We are headed for an apocalypse. Science and religion both agree. So in the midst of what seems to be cursed, and all the voices claiming to have the answers, how do we find and know what is really BLESSED? God has John write the book of Revelation to answer the question of “BLESSED?” #revelation #2022
Father, we bow before You to ask You to help us have an eternal perspective on blessings and embrace the blessed life You laid out in Matthew 5:1-17. As we go through the book of Revelation, help us to understand that we will not know the times or seasons You have set by Your own authority, but we are commanded to TAKE & EAT from you and be your witnesses inviting others to “taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him!” (Psalm 34). Amen.
As you read through Revelation, remember that John has been serving God faithfully for decades in the midst of persecution, death, and blessing for those making decisions about Jesus. He has watched faithful people, including his fellow apostles, be killed for claiming and proclaiming Jesus. John has been exiled to an island (Patmos) full of criminals and sick people because of his faithfulness in embracing the bledding of being a witness. In Revelation, John is writing down what he is seeing and trying to use his limited vocabulary to describe things that no earthly language can fully describe. Revelation is meant to be a blessing of both literal and symbolic meaning. It is meant to call us to the blessing of surrender to a God of pure love, justice, and sovereignty.
The trumpets are the announcment that God is calling us and others to TAKE & EAT from Him and reminding us that someday Jesus will TAKE & EAT with us.
Acts 1:6-8 are Jesus’ last words to His followers before He left the earth. How does this passage remind us of our mission and purpose to be God’s people who TAKE & EAT from Him and invite other to TAKE & EAT of Him?