this, it again means that those who bear it are the property of the beast.

(v) When a man had burned his pinch of incense to Caesar, he was given a certificate to say that he had done so. The mark of the beast may be the certificate of worship, which a Christian could obtain only at the cost of denying his faith.

 What form will the mark of the beast take in this present age? Chips or other implants would be very simple and the technology has existed for years. There might be other even more subtle forms of marking and tracking with GPS technology. The question will be the same as it was for the ancient Christians: will we be faithful to the death?

What can be said about the number representing the Beast? Theologians and philosophers have struggled with this for years, coming up with all kinds of codes. Using one numbering system, the Hebrew letters for Nero Caesar add up to 666. Does this mean that Nero will be reborn? Nero was a horribly evil man and was obviously inspired by Satan. Whether or not Nero himself were to return, the import of this statement is that someone every bit as evil as Nero will appear.

J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings was a devout Catholic who truly believed in Jesus Christ. At one point in the story when things look particularly bleak, Frodo and Gandalf the magician are talking.

 “I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “

“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

Nobody is anxious to live during the time when the two beasts and the dragon appear and people are forced to take the mark of the beast or to die painful deaths. But we have no choice about that. What we can choose to do is to follow Jesus Christ as faithfully as possible and to beg God to help us so that we will be found faithful, no matter what.

PRAYER Father God, thank you for loving us! Thank you for sending Jesus to die for our sins and to set us free from Satan’s bondage. Lord, help us to follow hard after you all the days of our lives and to love you more each day than we did the day before. Help us to be faithful, no matter the circumstances. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Revelation 13:11- 15 “Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. This beast had two horns like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon. And this beast exercised all the authority of the first beast and caused the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose mortal wound had been healed. And the second beast performed great signs to cause even fire from heaven to come down to earth in the presence of the people. Because of the signs it was given to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived those who dwell on the earth, telling them to make an image to the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet had lived. The second beast was permitted to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship it to be killed.“

As if things weren’t scary enough, now there is a second beast reinforcing the power of the first beast. What’s going on? These visions frequently work on several different levels. How would John have viewed this vision? How might we view it? At the time of John, the Roman Empire was the greatest political power on earth and the Caesars had declared themselves gods. There was even a legend that the Emperor Nero would rise from the dead. Considering the Roman Empire as the first beast, Barclay suggests that the second beast is actually the organization that was set up to enforce Caesar worship throughout the Empire.

Barclay comments about this power:

(i) It produces signs and wonders, such as fire from heaven; it brings it about that the image of the beast should speak. Everywhere there were statues of the emperor in the presence of which the official act of worship was carried out. In all ancient religions the priests knew how to produce signs and wonders; they knew well how to produce the effect of a speaking image. Pharaoh had had his magicians in the time of Moses, and the imperial priesthood had its experts in conjuring tricks and ventriloquism and the like.

In Revelation 13:11 there is a curious phrase. This beast from the land is said to have two horns like a lamb; that is, it is a grim parody of the Lamb in the Christian sense of the term. But it is also said to speak like a dragon. It is just possible that that last phrase should be that” it spoke like the serpent.” The reference would then be to the serpent who seduced Eve in the Garden of Eden. The imperial priesthood could easily use seductive appeals: “Look what Rome has done for you; look at the peace and the prosperity you enjoy; have you ever known a greater benefactor than the emperor? Surely in simple gratitude you can give him this formal act of worship.” There are always excellent arguments why the Church should compromise with the world; but the fact remains that, when it does, Christ is betrayed again.

(ii) This beast brings it about that those who will not worship will be killed. That was, in fact, the law. If a Christian refused to make the act of worship to Caesar, he was liable to death. The death penalty was not always carried out; but, if a Christian had not the mark of the beast, he could not buy or sell. That is to say, if a man refused to worship the emperor, even if his life was spared, he would be economically ruined. It remains true that the world knows how to bring pressure to bear on those who will not accept its standards. Often still a man has to choose between material success and loyalty to Jesus Christ.

