II Chronicles 34:1–33

July 23, 2014

Josiah becomes king at eight years old. By the time he was sixteen, he began to remove all the idols and places for worshiping other gods from the land. He broke up the wooden and metal idols and beat them into powder. He sprinkled the powder over the graves of those who worshiped the idols. (The golden calf the Israelites made while Moses was on the mountain with God was broken and made into powder as well. The Israelites were forced to drink it, and it ended up on the ground—useless.) Josiah rendered the idols useless, dust on the ground—gone. The people returned to dust and what they put their faith in returned to dust. It brought them nothing, totally destroyed and useless.

At the age of 26, Josiah made Judah and the Temple pure again. In the process of doing so, Hilkiah the priest, "found the Book of the LORD's Teachings that had been given through Moses." God's words—lost in His own Temple. God's words that were supposed to be given to each king—lost. God's words that were supposed to be read every day—lost.

When Josiah heard what was in the Book of the LORD's Teachings he was very upset. He wanted to know more. What does this mean? He sent Hilkiah and four other men to, "go and ask the LORD about the words in this book that was found." So Hilkiah and those the king sent with him went to talk to Huldah the prophetess. She was a simple woman, the wife of a man who took care of the king's clothes, yet she was used by God to be a prophetess.

Huldah tells the men that God's word is true. God will do what is written in his Book of Teachings. Accountability for personal actions will happen. There are blessings for those who humble themselves before the LORD; there are curses for those who refuse to surrender their will to His. There are blessings for obedience; there are curses for disobedience. (See Leviticus 26:1 – 27:34; Leviticus 26:1 – 27:34 (Continued); Leviticus 26:1 – 27:34 (Continued); Deuteronomy 27:1 – 28:68; and Deuteronomy 28 (Continued) ) "I will bring all the curses that are written in the book that was read to the king of Judah. The people of Judah have left me and have burned incense to other gods. They have made me angry by all the evil things they have made. So, I will punish them in my anger, which will not be put out." Then, Huldah continued. Because Josiah had humbled himself and sought after the ways of the LORD, God promised to honor him and to not hold him accountable for his ancestors actions. God also told Josiah he would let him die in peace.

God's Word is true—period. He will do what He says—period.  

The men took Huldah's message back to Josiah. Josiah gathered all the people and went to the temple. There he promised to obey the LORD with his whole being and to obey the words in the Book of the LORD's Teachings. Josiah was doing God honoring things even before he knew what was in the book of God's laws. When he found out what was in God's Word (by seeking and searching) he sought to follow hard after the LORD; a blueprint for how we should live our lives. God fulfilled his portions of the prophecy He gave through Huldah.

Seven years ago, Jane (Her Name Was Jane) prophesied, and told us to read Psalm 150, Psalm 140. Jane then prayed a strong prayer of blessing over my life. I never thought of it as a prophecy until I heard my daughter-in-law telling someone that ... and I realized she was right.

I decided to research women prophets in the Bible. There are five listed specifically with the title of prophetess in the Old Testament. A prophetess is a female prophet called by God to be the mouth piece of the One who sends her. She speaks on behalf of the sender. A prophet (prophetess) is considered a seer because God has given them the gift of foreknowledge. God reveals His secrets to the prophet (prophetess). True prophecy is initiated by the Holy Spirit.

I absolutely believe God used Jane to prophecy to us. There can be no other explanation. Her prophecy about praising the LORD taught us a brand new principle/concept. Her prophecy of Psalm 140 describes two kinds of people: 1) people who refuse to obey the LORD's teachings; and 2) those who choose to rely on the LORD for His protection. The same basic principles prophesied by Huldah. Blessings—verses—Curses. Jane's subsequent prophecies of Psalm 1 and Isaiah 30 give the same message. We have a choice. You can choose blessings or you can choose curses. Jane's last prophecy to us was Jeremiah 33—God's promise of restoration. God chose Jane to speak His Holy Spirit inspired words because of her years of faithfulness, her godly character, and her surrendered heart.

Thank you, LORD, for using Jane to be YOUR mouth piece and messenger to us. LORD, Jane spoke words to us that she could not have said within her own ability or knowledge. They were YOUR words, LORD, and we thank you. LORD, we choose to surrender our hearts, lives, and whole beings to YOUR authority. We praise YOUR name LORD, for being the King of all kings and the LORD of all lords. How majestic is YOUR name in all the earth. We humble ourselves before YOU and we claim YOUR promises. Blessed be YOUR name. May all honor and all glory go to YOU for all that YOU have done and will do. Amen.


Next Entry: II Chronicles 35:1 – 36:1 

II Chronicles 32:24 – 33:25 (Continued)

July 22, 1014

After Manasseh suffered, "he humbled himself" before God and he begged the LORD for help. God heard his prayers and let him return to Jerusalem. IF—THEN.  II Chronicles 7:14 - IF my people who are called by name humble themselves and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, THEN I will hear their prayers and heal their land.

There is always hope, but it first requires personal submission and action on our part in order for God to do HIS part. God is ready, willing, capable, and waiting. He speaks to us through his Holy Spirit, His Word, and others. He provides the ways. We must humble ourselves → seek → and turn. When we do that, HE does the rest.

Hope. There is always hope. But there comes a time when time runs out. Don't wait. Change your heart, mind and ways—TODAY!

Amon becomes king. He does what the LORD says is wrong. Amon does not humble himself or change his ways. Instead, he sinned even more. 


Next Entry: II Chronicles 34:1–33 

II Chronicles 32:24 - 33:25

July 21, 2014

After all Hezekiah did right, he ended up becoming prideful and arrogant. He didn't remember who was in control.

God

 ↓  

Man

Hezekiah no longer thanked God, and God became angry. When the people sought forgiveness God forgave, but how much better it would have been if Hezekiah had not become so full of pride. I pray that we never forget to thank God for all He has done. It is not about what "I" have done, it is ALL about what HE has done.

Hezekiah dies and his son Manasseh becomes king. Manasseh rebuilt the places for idol worship that Hezekiah tore down. He put idols in the temple. He totally turned against the LORD's teachings. "God's people" did more evil than the people God forced out of the land Moses led the Israelites to.

God spoke to Manasseh and "his" people but they refused to listen. Later, the king of Assyria comes to attack them. They captured Manasseh and bound him. This is the same army that came unprovoked to attack Hezekiah and God protected them and soundly defeated the army because of Hezekiah's faithfulness. This time because of Manasseh's unfaithfulness, God caused the Assyrian army to attack, and "God's people" were soundly defeated.

Our actions determines God's response. When we are faithful—He provides protection. When we are unfaithful—His protection is removed. 


Next Entry: II Chronicles 32:24 – 33:25 

II Chronicles 27:1 – 28:27

July 19, 2014

Jotham becomes king. "(He) became powerful, because he always obeyed the LORD his God." He not only started well, but he finished well too. But then Ahaz becomes king and it's a completely different story. (You can read more about Ahaz in II Kings 16 and Isaiah 7.)

Because Ahaz refused to follow God's ways, the LORD handed him over to the king of Aram. God also handed him over to Pekah the king of Israel because Ahaz (Judah) had left the LORD. Disaster happened to them and they were taken captive by their own relatives. A prophet of the LORD met the Israelite army when they returned from the battle. He told them: Look, God is the one who handed the people (Ahaz/Judah) to you because he was angry with them. But God has seen the cruel way you have treated them and killed them. Now you plan to make your own relatives your slaves. This should not be! You yourselves have sinned against God. "Now listen to me. Send back your brothers and sisters whom you captured because the LORD is very angry with you."

The people of Israel listened and sent the people of Judah back to their homeland.

