Burunche’s Blog

Revelation 12:10-12 “And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down— he who accuses them day and night before our God. They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. And they did not love their lives so as to shy away from death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea; with great fury the devil has come down to you, knowing he has only a short time.”

Satan has been banned from heaven for all time and the saints are rejoicing! From the beginning of time, Satan has accused, criticized, belittled, and done everything he could to undermine God and the saints and to spoil all creation. Barclay gives this explanation: The historical background of the age in which the Revelation was written lends sharpness to this picture of Satan. This was the great age of the informer, the delator. People were constantly being arrested, tortured, killed because someone had informed against them. Tacitus, writing some years before, had said: “He who had no foe was betrayed by his friend.” That ancient world knew only too well what malevolent, cynical, venal accusers were like.

Heaven is being cleansed and the martyrs are singing praises to God! But who are these martyrs? The martyrs are those who have died rather than denying Jesus Christ. Again, Barclay gives us useful answers:

The martyrs are those who have overcome Satan.

(a) Martyrdom is itself a conquest of Satan. The martyr has proved superior to every seduction and to every threat and even to the violence of Satan. Here is a dramatic truth for life every time we choose to suffer rather than to be disloyal is the defeat of Satan.

(b) The victory of the martyrs is won through the blood of the Lamb. There are two meanings here. First, on his Cross and through his Resurrection Jesus overcame forever the worst that evil could do to him; and those who have entrusted their lives to him share in that victory. Second, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross sin is forgiven; when a man accepts in faith what Christ has done for him, his sins are wiped out. And when he is forgiven, there is nothing for which he can possibly be accused…

(c) The martyrs are victorious, because they lived the great principle of the gospel. They did not consider life more important than loyalty. “He who loves his life loses it; and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:25). This principle runs all through the gospel …. For us this is not necessarily a matter of dying for the faith but of setting loyalty to Jesus Christ before the comfortable way.

(iii) This passage finishes with the idea that Satan is cast out of heaven and has come down to earth. His power in heaven is broken, but he has still power on earth; and he rages ferociously because he knows that all that he has left is a short time upon this earth before he is finally destroyed.

If you ask any congregation, “Who wants to be blessed abundantly?” everybody will be up on their feet raising their hands and shouting. But if you then ask “How many of you are willing to be martyrs?” you aren’t going to get many takers. We all want things to be comfortable; however, the test of your loyalty to any cause is whether or not you will remain true when it begins to cost you something. In the old days, missionaries who were posted to assignments in West Africa packed their things in their coffins. WHY? Because West Africa had so much malaria and yellow fever that it was known as “The White Man’s Grave Yard.” Those missionaries took their coffins with them because they expected to die on the mission field. And many of those coffins got used within a few months of the missionaries arriving.

Knowing that their time might be short, missionaries tried to do everything they could to win souls. In Accra, Ghana, the Basel Mission only allowed its missionaries to preach in English for three Sundays. By the fourth Sunday, the Mission expected that the missionary would give a message in a local language, even if it was very short. The Basel Mission also required each missionary who came to have a trade such as masonry, carpentry, etc., and to practice that trade and teach it to the local people as they were learning local languages. In Yendi in the North, Bertha Buchwalter and others began Bible teaching and outreaches despite primitive conditions. Buchwalter herself died from black water fever, a complication of Malaria, and was buried in Yendi.

Recently Christians in Burkina Faso and Northern Nigeria have been massacred by Muslim extremists. One elderly Australian doctor kidnapped from northern Burkina Faso in January 2015 has never been heard of again. Even in America, worshipers in some states are facing severe opposition from some politicians.

How do you prepare for martyrdom? You prepare for dying for Christ by living for Christ. Each moment, you make a conscious decision that God’s will is going to rule in your life and not your own. You acknowledge that you are only made righteous by the Blood of Jesus and not by anything that you can do. And you hang on, no matter what happens. To have faith means to trust where you cannot see, to continue with what you have seen in the light when all around you is darkness.