How are we to view this vision? Today there are many throughout the world who are pushing hard for a “One World Order.” Already in America, many churches and businesses have had to drastically operations due to the challenges of the COVID – 19 virus. Were someone to come out with a complete cure for COVID, how difficult would it be to encourage people around the globe to give allegiance to this person as a Savior? The chip technology has been used for years for pure bred animals. Already many people are questioning the possibility of keeping all one’s medical data on an embedded chip. What if financial data was added and you could only transact business if you had the proper code on your chip? And GPS technology also exists, making it very easy to track people through smart phones.

The question throughout the ages remains: whom shall we worship? Shall we worship the One True Living God and His Son Jesus Christ, who gave His life for our sins and who lives and reigns forever? Or shall we compromise, going along to get along?

The poet James Russell Lowell wrote a hymn. The words are worth considering.

1 Once to ev’ry man and nation 
Comes the moment to decide, 
In the strife of truth and falsehood, 
For the good or evil side; 
Some great cause, some great decision, 
Off’ring each the bloom or blight, 
And the choice goes by forever 
‘Twixt that darkness and that light. 

2 Then to side with truth is noble, 
When we share her wretched crust, 
Ere her cause bring fame and profit, 
And ’tis prosperous to be just; 
Then it is the brave man chooses 
While the coward stands aside, 
Till the multitude make virtue 
Of the faith they had denied. 

3 By the light of burning martyrs, 
Christ, Thy bleeding feet we track, 
Toiling up new Calv’ries ever 
With the cross that turns not back; 
New occasions teach new duties, 
Ancient values test our youth; 
They must upward still and onward, 
Who would keep abreast of truth. 

4 Tho’ the cause of evil prosper, 
Yet the truth alone is strong; 
Tho’ her portion be the scaffold, 
And upon the throne be wrong: 
Yet that scaffold sways the future, 
And, behind the dim unknown, 
Standeth God within the shadow, 
Keeping watch above His own.

PRAYER: Father God, help us to remain true to you, no matter how difficult things become! Give us the strength to follow, the grace to persevere, and the faith to see that you are there in spite of the difficulties. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Luke 2:7 “And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

John 16:21 “A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.”

Although I had good training in obstetrics as a medical student, I really learned midwifery in the middle of the Northern Ethnic Conflict of 1994. With no midwives available, I had to brush up on midwifery very quickly! Fortunately, the late Tani Alhassan had trained as a midwife. Tani would watch the pregnant ladies and do simple deliveries while I would handle the more complicated OB. With no electricity in Saboba, we had to use kerosene lanterns or flashlights (electric torches) for light for deliveries. When Bob was finally able to rig up a 12 – volt light for us that ran off a car battery, we thought we were in heaven! Over the years, I have probably delivered hundreds of babies. Two years ago, I had to do a delivery in the dark just outside our Children’s Ward because the poor lady couldn’t make it the last 50 meters to the Maternity ward. (I slid a rubber apron under the lady’s bottom and delivered the baby and placenta and then had to pinch the umbilical cord while our nurses came running to help. Mother and baby did fine.)

In each case, once the baby was delivered, the mothers were relieved and thrilled to have a healthy newborn baby. Many people have written about the Virgin Mary and what it must have been like for her to have to give birth away from home with no women to assist her or to perform the normal rituals. Ezekiel 16:4 describes the rituals surrounding a birth; newborn babies were rubbed with salt. “As for your nativity, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths.”

Mary may not have had much water to wash the Baby Jesus, and there is no mention made of salt, so she might have had to settle for wrapping Him in swaddling cloths alone. But these cloths had an additional significance.