Ahaz witnessed all of this but still did not change. The Edomites attacked Judah. Did Ahaz turn to God for help? No. He goes to the king of Assyria. The Philistines also attacked Judah. All this happened because Ahaz (Judah) was unfaithful to the LORD. The LORD caused it to happen. In all his troubles, Ahaz turned even farther away from God. He gathered things from the temple; he broke them; and he closed the temple doors. Why is it some people just don't seem to "get-it"? They keep turning away from God instead of turning to God?

God does not tolerate continued disobedience. The longer you refuse to surrender your will to HIS will, the harder it becomes repent.


Next Entry: II Chronicles 29:1 – 32:23

II Chronicles 21:4 – 24:27

July 17, 2014

You cannot align yourself with ungodly people and then expect to remain faithful to the LORD.

Jesus' calls for us to be separate cannot be followed when aligned with the ungodly. Jehoshaphat found this out when he aligned himself with Ahab (II Chronicles 16:3) and then again with Ahab's son Ahaziah (II Chronicles 20:35). He (and others) suffered the consequences.

Jehoshaphat is dead and now his son Jehoram (the son who married Ahab's daughter) becomes king. In his desire to have total control, he kills all of his brothers and some of the leaders of Judah. He did not follow in the footsteps of his father. Instead, because he married Ahab's daughter, he chose to follow her ways and to do what the LORD said was wrong. But, not everyone chose to follow Jehoram's sinful ways. The people of Libnah broke away from his rule because he had left the LORD's ways.

If you find yourself linked with others (in business or socially) who are not following God, you must break free.    

God sent Elijah to warn Jehoram (by letter) what was going to happen. Jehoram and his people, his wives and children (plus everything he owned), were all going to suffer the consequences for his actions. He was going to develop a terrible disease that he would die from. Two years later he died a horrible death. His need for total control (II Chronicles 21:4), eventually led to his downfall (II Chronicles 21:20), and in the end it brought him nothing. No one was sad when he died. He wasn't even buried with honor.

God's promises are true and nothing can destroy or prevent God from fulfilling His promises. 
There are consequences for our life choices.  Our decisions bring God's promised results: Blessing—or—Curses.

Because of his selfish need for control Jehoram killed all his brothers. And now years later, the exact same fate happened to his own sons by robbers. His youngest son Ahaziah survived, and he became king. He followed in the footsteps of his father, his namesake uncle, and the others in Ahab's family because his mother encouraged him to do what was wrong. His actions later led to his death. Ahaziah goes to visit his uncle Joram (the son of Ahab and king of Israel). While there, "God caused" (NCV) "brought about" (NIV) his death (KJV - "was of God"). There are consequences for our choices and actions.

Ahaziah's mom Athaliah (Ahab's daughter) either doesn't "get-it" or doesn't care. She doesn't take this opportunity to repent and change her ways. Instead, she kills everyone in the royal family so she can take over. At least she thought she killed everyone. But Jehosheba (Ahaziah's sister) takes Joash (Ahaziah's son and her nephew) and hides him in the Temple. No danger in Athaliah finding him there... she is not worshiping God in the Temple. Jehosheba, (along with her husband Jehoida the priest) hid him for six years.

When Joash was seven, Jehoida led the plan to make him king. God promised the king would be of David's descendants and nothing can destroy or prevent God's promises from being fulfilled. Joash is made king. Jehoiada appointed guards to surround him. (God's angels surround us.) When Athaliah realized she was no longer the ruler over Judah she screamed, "Traitors!  Traitors!" Interesting how she felt anything and everything was permissible and acceptable for her as she maneuvered to get her way, but let someone do what God instructed and she screams—no fair! She was taken outside the gate and put to death. Sin must not be tolerated. It must be removed. That may mean that you have to separate yourself from an ungodly situation or person.

As long as Jehoiada was priest and advising him, Joash did what the LORD said was right. He rebuilt the temple. But later when Jehoiada died, Joash began to listen to others and he stopped worshiping the LORD. II Chronicles 24:19 - "Even though the LORD sent prophets to the people to turn them back to him and even though the prophets warned them, they refused to listen." God sent Jehoiada's son Zechariah to talk to the people. II Chronicles 24:20b - "This is what God says: 'Why do you disobey the LORD's commands? You will not be successful. Because you have left the LORD, he has also left you.' "

Did they listen to him and repent and return to the Lord? No. The king and his officers instead made plans against Zechariah and stoned him to death. Zechariah was the son of Jehoiada, the person who had done so much for Joash and was so respected by the people that when he died at the age of 135 years old, they buried him in Jerusalem with the kings! Yet by this time, Joash was so far away from the LORD that he didn't even remember what Jehoiada the priest (and his uncle) had done for him. As Zechariah was dying he said, "May the LORD see what you are doing and punish you." (II Chronicles 24:22)

By the end of the year it happened. The Arameans came against Joash. The Arameans were just a small little army compared to the large army of Judah, "but the LORD handed over Judah to them" because the people of Judah had left the God of their ancestors. So Joash was punished. Joash was wounded by the enemy, but it was his own officers who killed him as lay in his own bed. He died and was buried, but not with the kings.

How sad. Joash started well but ended in failure. I don't want to just start well. I want to finish well.   


Next Entry: II Chronicles 25:1 – 26:23  

II Chronicles 16:1 – 19:3 (Continued)

July 15, 2014

Jehoshaphat (king of Judah), became entwined with Ahab (king of Israel) because his son married Ahab's daughter. Ahab—who rarely followed God's teachings; and Jehoshaphat—who followed God's teaching. In Jane's (Her Name Was Jane) Bible she has written: danger ahead. Indeed. When you align yourself with those who are not like-minded with you, there is danger ahead.

Jehoshaphat knew he was going against God's commands, but he did it anyways.

Ahab wants to go to war and he wants Jehoshaphat to join him. Jehoshaphat wants to make sure it is God's will. Ahab just wants to do what he wants to do. He has a group of 400 "prophets" that will tell him whatever he wants to hear. Ahab despises the one prophet who is honest about what God wants. Jehoshaphat wants to hear what the LORD'S prophet has to say. Micaiah (the Lord's prophet) says—don't do it. Don't go to war. Your plans won't work. In fact, what you don't understand is this: God is fed up with your refusal to follow his teachings. You think those 400 men are just telling you what you want to hear. Wrong. They are being used by God to fool you into going into battle because of your refusal to submit to His authority. Ahab became angry. He refused to listen, and put Micaiah in jail. Ahab (in his typical arrogant fashion) said to only give Micaiah bread and water until he returned safe from the battle. Micaiah replied, "If you come back safely" then the LORD hasn't spoken through me.

"Remember my words, all you people."

So, Ahab does what Ahab wants to do and he goes into battle. But Ahab wasn't completely confident in his victory. Somewhere in the back of his mind there was some doubt and fear. So he tells Jehoshaphat to wear his royal clothes, but Ahab wore other clothes so no one would recognize him. How nice of him. He set up his "friend" as a means to protect himself. Ahab's plan most likely would have worked, but God stepped in and intervened. The only person the king of Aram wanted was Ahab. When they saw Jehoshaphat in royal clothing they were ready to attack him. But Jehoshaphat shouted, "... and the LORD helped him." And then, by chance, (God) a soldier shot a random arrow and it struck Ahab between his pieces of armor. Ahab was dead by sunset.

By chance, was actually the Hand of God. The army that was ready to attack Jehoshaphat was stopped by God. II Chronicles 18:31 - "The LORD helped him; and God moved them to depart from him." (KJV) God protects those who call on Him; He holds accountable those who have turned their backs on Him. We control whether we submit ourselves to the authority of God and obey His teachings. God controls all the rest.