PRAYER: Father God, the very idea of being a martyr frightens us! But right now you are calling us to live for you. Help us to follow so hard after you that if we must die rather than deny you, we will neither falter nor fail. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Matthew 1:18 ^“This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about^[d]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet^[e] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,^[f] because he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”^[g] (which means “God with us”).

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”

The scandal had given the gossips of Nazareth something to talk about for days! They didn’t notice anything when Mary left for the hill country to visit her cousin Elizabeth, but when she came back, it was obvious that Mary was at least six months pregnant!

“Mary? Pregnant? Oh, and I always thought Anne was such a good mother and that Mary was so virtuous!” “Huh! That Mary is really a looker! Guess Joseph just couldn’t wait!” The vicious remarks were everywhere. If Mary went to collect water, her friends tittered at her, and the old women gave her angry glances. As Joseph was working in his carpenter’s shop, his buddies who passed by made crude remarks. But things could have been far worse. Deuteronomy 22:23 – 24 ordered that if a virgin was raped in town, both she and the young man should be stoned – he for the rape and she for not crying out. But if a couple were betrothed as were Mary and Joseph, and the woman became pregnant, they were considered to have consummated the marriage early. There would be no grand celebrations, no processions through the streets with laughing, singing friends. There would be no thrilling marriage feast with lots of wine. But the couple would be treated as having already married.

This was NOT what Joseph had imagined when he became betrothed to Mary! He had been eagerly anticipating their marriage celebrations and the joys of sexual intimacy. Mary was a lovely young lady, beautiful both inside and out, and Joseph couldn’t wait to make her his wife. But not like this! Never like this! What was Joseph going to do? This question burned in his brain day and night; it was becoming difficult for him to eat, to sleep, or even to work. One night, after Joseph had been wrestling with this problem for hours, he fell into an uneasy sleep. And it was at this point that God sent an angel to reassure Joseph.

Many times, all the emphasis seems to be on Mary. But according to Matthew’s account, Joseph was a very devout and caring man, who found himself in a hard situation. Joseph had done nothing wrong; yet, he had to bear the burden of public ridicule. And anybody who has lived in a small town can tell you that a juicy story such as this one doesn’t die out within a few days or weeks. No! For years afterward, small – minded vicious people will be telling and re – telling the story, adding more gory details every time they do so. And yet, because of what the angel told Joseph, he did the difficult but honorable thing. Joseph quietly took Mary as his wife as if he, Joseph, had fathered this child. It wasn’t fair at all to Joseph, but because Joseph also had faith, he believed what the Angel had told him, and he acted accordingly.

Perhaps today you are an innocent person stuck in a situation not of your own making. Somebody you trusted has let you down, and now you don’t know what to do. If you save yourself and throw this other person under the bus, this other person may suffer terribly. And you can’t really be sure of all the facts. What should you do?

The Bible tells us that God is no respecter of persons. (Acts 10:34) This means that God doesn’t play favorites. Many times, we may have to endure trying situations, but the same God who strengthened and encouraged Joseph so that he was able to withstand public ridicule and shelter Mary can also strengthen and encourage you.

PRAYER: Father, today many of us are stuck in bad situations that are not of our making. We have been trying to do the right thing, but now we are still facing criticism and ridicule. We don’t know what to do or which way to turn. But Lord, you are the same God who strengthened and encouraged Joseph so that he was able to care for Mary. You honored Joseph by making him the earthly father of Jesus. Lord, please give us grace and courage so that we can do the right thing, and the wisdom to know which path to take. In the mighty and precious Name of Jesus. Amen.

Revelation 12:7- 9 “Then a war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But the dragon was not strong enough, and no longer was any place found in heaven for him and his angels. And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.”

