Maranatha Grace Church

 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. (Revelation 1:3)

Hello:

Book of Revelation Challenge – Day 2 – Revelation 2  (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

“To the angel^[a] of the church in Ephesus write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. ² I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. ³ You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

⁴ Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. ⁵ Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. ⁶ But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

⁷ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

It is not enough to just love and serve God. God demands a special kind of loving from us. This kind of love was clarified by Jesus in the book of Matthew, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (Matthew 22:37).” Love God with passion. The church in Ephesus was doing what apparently seems fine, they had persevered and had endured hardship for the name of the Lord Jesus, and they had not grown weary, but that was not enough because their love had grown cold. We keep our love from going cold by counting God’s blessings in our lives.

May the Lord richly bless you

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Book of Revelation Challenge – Day 3 – Revelation 3  (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁷ “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.

⁸ “‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. ⁹ Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. ¹⁰ Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.’ (Revelation 3:7-10)

These words talk to us in a special way, “Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name (v.8).” Who wouldn’t like to hear these words from the Lord Jesus? The church in Philadelphia heard these words because they kept the word of the Lord and did not deny his name. What word did they keep? They kept the word of love, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another (John 13:34).”

Our churches can have the same experience as the church in Philadelphia. Do we love one another as the brothers and sisters in Philadelphia did? The world will know that we are Christ’s disciples when we love one another. May we hear the same words that the church in Philadelphia heard, “I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut.”

May the Lord richly bless you!

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Book of Revelation Challenge – Day 4 – Revelation 4  (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
 who was and is and is to come!”

⁹ And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

¹¹ “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
 to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
 and by your will they existed and were created.” (Revelation 4:8--11)

Worship in heaven tells us a lot about what need to know of our existence and our purpose. We exist by God and we were created for God. We humans on this physical plane tend to put aside a day to worship the Lord, but in heaven worship is an incessant activity. Day and night the four living creatures and twenty-four elders worship him who lives forever and ever (9). We have to eat, to work and we have to sleep. But our daily activities need not to keep us from worshiping the Lord continuously, when we do every daily activities for the glory of GOD, we are joined with heaven in continual worship. “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).”

May the Lord richly bless you!

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Book of Revelation Challenge – Day 5 – Revelation 5  (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁶ Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits^[a] of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷ He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. ⁸ And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. ⁹ And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll
 and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
 and with your blood you purchased for God
 persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
¹⁰ You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
 and they will reign^[b] on the earth.” (Revelation 5:6-10)

We often hear Christians say, when faced with a very difficult decision, “If only I could know the will of God!” By this, they mean that they would go ahead and do whatever God tells them to do. But God has already told us a great part of his will for every circumstance of our lives. ”Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thess. 5-16-18).”  These three activities are not optional, they are the will of God for us. Our prayers are used as part of worship in heaven, “they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people (v. 9).” We should not deprive heaven of materials for worship. Do you pray?

May the Lord richly bless you!

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Book of Revelation Challenge – Day 6 – Revelation 6  (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

¹² I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, ¹³ and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. ¹⁴ The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

¹⁵ Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. ¹⁶ They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us^[f] from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! ¹⁷ For the great day of their^[g] wrath has come, and who can withstand it?” (Revelation 6:12-17)

There is a side of the holiness of God that virtually no one wants to consider nowadays. God as a righteous judge who punishes sin is not talked about. However, we must declare the whole counsel of God as revealed in the Bible (Acts 10:27). The day of the Lord is a terrible day when God anger will be poured out on rebellious humanity. Therefore every Christian should try their best to reach out to the lost with the message of salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus. No Jesus no eternal life. Have Jesus have  eternal life. “For God so loved the world,^[a] that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).”

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Revelation Challenge – Day 7 – Revelation 7  (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁹ After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” ¹¹ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”(Revelation 7:9--12)

We know that there are great blessings associated with the reading aloud of the book of Revelation (Rev. 1:3). Many of us have testified to having already received those blessings, and many more will be testifying of receiving special blessings of God in their lives just by obediently and faithfully taking the Challenge. Some of us cannot remember much of the Scriptures that we read; what is the point of spending so much time studying the book if I cannot remember the verses you may ask?