Jehoshaphat returns. God sends a seer to him and asks, "Why did you help evil people? Why do you love those who hate the LORD?" Because of the choices Jehoshaphat made, the LORD was angry with him and he was faced with new troubles and the same problems of aligning himself with those who were not like-minded.


Next Entry: II Chronicles 19:4 – 21:3

II Chronicles 16:1 – 19:3

July 14, 2014

Asa went from relying and depending on the LORD, to relying on his own strength and seeking out others to join him as he went out to battle.

The LORD had already proven himself faithful. He had already helped Asa and Judah win against other very powerful kings. Why change now? Why did Asa start deciding he was capable without God's help? Success breeds pride, and pride/success has ruined many people. The danger comes when you start believing in your abilities and depending on your strength, instead of depending on the LORD and acknowledging your success comes from HIM.

The most dangerous time isn't when you are facing a great crisis. The most dangerous time is when the crisis is over, and the victory is won.

A seer named Hanai went to Asa to warn him about the consequences. Instead of repenting, Asa became angry and put Hanani in prison. Instead of looking inward and accepting responsibility, Asa blamed others. Even when Asa was faced with disease he did not turn to God. He died soon after.

Jehoshaphat (Asa's son) becomes king. Jehoshaphat relied on the LORD and he obeyed God's commands. He wanted to obey. It takes intentional desire and effort to follow God; surrendering your will to the LORD's will does not happen automatically or accidentally. Jehoshaphat then did what should come naturally when you are surrendered and following the LORD—he told others. He sent his officers and leaders to teach others. They took God's words and went throughout the towns so everyone would know who God was and would know His teachings. The LORD blessed Jehoshaphat and protected him.


Next Entry: II Chronicles 16:1 – 19:3 (Continued)  

II Chronicles 11:18 – 15:19

July 12, 2014

The story of Rehoboam.

After Rehoboam became strong and established, he (and the people) became self-reliant. They stopped obeying God, and they abandoned the laws of God. Oh, the dangers of PRIDE and forgetting that it isn't about "I" do. It is, "I can do all things through Christ." Rehoboam forgot (or ignored) the

God

     ↓   

  Man

relationship, and trouble ensued.

The king of Egypt attacked them. The LORD said, "You have left me, so now I leave you to face (them) alone." It is always in that order. We separate ourselves from God; we are left on our own. The LORD never abandons us first.  

When Rehoboam sees what is happening he becomes afraid and repents. The LORD saw they were sorry, so He held back His anger and prevented the king of Egypt from totally destroying them. Even though Rehoboam repented there were still consequences. The king of Egypt stripped them of what they were most proud of; their many prized possessions. Rehoboam "made himself" a strong king. "He did not want to obey the LORD.

Pride → punishment.

Abijah (son of Rehoboam) becomes king. There was a war between him (Judah) and Jeroboam (Israel). Abijah brought 400,000 soldiers into battle. Jeroboam brought 800,000. Abijah stood on a mountain and said, "Listen to me!" You know that God gave David and his sons the right to rule Israel forever, so what are you doing following Jeroboam, the son of one of Solomon's officers? You are making plans against God by planning evil against us. You are arguing against God. You have made yourself golden calves to be your gods. You have gotten rid of who God appointed as priests (the Levites) and you have appointed your own priests. You have left the LORD. "But as for us, the LORD is our God; we have not left him." (Psalm 140:6 - But we say, "You are my God...") "We obey the command of the LORD, but you have left him. God himself is with us...." He is the One leading us. Listen! Stop what you are doing! Don't fight against God! It won't work! You won't succeed!

Jeroboam wouldn't listen. Instead he sent some of his troops to "sneak behind" Judah's army. You can "sneak behind" man, but you cannot sneak behind God. When the people of Judah realized they were being tricked, they cried out to the LORD. They didn't run, and they didn't hide. They gave a battle cry, and "God caused" Jeroboam and his army to run away. "God handed them over" to Judah. The people of Israel were defeated, and the people of Judah won. Why? "...because they depended on the LORD." Jeroboam never again became strong. "The LORD struck Jeroboam and he died."

Accountability. Consequences. Every king that followed Jeroboam followed in his foot steps and did evil. Every single one! They couldn't succeed because they were trying to circumvent God's will. It won't work. It can't work.

Abijah dies and his son Asa became king. Asa did "What the LORD his God said was good and right." The LORD gave them peace because they obeyed the LORD. But then Zerah from Cush comes out to fight them with an enormous army. Asa called out to God saying, "LORD, only you can help weak people against the strong. Help us LORD our God, because we depend on you. We fight against this enormous army in your name. LORD, you are our God. Don't let anyone win against you." (Psalm 140 - "...don't let their plans succeed or they will become proud.") The size of the army doesn't matter because the battle belongs to the Lord. They couldn't do it but God could, and He did. "So the LORD defeated (them)... they were crushed by the LORD."

When you face a battle that is bigger than you, remember this truth: You can't do it, but God can. Don't give up. God is in control. 

II Chronicles 15:2 - "The LORD is with you when you are with him. IF you obey him, you will find him, but IF you leave him, he will leave you."

II Chronicles 15:7 - "But you should be strong. Don't give up, because you will get a reward for your good work."

Don't give up! God IS in control. II Chronicles 15:15 - "They looked for God... and found him."

Jeremiah 29:12–14 - "...then you will call my name. You will come to me and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will search for me. And when you search for me with all your heart, you will find me! I will let you find me," says the LORD. "And I will bring you back from your captivity... and I will bring you back to this place."

LORD, we call out to You. Hear our cries for mercy. Protect us from "the storm." Protect us from those who "have set traps along our path."


Next Entry: II Chronicles 16:1 – 19:3

Revelation 20:1–15

August 26, 2013

The thousand year reign of Christ begins. An angel came down from heaven. He had the key to the bottomless pit and a large chain in his hand. It was his job to grab Satan, tie him up, and throw him in the bottomless pit. Satan was now powerless and his ability to deceive and trick the people of the world was suspended until the thousand years ended.  

During the 1000 year reign of Christ, those who during the seven year tribulation refused to follow the beast and the false prophet and instead chose to follow and be faithful to the message of Christ (and therefore were put to death), came back to life. Their souls joined Christ and ruled with Him and the other believers who had died before or who had been raptured by Jesus at the first part of His second coming.

After the 1000 year reign of Christ is completed, Satan will be loosed from the bottomless pit for a brief period of time before eternity begins. During this time he sets out to do what he has always done—deceive and trick people. He gathered an army so large that they were like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the earth full of pride and arrogance. They were determined to destroy God's people. They surrounded God's people and the city (Jerusalem) God loves.

They were full of confidence and they were in control—or so they thought. But they were deceived. They only thought they were in control. God was in control! Fire came down from heaven and burned them up—which was only the beginning. Judgment was going to happen. Satan's reign was over. Satan, the beast, and the false prophet were thrown into the lake of burning sulfur to be punished day and night forever and ever.

The Great White Throne—the final judgment of all those who refused to surrender to Jesus/God.