In the beginning, Satan was an angel of light, one of the greatest of the angels. But Satan’s pride caused him to try to usurp God’s authority, and he and one third of the angels fell from heaven. Despite that fall, Satan continued to have access to God, accusing those such as Job who were serving God faithfully. At the same time, Satan was also seducing, deceiving, lying, and undermining all who tried to follow God. Satan tempted Jesus, convinced Judas to betray Jesus, tried to make Peter fall, and enticed Ananias and Sapphira to withhold part of the money they should have given to God. In modern times, Satan has inspired wars, genocide, bio terrorism, revolutions, and chaos. Barclay states, “Satan stands for the sleepless vigilance of evil against good.”

Jesus described Satan this way: “Now judgment is upon this world; now the prince of this world will be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” (John 12:31-32) By this statement, Jesus prophesied how Satan would be completely defeated because of Jesus’s sacrificial death on the cross.

Up until now, Satan has been threatening and terrorizing and accusing, but now the hosts of heaven show up! Michael and his angels defeat Satan and throw him out of heaven forever. In the old time western movies, the good guys always wore white cowboy hats while the bad guys wore black ones. Now the good guys in the white hats have thundered in and have won! Satan and his minions are now limited to earth only. No longer can Satan ever return to heaven to accuse any of the saints as he did when he complained about Job.

One question that might bother us as we read these verses is this: Why has God waited so long? Why didn’t God defeat Satan sooner? God had the power at any point in time, so why this delay?

Divine delays can be baffling. Way back in Genesis 15:16 when God is cutting covenant with Abraham, God tells Abraham, “In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” Presumably, there were still a few righteous people within the Amorites at that point; however, their worship practices were becoming steadily more degrading. Eventually, God instructed the Israelites to eliminate the Amorites, but God wanted to have mercy on as many of them as possible.

 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.” Even in these last few days of the earth, God is still giving as many people as possible the opportunity to turn away from evil and to serve Him. God knows human hearts better than anybody else and God’s love is so compelling that He wants all who will to come to Him.

The message throughout the Bible is a message of God’s incredible love for sinful humanity. Each of us has a choice: will we serve the prince of this world, or will we serve the One True Living God who loves us so much that He sent Jesus into the world to die for our sins?

PRAYER: Father God, please help us to choose to follow you. Make yourself so real to everyone who reads these lines that they will see for themselves your incredible love and will turn their hearts to You. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Luke 1:39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, ⁴⁰ where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! ⁴³ But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Zechariah might have been struck dumb and Joseph had to be reassured by an angel in a dream, but Elizabeth and Mary had faith that God would honor his promises. Elizabeth never had an angelic vision; she just believed, and Mary, unlike Zechariah, didn’t argue with the Angel Gabriel, she believed and accepted the Will of God for her life. By this point, Elizabeth was nearly seven months pregnant, and the pregnancy was going well. Mary may have been about two or three months pregnant and eventually stayed with Elizabeth for another three months. When Mary first went to Elizabeth, her pregnancy was not yet showing. Perhaps Mary stayed so long with Elizabeth because she knew that Elizabeth was a woman of faith and that Elizabeth would believe her story of the Angel Gabriel and his prophecy.

Mary may also have been staying with Elizabeth because she was struggling to find a credible way to tell Joseph. According to the Talmud (Deuteronomy 22:23), if a woman was raped in town and did not cry out, it was assumed that she was actually a willing participant, and therefore an adulteress. If Joseph failed to believe Mary and did not protect her, Mary could be killed by stoning. An angelic visitation? A divine impregnation? Who would be foolish enough to believe that? No! The men of Nazareth would far more readily believe that Mary was a slut! “Who knew? And we always thought that Anne was a good lady who could control her daughter. Mary pregnant? The very last person we would have suspected! Well, these young women these days think they can get away with misbehaving. We’ll show everybody in the community that Nazareth is not that kind of place!” (Spoiler alert: tomorrow we are going to talk about Joseph and how God helped him save Mary from this horrible fate.)