Have you ever wondered about “swaddling clothes”? Everyone knows that Jesus was born in a manger, and the 2nd chapter of the gospel of Luke says that he was wrapped in “swaddling clothes” and laid in a manger. In fact, even hospitals today use a cloth that they call a “swaddling” cloth. Unfortunately, it’s a misnomer that will soon be over 2,000 years old, because “swaddling clothes” have nothing to do with a child being born!

In the Middle East, people traveling long distances were often met with many hardships and trials on their journeys. In the event of a death in travel, the body could not continue to be transported for many days. For that reason, travelers wrapped a thin, gauzelike cloth around their waist many times. If someone died on the journey, the others would use this cloth, referred to as “swaddling clothes” to wrap the corpse in before burying them.

When Jesus was born, there was no room in the Inn, and so Mary and Joseph used a nearby stable for Jesus’ birth. With no other cloth to use, Jesus was wrapped in Joseph’s “swaddling clothes” – the cloth normally reserved for a person’s death. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords came into this world in a lowly manger and was wrapped with burial clothes – in truth, He was born to die. To die for the sins of all mankind. Source:https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/12197/what-is-significant-about-the-swaddling-clothes-with-which-jesus-was-wrapped-as

Many times, we must suffer before we can rejoice, but we must keep looking upwards. Discouragement is of the Devil, and it is so easy to become discouraged! Take heart! Even now, God is moving in your situation. Trust and look for signs of His working.

PRAYER: Father, thank you that even though we may have to endure pain, there will be joy at the end! And thank you that the King of Heaven and Earth was not born in luxurious surroundings, but in the lowliest place possible. And because Jesus came to live and die and rise again, some day we will have “joy unspeakable and full of glory.” Amen.

Revelation 13:5-10 “The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant and blasphemous words, and authority to act for forty-two months. And the beast opened its mouth to speak blasphemies against God and to slander His name and His tabernacle—those who dwell in heaven.

Then the beast was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them, and it was given authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. And all who dwell on the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb who was slain. He who has an ear, let him hear: “If anyone is destined for captivity, into captivity he will go; if anyone is to die by the sword, by the sword he must be killed.” Here is a call for the perseverance and faith of the saints.”.

Yesterday we saw that a leader or empire would arise to which Satan would give his authority. This entity is represented by the beast coming from the sea. And now this beast wages war against God and the saints, slandering God, the place of His worship, and even His heavenly throne. Throughout history, there have always been rulers who have viewed themselves as gods and have tried to control public worship so that they and not God are the object of worship. Today in China after a brief respite, Chinese Christians are again being forced to go underground or to engage in state worship. The leaders in North Korea kill Christians whenever they find them. But this ruler that is coming will be worse than any of those preceding him.

Today international public opinion is readily swayed by news media, social media, and all kinds of other communications. Given the speed at which falsehoods can be spread, it is no wonder that this satanic leader will be able to deceive so many so quickly. And for those who do not know the One True Living God, demonstrations of power will quickly convince them.

At the same time, those God – followers are in for additional persecution! Barclay states, “One great truth stands out in this section. In this world a man and a nation have the choice between being the instrument of Satan and the instrument of God.”

What is meant by the Book of Life? Barclay explains, “In the ancient world rulers kept registers of those who were citizens of their realms; only when a man died or lost his rights as a citizen, was his name removed. The Book of Life is the register of those who belong to God.”

What is to be the Christian’s response to this persecution? Barclay summarizes:

 (i) If the Christian faith means imprisonment, the Christian must unmurmuringly accept it. Whatever is involved in following Christ, the Christian must accept.

(ii) Christianity can never be defended by force; the man who takes the sword perishes with the sword. When the Roman government began persecuting, the Christians could be numbered perhaps by the hundred thousand; and yet it never occurred to them to use force to resist. It is an intolerable paradox to defend the gospel of the love of God by using the violence of man.

(iii) There are weapons which the Christian can use and these are steadfastness and loyalty. The word for steadfastness is hupomone, which does not simply mean passively enduring but courageously accepting the worst that life can do and turning it into glory. The word for loyalty is pistis, which means that fidelity which will never waver in its devotion to its Master.