The point is at least we know what is going in heaven right now as we speak. We don’t have to guest, we know that God and the Lamb of God, Jesus, are being worshiped. And every time we engage ourselves in prayer, supplications, and thanksgiving we are linked to the worship that is happening in heaven. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen (v. 12).  Our prayers are being heard and answered in the name of Jesus.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Revelation Challenge – Day 8 – Revelation 8  (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. ² Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. ³ 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, ⁴ and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. ⁵ 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.”(Revelation 8:1-4)

So far in the book of Revelation we have learned a lot of truths. But there are two of them that specially captivate our attention because we are commanded in the word of God to reproduce them here on earth. They are worship and prayer. “On earth as it is in heaven,” earth and heaven touch when we engage in worship and prayer. Our prayers are more important than we think they are (v. 4). We must pray. Pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17).

May the Lord richly bless you!

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Book of Revelation Challenge – Day 9 – Revelation 9  (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

²⁰ The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, ²¹ nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. (Revelation 9:20-21)

There are currently 7.4 billion people living on earth, of this total 2.2 billion are Christians.  That leaves some 5.2 billion people who are not Christians, a very large number of people who need to be evangelized. The more we engage ourselves in evangelizing the world, the more we help in the soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ. God is patiently waiting for mankind repentance. “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).” We have work to do.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Revelation Challenge – Day 10 – Revelation 10  (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. ² He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, ³ and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. ⁴ And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.” (Revelation 10:1-4)

For the post-modern mind, “Credo ut intelligam” I believe in order to understand is a totally unacceptable concept. They ignore the fact that there are truths that lie beyond human understanding. Even in Revelation, certain things must stay hidden. “And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down (v. 4).” We wonder why? The Bible doesn’t tells us why certain things are hidden, but it tells us that the things that are revealed are revealed for our own good.  The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law (Deut. 29:29).  We need faith to please God, we walk by faith not by sight.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Revelation Challenge – Day 11 – Revelation 11  (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

¹⁵ The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:

“The kingdom of the world has become
 the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah,
 and he will reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 11:15)

The most recited prayer by Christians all over the world is the “Our Father.” In that prayer Jesus taught his disciples that in prayer their utmost concern should be the glory of God. “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:9-10). From God’s glory comes mankind well-being. ^“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well,” we are told by Jesus (Matthew 6:33). The book of Revelation is filled with awful disasters to befall humanity, but the ultimate conclusion is the establishment of the kingdom of God on earth.  “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.” Maranatha!

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Revelation Challenge – Day 12 – Revelation 12  (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have come the salvation and the power
 and the kingdom of our God,
 and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
 who accuses them before our God day and night,
 has been hurled down.
¹¹ They triumphed over him
 by the blood of the Lamb
 and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
 as to shrink from death.
¹² Therefore rejoice, you heavens
 and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
 because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
 because he knows that his time is short.” (Revelation 12:10-13)

Praise is the key to our victory. ^“But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel (Psalm 22:3).”  When we praise God, when we testify of his majesty, of his goodness, and his love with deep gratitude in our hearts and with our lips, the adversary has to flee.  “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death (V. 11).” Revelation is really about praise and worship to God in heaven for who he is, and for what he does. On earth as it is in heaven, is our prayer. God  never changes, his love endures forever.  

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Revelation Challenge – Day 13 – Revelation 13  (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁵ The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. ⁶ It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. ⁷ It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. ⁸ All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.^[b]

⁹ Whoever has ears, let them hear.