The Angel Gabriel had promised Zechariah that his son John would be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb. When the Holy Spirit filled Elizabeth, He also filled her baby as well. The bond between a pregnant mother and the infant inside her womb is incredibly strong. And infants respond to prenatal influences and to their mothers’ emotional states. Many devout parents pray over their children in the womb, laying hands on the baby before he or she is ever born. What a wonderful thing, to know from the womb that you are loved and wanted! (But if you are reading this and are pregnant and are depressed, do not punish yourself. God is greater than your depression, and He can protect your unborn baby. My mother was chronically ill and had had four miscarriages in three years before she got pregnant with me. Mom was still grieving the death of her beloved grandfather at the time I was born. God healed Mom and protected me. God can do the same thing for you and your baby.)

PRAYER: Father, today we pray for all pregnant mothers, as well as for those who hope to become pregnant. We pray for protection for mother, for baby, and for everyone in their families. We also pray for expectant mothers and fathers who feel overwhelmed and who are worried that they won’t be able to care for their babies properly. Grant all of these people your Holy Spirit peace, so that they will know that you are truly King of Kings and Lord of Lords and that you love them and care for them and will always be with them. In the matchless Name of Jesus. Amen.

Revelation 12:1 – 6 “And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed in the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and crying out in the pain and agony of giving birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars from the sky, tossing them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman as she was about to give birth, ready to devour her child as soon as He was born. And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was caught up to God and to His throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place for her to be nourished for 1,260 days.”

In searching for graphics to illustrate these verses, I encountered a PDF presentation from Almaden Neighborhood Church (almadenchurch.org) entitled “The Christmas You Didn’t See.” Today’s devotional draws heavily from that presentation.

The question that has troubled Christians ever since Revelation was first written is this: Who is the Woman? This is one of those visions that works on several different levels:

1. These verses give a behind the scenes look at the spiritual battle surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ, i.e., “The Christmas You Didn’t See.” First of all, remember that God chose Mary to bear Jesus. To the villagers in Nazareth, Mary was just another teenager, but God saw her differently. Song of Solomon 6:10 says, “Who is this who shines like the dawn, as fair as the moon, as bright as the sun, as majestic as the stars in procession?” That was how God saw Mary. The ancient Babylonians visualized their goddesses as being crowned with the signs of the zodiac, and John was probably familiar with that picture. Why couldn’t God activate that mental picture as well to emphasize unearthly beauty? When God touches a life, nothing is ever the same again. Mary was so filled with the Holy Spirit that when she met her pregnant cousin Elizabeth, Elizabeth’s baby leaped in her womb and was filled with the Holy Spirit from that point onward.

 2. The huge red dragon is Satan. The horns and the crowns indicate complete power over the kingdoms of this world. Satan is the Author of evil and will use any one willing to pursue their own interests instead of God’s. When Satan fell from heaven, one third of the angels followed him and fell to earth as well, as indicated by the sweeping of one third of the stars from the sky to earth.

3. Satan did everything he could to attack Mary and to kill Jesus. It’s entirely possible that Satan had poisonous snakes, robbers, and other agents stationed along the road to Bethlehem to try and stop Mary and Joseph. And had Mary and Joseph stayed in one of the inns in Bethlehem, something terrible might have happened to them; however, God covered Mary and Joseph with His hand and protected them. God led them to a cave used by shepherds as a stable, the last place in which anyone might look for them. There are many instances throughout Christian history where God has blinded prison guards or soldiers or police to save believers. Inspired by Satan, Herod tried to get information about Jesus and when he couldn’t he massacred all the baby boys below the age of two years just to make certain that the Messiah would not escape…. but God warned Joseph in a dream and he and Mary and Jesus escaped in the middle of the night! (Had the Holy Family been in a bigger town, they could never have left in the middle of the night because the gates would have all been closed and the guards would not have allowed them to leave.)

4. “And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was caught up to God and to His throne.” Jesus the Messiah is the One born to rule all the nations! And after Jesus was crucified and arose from the dead, He ascended into heaven.