Oh my! Whenever I hear the words "Great White Throne" I immediately picture in my mind the events of the day in April of 2007 when my husband and I met with a lawyer to seek advice on how to remove ourselves from any business connections with my sister and brother-in-law. Our lawyer had just finished explaining the convoluted meaning of the documents my brother-in-law deviously created and deceitfully had us sign. I sat across the conference table from our lawyer. My husband sat on my right (our lawyer's left). I had just asked our lawyer if he felt my sister or brother-in-law would ever be held accountable for their vile actions. He didn't say anything. Instead, he took a plain piece of paper and wrote three words. He then picked up the paper, turned it over, and held it up for me to read. In large letters it said:

GREAT

WHITE

THRONE

I knew the Great White Throne meant judgment but I didn't understand the full meaning of it. Now that I have studied end-time prophecy and understand more about the Revelation of Jesus, the reality of what it means is even more disturbing than what I realized on that eventful day in our lawyer's office. While those three words were our lawyer's opinion, I'm so grateful that God is Faithful and True; we bear no responsibility for the choices and actions of others; and we can trust Him to make His judgments according to His righteousness.

There are two end-time judgments described in Revelation.

The Judgment Seat of Christ—is for believers. It is when Christ-followers will stand before Christ and be judged for the things they have done and given crowns for the works they did while on earth. This judgment is for believers only and happens after the rapture of the Church.  

The Great White Throne—is the time when all those who have refused to confess that Jesus is Lord are judged. It is too late. There are no arguments and there is no defense. Their choice was made when they refused to change their hearts and lives, and the sentence has already been determined. Their names are not written in the Book of Life. They are judged for the things they did and the sentence is sure—eternity in hell.

I just can't imagine the horribleness of this. It is absolutely beyond human comprehension and words. But, even though it is difficult and painful to think about, it does not change this fact: IT IS TRUTH.

So, why don't we live as if we believe it is Truth? Understanding what the Bible says is going to happen should make us want to live each day as if it were our last. Do the important things—TODAY! Tell your lost family members and friends about Christ—TODAY! Live your life the way Christ would want you to live—TODAY!  

Do you believe God's Word? Do you believe Jesus could return at any time? If you believe that, then how does that belief change your life? What would you do differently? Even if Christ didn't return for another thousand years, what if you only had a few months or weeks to live? What would you do differently if you knew when your earthly life would soon end and your eternity was ready to begin?

• What is it that you are doing now that you would stop doing?
• What are you not doing now that you would start doing?

The truth is ALL of our lives are terminal. Whatever it is you would change—DO IT NOW! 

Philippians 2:10–11 says every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus is Lord. DO IT NOW—while there is still time. Change your hearts and lives and surrender your life to the King of kings and Lord of lords. Surrender your life to Master Jesus—TODAY!  


Next Entry: Revelation 21:1 – 22:21

Revelation 18:1-24

August 22, 2013

Another angel came down from heaven and declared in a loud voice:

Ruined! Ruined!

The city of Babylon is used throughout Revelation as a symbol for wickedness, greed, materialism, power—all things of the world and contrary to the teachings of Christ; and all things we as Christ followers should not be a part of.

And another voice from heaven said:

"Come out of that city, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive the disasters that will come to her." Revelation 18:4

We must separate ourselves from evil actions and from people who practice evil behaviors. We must! Disasters will come to anyone who practices evil actions and behaviors. Revelation 18:5b - "God has not forgotten the wrongs she has done."

The voice said:

• Give them the same punishment they gave to others
• Give them back twice as much as what they did
• Double the punishment they prepared for others
• They gave themselves much glory and rich living
• Give them suffering and sadness in the same proportion they gave themselves glory and pretentiousness
• They think themselves above everyone else
• They think they are untouchable and exempt from consequences
• So these disasters will happen to them in one day
• Death
• Crying
• Great hunger
• Destruction

Others will see what has happened and they will be afraid and distance themselves. They will be shocked by what they see. The punishment came quickly—it happened suddenly and without warning. Some were saddened because of what happened to "her" (what Babylon represents) and others were saddened because the destruction of "her" meant they were going to lose business and profits. All those who watched cried, "Terrible! Terrible!" All the things they wanted and desired were gone. Their rich and fancy things disappeared, and they would never have them again.

So, on one side you have the people of the world sad because of the destruction of "her" and sad for themselves because of the profits they were going to lose. But for God's people there was a totally different reaction.

"Be happy because of this, heaven!
     Be happy, God's holy people and apostles and prophets!
God has punished her (them) because of what she (they) did to you."

Then an angel picked up a large stone and threw it into the sea. He said, this is what it will be like. They will be thrown down and gone forever.

• The playing of music—gone
• Employment and work—gone
• Growing and harvesting of crops—gone
• The light from a lamp—gone
• The happy sounds of marriage and family—gone

Every. Thing. Gone. Forever. They were held accountable and judged guilty for their trickery and violence against innocent people.

From Life Lesson:

"Greed and materialism will be judged and crushed. Christians must derive their security from faith in Christ."

"John pointed out that although society was built around the economy, only what was built on God would last forever."

Side note: Besides the generalization of what/who Babylon represents, I'm sure there is also literal meanings to the symbolism and prophecy of Babylon of which I am not qualified to understand or write about.


Next Entry: Revelation 19:1–21

Revelation 16:1–21 (Continued)

August 20, 2013

The seventh angel and bowl—The bowl was poured out into the air, then a loud voice came out from the throne in the temple, saying, "It is finished!" When Jesus was crucified and the Plan for Salvation was completed, Jesus said "It is finished" and the ground shook. Now the time for salvation is over, and this time God said, "It is finished!" and flashes of lightning, noises, thunder, and the worst earthquake ever experienced by man, happened on the earth. The cup of God's anger was forced upon those who refused to surrender to His Lordship. Cities were destroyed, mountains and islands disappeared, and giant hailstones weighing about 100 pounds each fell from the sky upon the people. And still—people cursed God, because this disaster was so terrible. Yet all these horrible disasters combined, pales in comparison with the eternal punishment awaiting those who refuse to change their hearts and lives. 

Revelation is full of so much imagery. Imagery that often times just gets lost, glossed over, or ignored. People are accustomed to watching fictional graphic movies on TV or going to the theaters and seeing 3-D movies of horrific events. When the show is over they either just switch the channel or leave the theater and return to their normal daily routines without thinking anything about it. The imagery of Revelations is often treated the same way. Read it (if it's read at all), put it aside, and then forgot about it. But the events John saw in the Revelation of Jesus are not part of a fictional horror movie. It is Truth. It will happen. And it should cause us to change our hearts and lives.

Don't read it and go back to your normal daily routine. 

Read it—and change your hearts and lives.
Read it—and reach out to the lost and dying.
Read it—and praise the name of the One who is, was, and is to come. 


Next entry: Revelation 17:1–18

Revelation 16:1–21

August 19, 2013

The seven bowls/vials of God's anger are poured out on the earth.

The first angel and bowl—horrible, painful, and ugly sores came upon all those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped his idol.

The second angel and bowl—all the water in the sea became like decaying blood and every living thing in the sea died.

The third angel and bowl—the water in the river and springs became like blood. Then the angel of the waters said:

  "Holy One, you are the One who is and who was.
       You are right to decide to punish these evil people.
  They have poured out the blood of your holy people and
       your prophets.
  So now you have given them blood to drink as they deserve."
And then a voice came from the altar saying:
  "Yes, Lord God Almighty,
       the way you punish evil people is right and fair." Revelation 16:5–7                (emphasis mine)

It had to be difficult for the angel who had the authority over the water to watch all the waters of the world destroyed. Yet, he knew what God was doing was right, even if it meant destroying what he loved. Vengeance and punishment is the Lord's.

My husband has often said (and I agree) that God's punishment is far worse than any punishment man could ever give. That's why accountability that brings repentance, while there is still time for change, cannot be something we avoid or regret even if it is hard to watch someone we love experience it. 

The fourth angel and bowl—the sun increases in heat and people are burned with the fire from it. Instead of repenting, the people cursed the name of God and refused to change their hearts and lives, and they refused to acknowledge God as Lord of all and give Him the glory that is due Him.