¹⁰ “If anyone is to go into captivity,
 into captivity they will go.
If anyone is to be killed^[c] with the sword,
 with the sword they will be killed.”^[d]

This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people. (Revelation 13:5-10)

There is no power but God. To know that everything is under God’s control allows the believer to stay calm even under tremendous pressure. As Jesus said to Pilate, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above (John 19:11).” Power in the hands of mere human beings is an illusion. They may think that they have power to do and undo at will, but in the end God is in control.  The story of Revelation 13 tells us again and again that the adversary doesn’t have intrinsic power, it is given to him and for only a specific time. So we can rest assured that God who loves us so will make sure that his purpose for our lives is fulfilled.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Revelation Challenge – Day 14– Revelation 14  (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁸ A second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’^[a] which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”

⁹ A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, ¹⁰ they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. ¹¹ And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” ¹² This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus. (Revelation 14:8-12)

The book of Revelation reveals to us God in all His attributes: holiness, righteousness, omniscience, omnipotence, omniscience, his enduring love. Because of his holiness and righteousness God has to bring sinful mankind to judgment. But with our post-modern sensibility a lot of us could be very disturbed by the truths of Revelation regarding the judgment of the unrighteous (v. 9-11). However, we need to always remember that God is God, and we are not. In addition, because of his great love and compassion, he offered salvation to everyone free of charge. All one has to do is to believe in Jesus, to accept by faith the righteousness which is provided to mankind through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,^[i] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus (Romans 3:25-26).

May the Lord richly bless you!

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Book of Revelation Challenge – Day 15 – Revelation 15  (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

They held harps given them by God ³ and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb:

“Great and marvelous are your deeds,
 Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
 King of the nations.
⁴ Who will not fear you, Lord,
 and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
 and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.(Revelation 14:8-12)

Revelation 1:3 gives us one of the secrets for great blessings, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.”  While we are progressing in the Challenge of reading that book, we are getting to the concrete realization that there are indeed great blessings in reading, listening, and paying attention to the book of Revelation. No one can read the book of Revelation without a revolution in his prayer life. In heaven the ongoing activity is foremost praise and wordship. The Christian’s life should be a life of praising and worshiping God.

Many Christians refuse to get acquainted with the book of Revelation because of fear. Christians should not fear the truths of the coming judgment of God on humanity, in the contrary those truths should give us the impetus (youn bourad) to go out to the share the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. The Lord commanded to his first disciples and also to all of us to go out and make disciples all of nations. People need the Lord.

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ¹⁷ This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love (1 John 4:16-18).”

May the Lord richly bless you!

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Book of Revelation Challenge – Day 16 – Revelation 16  (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁴ The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. ⁵ Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say:

“You are just in these judgments, O Holy One,
 you who are and who were;
⁶ for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets,
 and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”

⁷ And I heard the altar respond:

“Yes, Lord God Almighty,
 true and just are your judgments.”

⁸ The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. ⁹ They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him. (Revelation 16:4-9)

Have you ever felt upset with God, because of some natural disasters that claim multiple lives, or because of the suffering caused by poverty and war in the world? Even though God is not the author of those calamities, people blame God for these things, showing their contempt toward God by their words. This show their true priority based on false assumptions.  But the angels did not blame God when God unleashed his wrath on the idolaters (v. 4). In the contrary the angels worshipped and praised God for his righteous judgments, showing their true priority based on correct knowledge of the character of God.

There is no evil in God. God is holy, even in his wrath he stays holy. Natural disasters, famine, and war in our current timeframe are not God’s wrath toward humanity. They are the result of sin in the human heart. There is enough food for everyone on earth. If the money spent on wars was used to fight diseases, most diseases would have been eradicated by now. War, diseases and poverty are not necessary. All that is needed is for man to choose to obey God’s Law of love.

However, if humanity continues in its destructive ways, God wrath will be poured out on them in the near future. Still God will always be holy, just, and loving.  

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Revelation Challenge – Day 17 – Revelation 17  (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. ² With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”

³ Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. ⁵ The name written on her forehead was a mystery:

Babylon  the  great the mother of prostitues and of the abominations of the earth.

⁶ I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. (Revelation 17:3-6)

People have speculated since day one of the writing of the book of Revelation of what that Babylon really is. The text itself tells us what it is, we don’t have to use conjecture to know what it is. It is a socio-politico system which promotes a worldview opposed to the kingdom of God. The writer of the book of Revelation compares Babylon to a prostitute, and the rulers of the world as her lovers committing adultery with her. Adultery is a mélange, trying to blend what should not be together. Once we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we make a commitment to God to never go back. Nou pa ka alle, nou pa ka voye.  