5. “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place for her to be nourished for 1,260 days.” Here is where the second interpretation of the identity of the Woman comes into consideration. The figure of the Woman has been considered to represent Israel or the body of believers. There are many recorded instances where the Jews had to flee to the wilderness, beginning with the escape from Egypt. Jesus foretold the attack of the Romans and advised those listening to flee to the mountains. Barclay states: Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70. The years immediately before that were terrible years of bloodshed and of revolution in which anyone with eyes to see and a mind to understand could forecast what was about to happen. Eusebius, the Christian historian, tells us that, before the final disaster came, the Christians in Jerusalem had been warned by a revelation given to approved men to leave Jerusalem and to cross the Jordan into Perea and to dwell there in a town called Pella (Eusebius: The Ecclesiastical History 3: 5). This is actually referred to in the account of Jesus’ words to the disciples about the last times. When they saw the last terrors coming they were to flee to the mountains (Mark 13:14); this is exactly what they did. The figure of 1,260 days is a standard figure of a time of distress, not necessarily an actual number.

Being a Christian has never been easy. In the last few decades, there have been more Christians martyred around the world than ever before. Each day brings news of fresh massacres in places such as Northern Nigeria. But the good news is this: We serve the One True Living God, who is still on the throne and who rules and reigns over all. No matter how terrible the conflict, no matter how severe the persecution, we can still trust in God. Thousands of year ago, three young Jewish captives faced a terrible fate: worship a golden statue of King Nebuchadnezzar or be thrown into a fiery furnace. This was their answer: “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and from your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.” Daniel 3:16-18 And when the three young me were thrown into the fire, observers saw a fourth man with them, and his appearance “looked like a son of the gods.’ When you go through persecution, Jesus shows up. You might or might not be delivered physically, but you will be delivered spiritually.

PRAYER: Father God, thank you that you always cause us to triumph in Christ Jesus! Thank you that Jesus defeated death, hell, and the grave! Thank you that throughout history you have always been working and have never stopped! And thank you for loving us and sending Jesus as your best Gift. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Revelation 11:15 – 19 “Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: “We give thanks to You, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign. The nations were enraged, and Your wrath has come. The time has come to judge the dead, and to reward Your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear Your name, both small and great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.” Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, and rumblings, and peals of thunder, and an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.”

How can we picture this scene? Our imaginations might not stretch far enough. Perhaps the best “picture” of this scene is the verses from Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus,” from his Messiah oratorio. With the blast of the seventh and last trumpet, we realize that every thing that has gone before was merely a prelude. Here now is the fulfillment of Scripture. What will happen from now on?

1. “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: “We give thanks to You, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.” Finally, after years of struggle, suffering, and spiritual and physical warfare, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, is taking His Kingdom. All of heaven is celebrating this victory over the forces of evil and darkness! The morning has come and all darkness has had to flee, never to gain a victory again! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

2. “The nations were enraged, and Your wrath has come. The time has come to judge the dead, and to reward Your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear Your name, both small and great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.” Time after time, God has sent His prophets, time after time, believers have witnessed and died, time after time, God has shown signs in the heavens and the earth. God has given the human race every possible opportunity to turn and worship Him. If there are any left at this point who are not worshiping the One True Living God, it is by their own choice. God does not SEND people to hell; they CHOOSE to go there.

3. Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, and rumblings, and peals of thunder, and an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.” From the time of the first temple for which God gave Moses instructions, God made it clear that the earthly temples were only a foreshadowing of the heavenly one. Barclay explains it this way: In Revelation 11:19 we come back, as it were, to the present. There is a vision of the heavenly Temple opened and of the Ark of the Covenant. Two things are involved in this vision.

(i) The Ark of the Covenant was in the Holy of Holies, the inside of which no ordinary person had ever seen, and into which even the High Priest went only on the Day of Atonement. This must mean that now the glory of God is going to be fully displayed.

(ii) The reference to the Ark of the Covenant is as a reminder of God’s special covenant with his people. Originally that covenant had been with the people Israel; but the new covenant is with all of every nation who love and believe in Jesus.