The fifth angel and bowl—darkness covers the kingdom of the beast. People were in incredible pain without relief. They gnawed their tongues, causing pain to try and block out their even greater pain. And still—they refused to change their hearts and turn away from the evil things they did. Instead, they cursed the God of heaven because of their pain and their sores.

The sixth angel and bowl—the water of the Euphrates completely dries up. This prepares the way for the final battle of Armageddon. The dragon, the beast, and the false prophet send out evil spirits who have the power to do miracles and they go out to gather the kings and get them ready for the final battle—but it won't be their victory. It will be "...the great day of God Almighty." (Revelation 16:14)

God says, "Listen!  I will come as a thief comes!" (Revelation 16:15) Be watching and ready!

The scene is set. All the participants are in place. 


Next Entry: Revelation 16:1–21 (Continued)

Revelation 14:1 – 15:8 (Continued)

August 16, 2013

This passage is also a prophetic description of a battle that will take place at the end of the tribulation. The battle is so violent that blood will flow as high as a horse's bridle for a distance of about one hundred eighty miles. Horrible, horrible destruction and violence for those who refused to be a servant of Master Jesus and instead insisted on following their own selfish ways. They realize they are no longer in control of their choices. Their attempt to ride the fence and fool others into thinking they were "religious" while they were actually unbelievers is exposed and they are forced into being what they were all along—a slave to Satan himself. 

Then John looked again—and he saw seven angels bringing seven disasters. Revelation 15:1 - "These are the last disasters, because after them, God's anger is finished." When Jesus was crucified (John 19:30) He said, "It is finished." The Plan for Salvation was completed with Christ's death and resurrection. Now the plan for destruction and God's anger will soon be finished.

But before the final seven disasters began, John saw something else. He saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire. All of those who had won the victory over the beast and his idol and of the Antichrist were standing there. They had harps that God himself had given them. Revelation 15:3–4 - "They sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:

"You do great and wonderful things, (Psalm 111:2)
    Lord God Almighty. (Amos 3:13)
Everything the Lord does is right and true, (Psalm 145:17)
     King of the nations.
Everyone will respect you, Lord (Jeremiah 10:7)
     and will honor you.
Only you are holy.
All the nations will come
     and worship you, (Psalm 86:9–10)
because the right things you have done,
     are now made known." (Deuteronomy 32:4)

After John saw the redeemed and heard this song, the temple in heaven was opened and the seven angels bringing the seven disasters came out. They were given seven golden bowls "filled with the anger of God, who lives forever and ever." The temple filled with smoke from the power and glory of God, "and no one could enter the temple until the seven disasters of the seven angels were finished."

The final destruction is about to begin.


Next Entry: Revelation 16:1–21

Revelation 14:1 – 15:8

August 15, 2013

God's judgment arrives. The time has come; the time for patiently waiting (as in the time of Noah) is over; and the time for judgment is here. Only those who are cleansed by the blood of the Lamb are protected from God's anger. 

John looked—and before him was the Lamb and 144,000 of the redeemed who were saved out of the tribulation. They were singing a new song of praise to the Lamb. Then John saw three angels.

The first angel proclaimed the Gospel of Christ. This happens right at the end of the tribulation and immediately before the judgment of the nations. This message is not about grace and salvation—it is about judgment. The only people it is "Good News" for is Israel and the 144,000.

The second angel announced the destruction of Babylon—false worship. (Revelation 17 & 18 tells us more about Babylon.)

The third angel—accountability happens! Anyone who went along with, followed, and/or worshiped the beast (this boils down to everyone who does not obey and worship Christ as Master) "will drink the wine of God's anger which is prepared with all its strength in the cup of His anger. And that person will be put in pain with burning sulfur before the holy angels and the Lamb. And the smoke from their burning pain will rise forever and ever." (Revelation 14:10–11) There will be no rest, day or night, for those who worship the beast and his idol or who get the mark of his name.

I'm sure there will be plenty of people who think they would never worship the beast so they think none of this applies to them. But wait! Let's examine what the Truth is. 

As a true believer (one who has surrendered their will to God's authority and accepted His free gift of Salvation) your body is a temple of the Lord. Temple—the one and only place where sacrifices were performed. Jesus Christ was the sacrifice for our sins. When we accept His sacrifice and receive Him as our personal Savior our bodies literally become the temple of the Lord. As a repentant believer, your actions show there has been a change in your life.

BUT! There are "religious" unbelievers (people who say they believe but their actions show otherwise) whose bodies are synagogues of Satan. Synagogue—a building, a gathering place, a "town hall" of sorts. It is ran by people, financed by people, and is a place of worship and study. As "religious" unbelievers, one's body cannot be a temple of the Lord. Instead, because there has been no true repentance and change of life, their bodies become a synagogue and gathering place of Satan. 

Unless you are surrendered by word and deed to Master Jesus, and your body is the temple of the Lord because He lives in you as the sacrifice for your sins—you are living in the "synagogue of Satan" (Revelation 2:9; 3:9) and John's message does apply to you!

John says, "This means God's holy people must be patient. They must obey God's commands and keep their faith in Jesus."(Revelation 14:12) Then John heard a voice from heaven saying, "Happy are the dead who die from now on in the Lord... they will rest from their hard work, and the reward for all they have done stays with them." (Revelation 14:13)

Rest and reward—verses—the cup of God's anger that never ends. Psalm 75:8 - "The Lord holds a cup of anger in his hand; it is full of wine mixed with spices. He pours it out even to the last drop and the wicked drink it all." (For other verses that speak of the Lord's cup of anger see: Jeremiah 25:13–15; Isaiah 51:23; Jeremiah 49:12; Ezekiel 23:32; and Luke 22:42–43.)

Then John looked—another angel came out of the temple and said to the One who looked like the Son of Man, "Take you sickle and harvest from the earth, because the time to harvest has come, and the fruit of the earth is ripe." (Revelation 14:15) So, the earth was harvested by the One. The final believers are now removed from the earth.

Then another angel came out of the temple and he also had a sharp sickle. And then from the altar came a third angel who had power over fire, and he told the second angel, "Take your sharp sickle and gather the bunches of grapes from the earth's vines, because its grapes are ripe." This isn't a harvest of redemption. This is a harvest for destruction. The angel swung his sickle and harvested the grapes, "and he threw them into the great winepress of God's anger."

Total. Violent. Destruction.

Addendum: 3/7/2017 ~ Revelation 14:10–11 - "...will drink the wine of God's anger which is prepared with all its strength in the cup of his anger. And that person will be put in pain with burning sulfur before the holy angels and the Lamb. And the smoke from their burning pain will rise forever and ever."

What a horrible, horrific thought. I don't think I ever thought specifically about the source of the smoke from Hades/Hell before. But this verse says the smoke comes from "their burning pain." Oh. my. goodness. An eternity of pain, “their burning pain," evidenced by the smoke that arises from the pit of hell!!

This just became very personal. "THEIR burning pain..." Who is the "their" in your life? Who do you know that is at risk for being part of this group of people whose burning pain will create the smoke that arises from Hell? There IS eternal accountability!    

Do we believe this or not? Because if we believe this then we CANNOT remain the same. We first need to make sure we are living our own lives surrendered to Master Jesus. And then we need to make sure we are doing everything possible to lead others in our sphere of influence to the Path to Salvation.

There is nothing more important. NOTHING!! Eternal accountability is at stake. 


