Daily Bible Reading (Monday, December 11th)

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Revelation 8 (ESV)

 

The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings,[a] flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

The Seven Trumpets

Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.

The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood.[b] A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.

12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.

13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”

Footnotes:

  1. Revelation 8:5 Or voices, or sounds
  2. Revelation 8:11 Wormwood is the name of a plant and of the bitter-tasting extract derived from it

3 Comments

I’m in agreement with Dee. And the Lord God will show mercy on whom He will show mercy upon. “So what does this mean? That God is not fair? We cannot say that. God said to Moses, “I will show mercy to anyone I want to show mercy to. I will show pity to anyone I
choose.” So God will choose anyone he decides to show mercy to, and his choice does not depend on what people want or try to do. In the Scriptures God says to Pharaoh: “I made you king so that you could do this for me. I wanted to show my power through you. I wanted my name to be announced throughout the world.” So God shows mercy to those he wants to show mercy to and makes stubborn those he wants to make stubborn.
‭‭(Romans‬ ‭9:14-18‬)‭ What pity for those who dwell on the earth as verse 13 states, “While I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying high in the air. The eagle said in a loud voice, “Terrible! Terrible! How terrible for those who live on the earth! The terrible trouble will begin after the sounds of the trumpets that the other three angels will blow.””
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭8:13‬

"The prayers of the saints rise before God." What an amazing picture that presents. To think of our prayers coming before God. What a privilege. This encourages me to pray more consistently and to pray more intelligently.

Scenes of terror and judgement, but also God’s holiness and righteousness! Is there even mercy in the fact that the world is not completely destroyed in the blink of an eye? Yes, I believe there is still a mercy and people should repent in light of such mercy.

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