Barclay concludes: Whatever the terror to come, God will not be false to his promises. This is a picture of the coming of the full glory of God, a terrifying threat to his enemies but an uplifting promise to the people of his covenant.

PRAYER: Father God, help all who read this devotional to realize that you love them beyond all measure and that is why you sent Jesus Christ to die for our sins. Lord, help us to truly love you and to follow hard after you all the days of our lives. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Luke 1:26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” ²⁹ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰ But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. ³¹ You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

³⁴ “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

³⁵ The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called^[b] the Son of God. ³⁶ Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. ³⁷ For no word from God will ever fail.”

³⁸ “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Teenage pregnancy! What a disaster! Mary was engaged but there were certain cultural practices that had to be fulfilled, and the engaged couple were not to engage in sex until after the marriage ceremony. If Mary became pregnant before Joseph and she were married, it would be scandalous! How would Mary ever explain to Joseph that an angel had informed her God had selected her? Now an angel was telling Mary that she was to become pregnant and to bear a son who would be the long – awaited Messiah. Why didn’t Mary completely freak out and refuse?

Mary was from a devout family and had heard the scriptures read repeatedly. In addition, the Jews had been waiting for a Messiah, so to be the mother of that Messiah was to be forever remembered and forever blessed. Several hundred years earlier, Isaiah had prophesied, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) But how could Mary be so accepting, despite the possibility of social disaster? The answer lies in the Spirit in which the Angel Gabriel came. The mark of the Holy Spirit is peace, a peace so deep that it is beyond our comprehension. This peace is so complete that it can calm storms on the Sea of Galilee and restore sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf; it can invigorate lame legs and drive out demons. Once experienced, the peace of the Holy Spirit is unmistakable. And it was that Holy Spirit peace that bolstered Mary’s faith so that she could truly agree to be the mother of the Messiah.

Perhaps today your faith has grown very dim. It’s been a very tough year, and circumstances have conspired to make you feel that you are trapped with no way out. But God is no respecter of persons; He doesn’t play favorites. Even though Mary was a virgin, she still needed a Savior, as do we all. The same Holy Spirit peace that helped Mary to act in faith can be yours as well. Ask God to give you His peace, for with that peace will come the faith to believe that God is working in your situation to give you a hope and a future.

PRAYER: Father, today many of us are battered. Problems with our jobs, family problems, financial problems, and personal problems have ganged up on us to crush us. But You are a God of Peace. Lord, we believe that if we ask, you will give us Your peace. Father, we give you permission to enter our minds and hearts and give us Your true peace that never ends and that never goes away. In the matchless Name of your Son our Savior, Jesus. Amen.

Luke 1:21  ^“Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. ²² When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.²³ When his time of service was completed, he returned home. ²⁴ After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. ²⁵ “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

Years ago, there was a popular TV program called “Touched by An Angel.” Each week people stuck in various predicaments would find themselves involved in a divine encounter. But many times, they only realized what had happened after all was said and done and the angel had left. Zechariah, on the other hand, saw the Angel Gabriel. Gabriel identified himself and informed Zechariah exactly why he (Gabriel) was there and what was to happen.

Luke tells us that Zechariah was a very devout man. Luke was a physician and I have always thought that he would have made a good neurologist. Neurologists are detail people who get every bit of a patient’s history, even tiny details that other doctors might miss so that they can reach a diagnosis. That was Luke. Luke interviewed who knows how many people to make certain that he was getting his facts exactly correct. So, we can trust Luke when he describes Zechariah and Elizabeth and the angelic encounter. It wasn’t that Zechariah didn’t want to believe; Elizabeth and he desperately wanted a child. But they had been married for at least thirty years, and had been unable to get pregnant. At this point, Zechariah’s faith was growing pretty dim. Zechariah’s sagging faith cost him more than nine months during which he was unable to speak.