Reading these verses is frightening! What if all these prophecies take place in our time? What will we do? Remember that the only way to prepare to die for your faith is to live it daily and consistently. Believers are to exhibit steadfastness and loyalty. We are to courageously accept the worst that life can do and turn it into glory. And we are never to waver in our devotion to our Master. To live this way requires the grace of God on a continual basis. But “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” (1 Corinthians 15:57) If we will continue to ask God, He will give us the strength to follow Him to the very end. 1 John 5:4-5 says, “And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith. Who then overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”

PRAYER: Father God, we are afraid! Our faith is so small and the problems so immense! But YOU are the One who sent Jesus to die for our sins. YOU are the One who gives us the strength to follow You. Lord, we believe, help our unbelief! Help us to grow closer to you and to love you more each day. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Isaiah 9:1-2 “Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those in distress. In the past He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future He will honor the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.”

GALILEE! GALILEE OF THE GENTILES! What a backward place! If Galileans had lived in Africa, they would have been called “ignorant people from the bush!” Galilee was a place of mixed races, a place where Greek customs were allowed to flourish. Many Jewish religious leaders had nothing but scorn for anyone from Galilee. When the Jewish leaders were beginning to conspire against Jesus and Nicodemus attempted to reason with them, they replied, “Aren’t you also from Galilee?” they replied. “Look into it, and you will see that no prophet comes out of Galilee.” (John 7:52) Actually, they were wrong! The prophet Jonah, who was swallowed by a huge fish and who preached a revival that swept all of Nineveh, was from Gath Hepher in Galilee. But the fact remained, that Galileans didn’t enjoy much of a reputation.

The Jewish leaders knew that Jesus was raised in Nazareth in Galilee. But these proud intellectuals were so certain that they knew everything that they didn’t ask Jesus any of the normal questions such as “where is your family from originally?” The Africans would have said that “Jesus was a royal,” meaning that Jesus was born into a line of chiefs. Jesus was born into the human line of King David and the family was originally from Bethlehem. That was why Joseph and Mary had to struggle on foot for more than 70 miles over terrible roads to reach Bethlehem to satisfy the demands of the Roman census. And that was how Jesus came to be born in Bethlehem.

When this upstart young preacher began teaching and healing in the villages around the Sea of Galilee, the religious leaders paid little or no attention. After all, this man was only speaking to ignorant fishermen and tradesmen. So as the light of the Gospel began to dawn on these people who had been walking in darkness, those in Jerusalem who claimed to be looking for the Messiah totally missed His coming.

Martin Luther has been quoted as having said that “we must be little Christs to our neighbor.” Many times, we are surrounded by people desperate for any kind of light in their lives. Because we ourselves are also searching for light, we may fail to share the light we already have with those around us. And sometimes we become light bearers by the grace of God.

Several years ago, we had a young friend who was looking for love and significance in all the wrong places. Drugs, alcohol, even witchcraft -this girl had tried them all, and nothing satisfied the longing in her soul. Then my husband began working with this young lady. Later, she told us that when my husband came into the room, it was as if she was under a pile of garbage and suddenly there was a bright light. And if she saw my husband and me together, the light became very bright. We knew nothing about this, but we kept praying and that was it. But the night this girl accepted Jesus, she prayed, “whatever Bob and Jean have, I want it!” When we saw our friend two years later, a holy joy radiated from her.

I am not telling this to boast. We were completely unaware of our friend’s observations. But God shone a light; we were just in the general vicinity when God decided to work. The world is full of darkness, but if we share whatever light and joy we have, who knows what God might do?