Next Entry: Revelation 14:1 – 15:8 (Continued)

Revelation 13:1–18

August 08, 2013

The Holy Trinity       
God the Father                
Jesus the Son                  
Holy Spirit

The Unholy Trinity     
The Dragon—Satan
The Beast—The Antichrist
2nd Beast—False Prophet

The dragon stood on the seashore and a beast came up out of the sea. On it was a name against God. The Dragon/Satan gave the Beast/Antichrist all his power, his throne, and great authority.

Satan is a counterfeiter. He always attempts to counterfeit the real thing—God and the Holy Trinity. To counterfeit THE Christ, the Antichrist had a mortal wound that was healed. The whole world was amazed by this and they followed after him and worshiped the beast and the dragon.

Revelation 13:5 - "The beast was allowed to say proud words and words against God, and it was allowed to use its power for forty-two months."  It used its mouth to:

• Speak against God
• Speak against God's name
• Speak against the place where God lives
• Speak against all those who live in heaven

The beast had the power to war against God's people and to defeat them. He controlled every tribe, people, language, and nation. All the people whose name was not written in the Lamb's Book of Life worshiped him. BUT! The Lamb is the One who died for our salvation. The beast could/can only do what he is allowed to do, and his power is only allowed for a set period of time. God's will is God's will. Try as he might, there is nothing Satan can do to circumvent it.

Revelation 13:9 - "Anyone who has ears should listen." Now is the time to listen. 

"If you are to be a prisoner,
     then you will be a prisoner.
If you are to be killed with the sword, 
     then you will be killed with the sword.
This means that God's holy people must have patience and faith." 

Then a second beast came. This time it came from the earth. It looked like a lamb (again, trying to look like and counterfeit the Holy Trinity) but it spoke like a dragon. It had the same power as the first beast. Its purpose is to have people worship the beast/dragon. It/he performs miracles, even calling fire down from heaven to earth while people watched. (This time trying to counterfeit what Elijah did.) Revelation 13:14 - "It fools those who live on earth by the miracles it has been given the power to do."

Imagine how easy it will be for people to be fooled. Most people have heard "the stories" in the Bible. The world goes through tremendous tribulations, wars, disasters, and chaos. Now what is happening sounds vaguely familiar. Is this what I heard about as a child? Is this God? You can see how people will be easily fooled.

The whole purpose of the second beast/false prophet is not to just promote the Antichrist, but to force all people to worship the Antichrist/Satan. If anyone refused to worship the beast he had the authority to have them killed. The false prophet also forced all people, small and great, rich and poor, free or slave, ALL people to have a mark on their right hand or forehead. Without that mark you cannot buy or sell anything. Total dominance. Total control.

All the people who were unwilling to surrender to Master Jesus and accept his free gift of salvation are now forced to be a slave and worship the false Antichrist. Forced! What deep sadness I feel when I think about those who chose to reject God's lamb and refused to surrender their lives. Because of their choice they are now slaves to Satan and they subjected to cruelty and a nightmare that is only beginning. It makes me want to do ALL I can do to make sure the sphere of people within my influence have ALL the knowledge and every opportunity to accept Christ's free gift. There is just nothing more important than that. Nothing.

It used to be hard to fathom how the logistics of what John says the false prophet would have the power to do could possibly happen. How could people be forced to have a mark? How could the buying and selling process possibly be controlled? But now, with the advancement of technology, you can see how this could so easily happen. Almost no one uses cash any more. We drive under the toll road entrances and it automatically "reads" our information. The world economic system could be taken over so easily, and it probably won't even look like a hostile take over.

Oh LORD, the Church needs to wake up!! We as believers need to wake up! Whether Christ's return is today, tomorrow, or hundreds of years from now—time is short. Surrender to Master Jesus today!!

Addendum: 11/1/23 ~ 2020 showed us what we couldn’t have imagined. The world wide reaction and COVID rules and shutdowns revealed how total control could be forced upon us all. 


Next Entry: Revelation 13:1–18 (Continued)

Revelation 11:1–19

August 06, 2013

John was given a measuring stick to measure the temple of God, the altar, and to count the people who were worshiping there. The people inside the temple were protected but those outside the temple, "are not God's people." Then God gave power to "my two witnesses" to prophecy for three and one half years, "and they will be dressed in rough cloth to show their sadness."

For three and one half years they testify to God's message. They have God-given power, and they have complete control over their enemies. Revelation 11:5 - "... if anyone tried to hurt them in whatever way, in that same way that person will die." These two witnesses have the power to stop the rain from falling from the sky; they have the power to turn the waters into blood; and they have the power to send whatever trouble they want to the earth, whenever they want, and as often as they want.

Revelation 11:7 - "WHEN the two witness have finished telling their message" (My emphasis. It will happen at exactly the right time, not a day before or a day after.) the beast (Satan) wages battle against the two witnesses, and as part of God's plan, Satan defeats them and kills them. Their bodies lie in the street of the same city where the Lord was killed. The spiritual meaning of the name of the city is Sodom (city destroyed by God because the people were evil) and Egypt (the country where God's people were held captive). People from every nation, tribe, race, and language will be able to see them.

I used to wonder how this could possibly happen. Obviously, God has supernatural abilities and He doesn't require "man's" capabilities in order to accomplish His plan, but with the advancement of technology (which already exists and is available worldwide), it isn't difficult at all to understand how literally everyone around the world could see them using man-made technology. I'm not saying that is how it will happen because it may very well be a super-natural event orchestrated entirely by God, but it's just interesting to be able to see how what seemed impossible a few years ago could now happen. 

For three and one half days their bodies will lie in the streets. The people of the earth rejoice at their destruction and celebrate because of it. They don't "get it." They don't understand that the message they rejected could have saved them. After three and one half days God put the breath of life back into the prophets once again. They stood to their feet, and all who were watching them became very afraid. They went from being thrilled that their enemies were dead to being terrified because they were alive once again.

The two prophets heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Come up here!" And they "went up into heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched." They ascended into heaven just as Jesus did. During this same time there was a great earthquake and thousands died. Terror upon terror.

7th Trumpet—Now it is time. The angel blows the trumpet and there were loud voices in heaven, saying:

"The power to rule the world
     now belongs to our Lord and his Christ,
and he will rule forever and ever."

Then the twenty four elders bowed down and worshiped God saying:

"We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty
     who is and who was,
because you have used your great power
     and have begun to rule!
The people of the world were angry,
     but your anger has come.
The time has come to judge the dead,
     and to reward your servants the prophets
and your holy people
     all who respect you, great and small.
The time has come to destroy those who destroy the earth."

The time has come, and the heavens are opened, the ark can be seen, and flashes of lightning, noises, earthquakes, and a great hailstorm begins.

Addendum: 2/28/07 ~ The time has come!! The time has come!!

Just over two weeks ago I wrote about the importance of changing your heart and life and The Path to Salvation. While the importance of changing your heart and salvation is woven throughout my entire journals, I didn't know my journals would become public and there wasn't a separate journal entry devoted to explaining The Path to Salvation. It's the most important message of the Bible and the most important message of my journals.   

So, for the last several weeks I have went back through my journal entries and added links to The Path to Salvation wherever I'd written about "change your heart and lives" and "salvation." I've finished adding the links and am ready to begin adding the rest of my entries for Revelation. There are only eleven chapters left before I am finished and God clearly let me know "the time has come." Make sure everyone knows. There is ONE path to Salvation. Make sure it is clear. It is the ONLY thing that matters!! 

Isn't it time? Isn't it time you surrender your ALL to Master Jesus? Why wait? It's the most important decision you will ever make. It literally is a matter of life or death. In this life there are two paths. One is wide and leads to eternal damnation. The other is narrow and leads to eternal salvation. Only you can make the decision on which path to take.

Think about it. Isn't it time?