Once Zechariah got home and told Elizabeth, she must have believed him. And Elizabeth got pregnant! Incredible! Why did Elizabeth remain in seclusion for five months? Elizabeth was an elderly mother; elderly mothers are more likely to have complications of pregnancy such as miscarriages than younger mothers. Elizabeth wanted to make sure that the pregnancy was safe; she probably allowed her maid servants to do things around the house that she would normally have done just to avoid stressing herself and causing any problem. By the time Mary came to visit Elizabeth, Elizabeth had been pregnant for at least seven months. Fetal movement generally begins at 16 – 20 weeks, so every time Elizabeth’s baby moved, she was praising God, even when the baby was kicking her diaphragm or her bladder.

Perhaps God has promised to do some big thing for you, but you don’t see that promise coming true. You have watched and waited and prayed, but you still don’t see any answer on the horizon. Take heart! Learn from Zechariah and Elizabeth that God is a God of the impossible and that He rewards faith. But remember, God will act in His way and in His timing. Many times, God intervenes in our lives, and we are like the people on that TV show. We only realize that God has done something after He has already acted. And also be prepared for God to work differently than you expected. By the time Elizabeth got pregnant, it’s likely that Zechariah and she were simply praying for God to give them grace to accept their barren state; they had given up praying for a child long ago.

PRAYER: Father, today many of us are struggling with sagging faith. Our hopes and dreams appear to have died, and we aren’t even sure how to pray anymore. Increase our faith! Help us to look around us and see that your hand of provision is already working in our situation. And help us to remember that you can do “abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to your power that works in us.” (Ephesians 3:20) We are looking to you! We are waiting for you! In the matchless Name of your Son our Savior Jesus. Amen.

Revelation 11:7 – 14 “When the two witnesses have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will wage war with them, and will overpower and kill them. Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city—figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where their Lord was also crucified. For three and a half days all peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will view their bodies and will not permit them to be laid in a tomb. And those who dwell on the earth will gloat over them, and will celebrate and send each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented them. But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered the two witnesses, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell upon those who saw them. And the witnesses heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched them.

And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand were killed in the quake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe has passed. Behold, the third woe is coming shortly.”

Yesterday we established that the two witnesses are most likely Moses and Elijah. Both these men worked many miracles during their lifetimes on earth. And at the end of the ages, it appears that Moses and Elijah will return to preach and to witness so that if at all possible, those who have refused to serve the one true living God will repent and be saved. But will people listen?

When Jesus was teaching his disciples, he told a story about a rich man who ignored the beggar at his doorstep until the rich man was in hell and the beggar was in Paradise. At that point, the rich man asked Father Abraham to send the beggar back to warn the rich man’s brothers, so that they would not wind up in hell. Father Abraham told the rich man, “They have Moses and the prophets. If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead,” Luke 16:31

There is no evidence to suggest that anyone repents; in fact, when the beast comes up from the abyss and kills the two witnesses, the people of Jerusalem leave the bodies lying in the street for three and a half days (a total violation of Jewish custom!) and have parties celebrating their deaths! Who is the beast from the abyss? This is the first mention of antichrist, who temporarily defeats the two witnesses. But when God raises the two witnesses from the dead and they ascend to heaven, there is a great earthquake. Those who survive the earthquake give glory to God, presumably also turning away from their sins at the same time. Who dies in the earthquake? The number is given as 7,000 but this might merely be a representation. At any rate, those who are left become believers immediately!

Why is it necessary for the two witnesses to die? Barclay comments, “The great interest of this passage lies in the fact that the unbelievers were won by the sacrificial death of the witnesses and by God’s vindication of them. Here is the story of the Cross and of the Resurrection all over again. Evil must be conquered and men won, not by force but by the acceptance of suffering for the name of Christ.”

Today, many churches are focusing on “feel – good” programs. But how much are these programs accomplishing? Jesus ordered us to make disciples, so that those disciples could also make more disciples. Programs that fail to carry out Jesus’s commands are worthless and may deceive people into thinking that they are believers when they are only church members.