PRAYER: Father God, today we long for light and joy. Help us to share what we can, trusting that you will multiply our efforts to reach and encourage many others. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Revelation 13:1-4 “Then I saw a beast with ten horns and seven heads rising out of the sea. There were ten royal crowns on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. The beast I saw was like a leopard, with the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave the beast his power and throne and great authority. One of the heads of the beast appeared to be mortally wounded. But the mortal wound was healed, and the whole world marveled and followed the beast. They worshiped the dragon who had given authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can wage war against it?”

Before this chapter is through, we will see not one, but two beasts. What does the beast from the sea represent? Remember that John is a believing Jew well – versed in his own scriptures. It is only logical that God would remind John of things that He had already revealed to the prophets. Barclay explains:

The general meaning is this. Satan, cast out of heaven, knows that his time is short and is determined to do as much damage as he can. To cause that damage on earth he delegates his power to the two beasts who are the central figures in this chapter.

The beast from the sea stands for the Roman Empire, to John the incarnation of evil and is described in terms which come from Daniel. In Daniel 7:3-7 there is a vision of four great beasts who come out of the sea; they are the symbols of the great empires which have held world power and of an empire which, when Daniel was written, was holding world sway. The beast like a lion with an eagle’s wings stands for Babylon; the one like a bear stands for Media; the one like a leopard with four wings stands for Persia; and the fourth stands for the empire of Alexander the Great. As the writer of Daniel saw these world powers, they were so savage and inhuman that they could be symbolized by nothing but bestial figures….

Now John sees one beast with the features of all four. It is like a leopard with bear’s feet and a lion’s mouth. That is to say, for John the Roman Empire was so satanic that it included all the terrors of the evil empires which had gone before. This beast has seven heads and ten horns. These stand for the rulers and the emperors of Rome. Since Augustus, the first Roman Emperor, there had been seven emperors… These seven emperors are the seven heads of the beast. But in addition it is said that the beast had ten horns. The explanation of this second figure lies in this. After the death of Nero there was a short period of almost complete chaos. In eighteen months three different men briefly occupied the imperial power, Galba, Otho and Vitellius. They are not included in John’s list of the seven heads but are included in the list of the ten horns.

John says that on the heads of the beast there were blasphemous names. These are the titles which the emperors took to themselves. Every emperor was called divus or sebastos, which means divine. Frequently the very name God or Son of God was given to the emperors; and Nero on his coins called himself The Savior of the World. For any man to call himself divine was a blasphemous insult to God. Further, the later emperors took as their title the Latin word dominus, or its Greek equivalent kurios, both of which mean lord, and in the Old Testament are the special title of God and in the New Testament the special title of Jesus Christ.

What is the meaning of the head that was mortally wounded but then recovered? Christians are well aware that when God does something wonderful, Satan attempts to copy it, producing a satanic counterfeit. It stands to reason, therefore, that Satan would try to counterfeit Jesus’ death and resurrection to deceive as many as possible.

At this point, Satan brings in a counterfeit Messiah who is actually the supreme enemy of Christ. The Emperor Nero, an extremely evil man, spared nobody, including his own mother in pursuit of his evil schemes and eventually committed suicide. But there was a legend stating that Nero would be reborn.

Even the pagan Sibylline Oracles foretold that in the last terrible days, a king would come from Babylon (the East) “whom all men hate, a king fearful and shameless and of abominable parentage.” This king would murder his own mother and bring ruin on the world.

When the satanic counterfeit Messiah comes, those without discernment worship this counterfeit Messiah and the dragon who has given him power. How can you tell the real from the counterfeit? Those charged with examining money study real money so long that they have no problems discerning the false from the real. In the same way, if we are not to be deceived, we must study God’s Word and pray, so that we actually know the One True Living God. If we are casual about our beliefs, when false Messiahs arise, we will be among the deceived.

PRAYER: Father God, help us to press in to know you in your purity, in your righteousness, in your beauty, and in your holiness! Help us to learn to know you so well that we will not be deceived by any satanic fakes. In the mighty and precious Name of Jesus. Amen.