Next Entry: Revelation 12:1–18

Revelation 8:1 – 9:21 (Continued)

August 02, 2013

6th Trumpet—Destruction was unleashed. One-third of all the people on earth were killed by fire, smoke, and sulfur. Revelation 9:15 - "And they let loose the four angels who had been kept ready for this hour and day and month and year so they could kill a third of all people on the earth."

There is an hour, day, month, and year planned and already determined for this judgment to occur. Judgment WILL happen. There is no avoiding it. One-third of ALL people were killed by fire, smoke, and sulfur—and their hell was just beginning.

INCREDIBLY, the "people who were not killed by these terrible disasters still did not change their hearts and turn away" from their own selfish ways. Revelation 9:21 - "These people did not change their hearts and turn away from murder or evil magic, from their sexual sins or stealing."

I want to scream WAKE UP!! Now, before it is too late, CHANGE YOUR HEARTS AND LIVES!!!  Please!! There is an hour, day, month, and year planned. I Peter 3:20 says that God waited patiently for Noah to finish building the boat before His judgment happened. Just because judgment hasn't happened yet doesn't mean that judgment it isn't going to happen. God waited patiently for Noah to finish the boat, and THEN judgment happened.

God is waiting patiently. He wants you to surrender and repent. But there comes a time when the waiting is over and accountability happens. Do it now. Change your hearts and lives TODAY while there is still time. 

Addendum: 2/10/17 ~ Today, while reviewing and editing Revelation 8, I suddenly realized I need to explain what I mean when I talk about "change your heart and life." When my journals were written they were for my (and my family's) personal use so no explanation of what I meant was needed. But now that God has revealed His plan for how He wants HIS Story told, and my private writings are going to be made public, I suddenly realized not everyone will understand what "change your heart and life" means; who the message is for; why it is such a prevalent theme all throughout scripture; and how you go about changing your heart and life.

Change your heart and life is not referring to the need for a personal self-improvement course so you can become a better person. It's not about what we change—it is about who changes us. It's about accepting God's free gift of Salvation given for all mankind. The gift is free and available, but it is something each one of us must accept for ourselves. It's the only way to change your heart and life. 

Read about The Path to Salvation here or click on the next journal entry.


Next Entry: The Path to Salvation

Revelation 8:1 – 9:21

August 01, 2013

The Lamb opens the seventh seal and there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

The seventh seal revealed seven angels who stand before God and they each were given a trumpet. Another angel came and stood before the altar. He was holding a golden pan for incense—the prayers of God's holy people. He put the golden pan filled with incense and the prayers of God's people on the altar before the throne. The smoke went from the angel's hands to God with the prayers of God's people.

I believe these to be the prayers of repentance, surrender, praise, protection, provision, honor, glory, thankfulness, and gratitude to Master Jesus. Prayers that come from understanding the God (Master) → man (servant) relationship. Those types of prayers are a sweet smelling aroma to God. I cannot believe the golden pan also held the self-serving prayers so prevalent in modern Christianity. Prayers from those who have placed themselves on the throne while treating God as if He was their own personal servant to heed their every wish, beck and call. How could those types of prayers be an offering to the Most Holy One and to the Lamb? Isaiah 65:5 describes those kind of prayers as a stench in the nostril of God.

God heard the prayers of his people and the angel filled the pan with the fire from the altar and threw it on the earth.  And there were flashes of lightning, thunder, loud noises, and an earthquake. God hears the honest prayers of His people.

The seven angels with the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. The tribulation time is at hand.

1st Trumpet—hail and fire mixed with blood poured down on the earth. A third of the earth, the green grass and a third of the trees were burned up.

2nd Trumpet—something that looked like a big mountain was thrown into the sea and a third of the sea became blood, and a third of the living things in the sea died and a third of the ships were destroyed.

3rd Trumpet—a large star, burning like a torch fell from the sky. It fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The star was named wormwood which means bitter, and there was bitter sorrow around the world. The water became toxic and many people died from drinking it.

4th Trumpet—a third of the moon, sun, and stars are destroyed. This creates total chaos on the earth. It affects everything: the tides, the ability to grow food, etc. Life as it was known is now gone.

Sometimes it's easy to read descriptions of something and think—wow—but then go right on without really thinking about the magnitude of it. Or, we picture it in our mind as some sort of movie event that is not part of reality. But think about it!! This is not a science fiction movie. This is reality!! 

The Solar System: One-third of the sun, moon and stars destroyed.  This affects everything!

The Earth: One-third of the dirt, grass, and trees burned up. One-third of the sea turned to blood. One-third of the living things in the sea destroyed. One-third of the ships (commerce) destroyed. One-third of all the earth's water, rivers and springs become unusable. 

Picture it in your mind. One-third of everything!! Can you imagine the stench, the chaos, the hopelessness, the horror? The sun, moon and stars as they were known—GONE. The 🌎 as it was known—GONE! 

After the 4th trumpet an eagle was flying high in the air and in a loud cry was saying, "Trouble!  Trouble! Trouble for those who live on earth because of the remaining sounds of the trumpets that the other three angels are about to blow!" (This reminds me of the "How terrible it will be" statements found in Isaiah.)

5th Trumpet—A star falls from the sky. It was given the key to a deep hole that leads to the bottomless pit. It opened the hole and smoke came up out of it like smoke from a furnace. The sun and sky became dark. (This would disrupt everything. A localized volcano wrecks havoc on air flights, etc. Think what this would do!) Then out of the smoke came locusts who were given the power to sting like scorpions. Normally a locust devours vegetation, but these locusts were instructed not to harm the earth, or any plant or tree. They were to only harm people and to cause extreme pain for five months with their powerful sting. People will want to die, but "death will run away from them" and they are forced to endure the awfulness for the entire five months. The locusts leader was an angel of the bottomless pit. His name means Destroyer. Just like in the days of Pharaoh and the Israelites who were in captivity, the only people not affected by this curse were God's people, the ones who had been sealed for protection by the sign of God on their foreheads.

Revelation 9:12 - "The first trouble has past; there are still two other troubles that will come."


Next Entry: Revelation 8:1 – 9:21 (Continued)

Revelation 7:1–17

July 31, 2013

Yesterday I wrote about the six seals that were opened and the terrible things that were unleashed upon the earth. Today I write about the opposite, people being rescued and sealed for protection by God.

Destruction by wind was going to happen, but God had four angels prevent it from happening until the seal of the living God was put on the 144,000 who were to be protected and saved. The 144,000 came from every tribe of Israel. 12,000 from each of the twelve sons of Jacob.

After this, John looked again and he saw a large group of people who were too many to count. They were from every nation, every tribe, people and language of the earth. They were all standing before the throne wearing white robes and holding palm branches. They were shouting in a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." The angels, elders, and four living creatures all bowed down and worshiped God, saying;

"Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power, and strength belong to our God, forever and ever. Amen!" Revelation 7:12

One of the elders turned to John and asked him where these people came from. John said, "You know sir." And the elder replied, these are the people who came out of the tribulation. They believed in Jesus so their sins were forgiven by his blood and His presence is with them. They will never be hungry or thirsty again. Jesus is their shepherd. The sun or heat cannot hurt them. Like Psalm 23, they will be led to the springs of water, every tear will be wiped away, and they will worship God before His throne.

Only Jesus, the Lamb of God, could open the seals that began the destruction. And only Jesus, the final sacrificed Lamb, can put the seal of salvation on His people. His people—the people who believe and trust Him no matter what—even if it means their physical death.

God's Protection

Psalm 17:8 - Protect me as you would your own eye. Hide me under the shadow of your wings.