Jesus warned his disciples in Matthew 7:15 – 23 “Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, by their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’

PRAYER OF SAINT RICHARD OF CHICHESTER:

Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ,
for all the benefits thou hast given me,
for all the pains and insults thou hast borne for me.
O most merciful redeemer, friend and brother,
may I know thee more clearly,
love thee more dearly,
and follow thee more nearly, day by day.
Amen.

Luke 1:5 “In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. ⁶ Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. ⁷ But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.”

“Childlessness! What a curse! Lord, why us? What have we done, that I am unable to get pregnant?” Generally, Elizabeth was not the type to mope around feeling sorry for herself, but sometimes she couldn’t help grieving. Zechariah, Elizabeth’s husband, was one of the priests selected to serve in the big temple King Herod had built in Jerusalem. When Zechariah and Elizabeth had married, the wedding guests had pronounced the customary blessings on them; and both were sure that soon their house would be filled with the sound of childish laughter. But year succeeded year, and Elizabeth continued to have her monthly bleeding right on time. Oh, there was the one time she had been quite ill, and she went for an extra two weeks without menstruating, but as soon as she felt better, the blood began flowing and her hopes plummeted. Each time Elizabeth saw a baby, her arms ached to hold one of her very own. At this point, Elizabeth wasn’t even certain that she could still get pregnant. In one more year, Zechariah would have to reach the age at which he must stop serving at the temple, and Elizabeth’s menstrual periods had become highly irregular. For Zechariah and Elizabeth, it seemed there was no hope.

And then came the day when Zechariah came back from Jerusalem from serving in the temple, unable to speak. In writing and with gestures, Zechariah made Elizabeth understand that while he was ministering in the Holy of Holies, the Angel Gabriel appeared to him and told him that they were to have a son. This son would be filled with the Holly Spirit even before he was born, and was to be the prophet foretold by Isaiah, the one who would prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. The Angel was very specific about the manner in which this boy was to be raised and ordered them to name him John. When Zechariah expressed some doubts as to how this miracle might come about, the Angel caused Zechariah to be unable to speak until the baby was born. Shortly thereafter, Elizabeth did become pregnant, and when Mary the mother of Jesus visited her, the unborn baby leaped in Elizabeth’s womb as he was filled with the Holy Spirit, thus fulfilling the angelic prophecy.

Working in Africa for years, I have witnessed a number of strange rituals women have gone through to get pregnant. Sadly, in at least one case, a woman went to a fetish priest, seeking for a son and dedicated that poor unborn baby to the fetish in thanksgiving. We knew this poor man as an adult, and there was evidence of demons working in his life.

Perhaps today you can sympathize with Elizabeth. You have been married for years, but no children have come. Perhaps you have gone through infertility work – ups and have been told that there is no reason that you cannot get pregnant. Perhaps you have been told the chances of your getting pregnant are very small. Perhaps you have even been so unfortunate as to have an operation or chemotherapy treatment that has rendered you sterile. But the question that you must ask yourself is this: what does God want for my life? Years ago, we knew a couple who had been missionaries in Ghana for many years, ministering in villages and founding a Bible School that has since become a university. It was their everlasting sorrow that they themselves could not get pregnant; however, they served as father and mother to untold numbers of Ghanaian students, many of whom were orphans. Do not assume that just because you cannot get pregnant, God has not given you a father’s heart or a mother’s heart for those around you! There are many people whose parents have failed them through physical or emotional abuse, or because the parents themselves suffered from a problem such as debilitating chronic depression.

What we can learn from Zechariah and Elizabeth is that God is always a God of surprises, and that God honors faith. But we must be willing to allow God to make our choices for us and not to attempt to force Him to work the same way in our lives that He has in the lives of others. Look around you! Has God already put someone in your situation who needs your love, encouragement, and guidance?

PRAYER: Father God, today some of us are hurting. It is Christmas, a time for children, and once more our arms are empty. But you are a good Father, and it is your will for us that we share your love with those around us. Help us to stop focusing on our own problems and see those who need help. Thank you that while not all of us are called to get pregnant, we are all called to parent in some fashion. In the precious Name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.