May the Lord richly bless you!

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Book of Revelation Challenge – Day 18 – Revelation 18  (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁴ Then I heard another voice from heaven say:

“‘Come out of her, my people,’^[b]
 so that you will not share in her sins,
 so that you will not receive any of her plagues;
⁵ for her sins are piled up to heaven,
 and God has remembered her crimes. (Revelation 18:4-5)

Many times in the Bible we see that God is asking people to “come out” of their environment. In Genesis 12:1 “The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” Lot had to get out of Sodom without delay (Genesis 19:12). In Mark 13:14  the believers need to leave Jerusalem, “When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing where it does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains,”  said Jesus.

In today’s challenge we find God asking his people to come out of Babylon. But is God, in particular sense, asking you and me to come out of some specific situations? It could be a job, a relationship, or an environment that God knows and we know also that is bad for us spiritually, emotionally, and physically. When God asks us to “come out” of something it is for our own good, it is for our blessing and for our protection. We read in 1 Corinthians 15:33 a very serious warning for all ages, “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

May the Lord richly bless you!

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Book of Revelation Challenge – Day 19 – Revelation 19  (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁶ And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.⁷ Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.⁸ And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.⁹ And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.(Revelation 19:6-8)

They say that the day of wedding is the day when a woman is at her most beautiful self. She and her family had planned for that day for a long period of time, and as the day finally comes she is radiant. Revelation 19 tells us about the marriage of the Lamb with his wife, the church, the body of Christ. A beautiful figure of Christ consuming love for his church.

Why is it important that Christians do good work? We know that our salvation doesn’t depend on our works, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)” But yet, good works are very important. What would be a wedding without a nice garment for the bride?

 The church is granted to wear fine linen, clean and white: Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people (v. 9). Our righteous acts do not save us. However without them Christ’s bride, the church, would be naked on the her most beautiful day. We can’t let that happen, so let’s get to work!

May the Lord richly bless you!

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Book of Revelation Challenge – Day 20 – Revelation 20  (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁷ When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison ⁸ and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. ⁹ They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. ¹⁰ And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Revelation 20:7-10)

One cannot fathom the idyllic condition of life on earth under the direct Kingship of the Lord Jesus. Yet after a thousand years of living in the millennium, mankind will return to its rebellious and selfish way once again enticed by Satan’s deception. People often blame their environments for their wrong actions. It is true that the environment play a great role in shaping someone’s character, but a good environment is not enough to transform a man’s heart toward God.  

The influence of Satan on humanity after a thousand years of peace and prosperity proves that the best of environments cannot change the sinful nature of mankind always ready to do wrong and to side with Satan. Only Christ can transform the heart of corrupted man. However, Christ will never force his love on anyone. All must freely receive Jesus’ offer of Salvation by grace though faith in him.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. ²¹ To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. (Revelation 3:20-21)

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Revelation Challenge – Day 21 – Revelation 21  (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”^[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’^[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

⁵ He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

⁶ He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. ⁷ Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. ⁸ But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” (Revelation 21:1-8)

The passage above is one of my favorite Scriptures reading during funeral ceremonies. While the hearts are grieving the loss of a loved one it is comforting to hear what God has in the future for humanity. No more death, no more tears, no more pain, those words seem too good to be true, but they are true, they are the very word of God. “He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true (v. 5).” IT IS DONE.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

We have reached the end of the Book Revelation Challenge, tomorrow we start the Book of Mark Challenge.

Book of Revelation Challenge – Day 22 – Revelation 22  (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³ No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. ⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 22:1-5)

 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen. (Revelation 22:20-21)

Every time we come together at our church, either for worship, for Bible studies, for fellowship, and etc.., after the pronouncement of the benedictions, we always repeat the slogan “Maranatha – Christ Revient.” We repeat “Maranatha – Christ Revient” because we want to remind ourselves and our brothers and sisters that our best hope is in the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Nou marche tou Sove because we put our trust in the finished work of Jesus on our behalf. We have accepted Jesus as Lord and we believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead.

 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).

 Come Lord Lesus.

May the Lord richly bless you!