Psalm 18:2–3 - The Lord is my rock, my protection, my Savior. My God is my rock. I can run to him for safety. He is my shield and my saving strength, my defender. I will call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise and I will be saved from my enemies.

Proverbs 2:8 - He makes sure that justice is done, and he protects those who are loyal to him.

II Thessalonians 3:3 - But the Lord is faithful and will give you strength and will protect you from the evil one.

It most likely meant physical death to those who came out of the tribulation. It takes dying to self for all of us if we are to gain eternal life with the One and the Lamb.


Next Entry: Revelation 8:1 – 9:21 

I John 4:1 – 5:21 (Continued)

July 22, 2013

So, how do you love God?

You love God by obeying His commands. I John 5:3–4 - "Loving God means obeying his commands. And God's commands are not too hard for us, because everyone who is a child of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world—our faith."

Faith. Believing all of what God said is true. Believing in the Trinity and that Jesus is the Son of God. Believing Jesus' life, death and resurrection was the sacrifice that fulfilled God's plan of redemption for a lost world. Believing His sacrifice was necessary for your personal salvation and accepting Him as your Savior.

Believing means action. It means confessing, repenting, and surrendering your will to the King of kings and Lord of lords. Believing by true faith and obedience. Not just a simple nodding of the head and saying, yeah... I believe all those things, while having no outward sign of a changed heart or life. Only giving lip service to God when His act of Love requires us to acknowledge Him as Lord and to accept His position as Master of our lives, is like spitting in the face of God and calling Him a liar.  

To believe—means to obey all His commands. If you refuse to obey His commands, then it means you really don't believe. I John 5:12 - "Whoever has the Son has life, but whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life."  What does has/have truly mean? What is the definition of "has"?  I looked it up in my old 1957 Thorndike-Barnhart Dictionary.

To possess; be obliged; obtain; show by action; experience; allow; permit; maintain; keep; retain; know, understand; hold in the mind; be in a certain relation to, etc.  

We can't just say He is the Son of God, we must have Him as the Lord of our life. When we have Him as Lord of our lives we can "ask God for anything that agrees with what He wants" and we can know that He hears us. I John 5:15 - "If we know he hears us every time we ask him, we know we have what we ask from him." When He is in us and our desires line up with His desires, then we can know that He hears our prayers, because our prayers are not selfish or self serving. It is ALL about Him and doing His will.

God has given us everything we need to understand and know Him. I John 5:20 - "We also know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we can know the True One. And our lives are in the True One and in the Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and the eternal life."

"God's holiness demands that all sin be punished, but God's love provides the plan and way of redemption for sinful man. God's love is the cross of Jesus, by which man can have forgiveness and cleansing. It was the love of God that sent Jesus Christ to the cross!" ~ From Peace with God by Billy Graham

God used these chapters, really the entire book of I John, to explain a lot of TRUTH to me. I John puts in condensed form the message of the entire Bible: the promises of blessings for obedience and the inescapable consequences for disobedience. It breaks my heart that people we know and love are missing out on the blessings God has made available to them and are instead living lives of consequences for the choices they have made. Instead of a life of joy, they appear to be living a life of punishment and torment.

Last Friday morning (July 19, 2013), as I was reading I John 4:1–5:21, I literally wept when I began to understand the meaning of what God's word was saying. It was a new Truth to me. It explained the "why" behind my husband's mom actions and the resulting issues we have been having to deal with—and I wept.

My husband and I have been both disgusted and frustrated with his mother's behavior. She is literally consumed by fear and has been for as long as we can remember. She is manipulative and uses "I didn't know" lies as a means to excuse her unacceptable behaviors. I personally had been getting more and more frustrated and even angry that she has gotten by (and keeps getting by) with that kind of inexcusable behavior—for years!

But then I read I John 4:18. It is punishment to live a life of fear. Punishment!! She isn't "getting by" with anything! She is living a tortured, tormented, punished life for the years she has refused to surrender all to God, and my heart broke for the consequences she is living and in compassion for her—I wept. There was no more anger. Just a broken heart for her.

How many times have we excused my mother-in-law's or my sister's behavior by saying, "Oh, that's just _____ (my sister) or "that's just _____ (my mother-in-law)?  NO!! NO! A thousand times NO! It isn't "just so and so," it is SIN!! Let's call it what it is—SIN! My sister is living a life of fear, anger, revenge, lies, and control because of SIN! My mother-in-law is living a tormented punished life of fear because of SIN!

What are we going to do about my husband's mom? We don't know yet. We are praying and asking God what, when, and how He wants us to do something. One thing we know. We cannot have this truth revealed to us and do nothing. Love requires action. Eternity is at stake.

When I quit making excuses for my sister's behavior and when I finally accepted the whole ugly truth it broke my heart. There was no anger, only a deep concern for her soul. I wanted to reach out to her because love does require action. But what could I do? We are in the middle of a lawsuit. There is no communication. It seemed hopeless.

When I felt led to begin this journal I had no idea God would use it to allow my voice to go to my sister as a witness to her of God's truth. It certainly wasn't anything I orchestrated. When the judge reopened discovery over some random issue and I realized I was going to have to send my private words and thoughts to someone who was seeking our ruin, it seemed like my worst nightmare. Yet, it was God's plan to reach my sister with HIS words and to free me from any responsibility for her ultimate choices. Now, we are seeking God's will for how He wants us reach out to my husband's mom. We will continue to seek His plan and wait on His leading.

Understanding scripture better has explained so much. I used to wonder why it would drive me crazy to be around my sister for very long. I've often wondered why there were times I found it difficult to even like my mother-in-law. I loved both my sister and mother-in-law, but there were times it was very difficult to like them. I've discovered it has nothing to do with a difference in personalities, it is because of the difference of who we are at our very core. It wasn't my sister's clutter, or the fidgeting, or the obsession with my brother that was driving me crazy; it was the difference in our core values that was separating us. It wasn't my mother-in-laws fears and unacceptable behaviors that was driving me crazy; it was the difference in our core values.

And my heart breaks and my soul weeps for both of them.

LORD, thank you for giving me an opportunity to share Truth with my sister. LORD, I pray that you will give us direction on who should speak Truth to my husband's mom. LORD, I pray that they will each understand that without you they are nothing and that they would both desire nothing but you.  LORD, may they surrender their hearts to Master Jesus, and change their hearts and lives. May they each live to see the day where they understand for the first time the fullness of your amazing Love.  LORD, we surrender them both to you. We lay our concern for them at your feet.

Addendum: 1/3/2017~  So, what happened? I wish I could say there was some sort of miraculous change in my mother-in-law's life. There wasn't.

I had two different opportunities to talk in depth with my mother-in-law. The first was in early 2014. We had recently moved both of my husband's parents to an Assisted Living facility. My mother-in-law developed an UTI which required a visit to the emergency room. While in the emergency room, the nurses wanted her to get up and walk a few steps before they released her. Even with two big burly men on each side of her, and even though their arms were wrapped securely around her in total support, my mother-in-law was paralyzed by the fear of falling and would not attempt a small single step. In the privacy of her room I talked to her about surrendering her fears. She didn't want to hear anything about it.

The last opportunity I had was shortly before my mother-in-law died in August of 2015. She would look up and smile whenever a nurse came into the room but she rarely ever acknowledged the presence of any of her family members. Knowing she could hear me, I went through all the steps of salvation even though I knew she grew up knowing them. I sang hymns to her, and I prayed for her. There was no visible response. While I believe her salvation was secure, I wanted to make sure she had every opportunity to surrender ALL.

The only thing we have any control over is our own personal response to Jesus. As for me, I choose to surrender—ALL.

All to Jesus I Surrender


Next Entry: II John 1:1–13