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Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 312

Nov8

A NEW MONTH!

Day 312 – Reading – Matthew 25

Read and believe in Jesus!

Matthew 25.

Jesus continues His warnings about the end times, this time using parables and illustrations.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins warns about being prepared. Ten young women, bridesmaids, waited at the Bride’s house for the Bridegroom to come, so they could form a procession to the festivities.  These gals waited a long time, all of them napping as it got later and later.  Their oil lamps burned lower and lower. 

Finally, the joyful call that the Bridegroom was coming!  Quickly, they trimmed the wicks of their lamps, and five of them refilled them with oil.  But the other five could not.

They thought they had an adequate supply in their lamps.  They did not bring extra oil.  They did not plan on waiting a long time or persevering through the long night.  When they asked to borrow some from the others, they were denied. Perseverance and faithfulness (the oil) are a personal thing: each must have their own supply in their heart.

“Watch therefore,” Jesus said, “for you know neither the day nor the hour (of the Lord’s coming).”

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The Parable of the Talents is a similar story about wasting opportunities or being faithful in the Lord’s work until He returns.  A businessman was going on a journey and called His three top servants together to assign work while he was gone. 

To his best worker, he gave a very sizable amount of money to be responsible for – FIVE talents of silver. (One silver talent was equivalent to 20 years’ wages for a common laborer).  To the man’s next best servant, the man gave the responsibility of TWO talents of silver. And to the third man, he gave the oversight of ONE silver talent.  Then the businessman went away, confident his men would do well by him.

The best worker traded on the stock market and doubled his master’s money.

The second-best worker did the same, doubling the two talents he had.

But the third man, fearful of any risk, hid the silver talent safely in a vault in the ground.  He was sure not to lose any of it that way.

When the businessman finally returned, he called all three to account.  He was very pleased with the first two servants’ wisdom and the increase in his money. He praised them and rewarded them handsomely.

But he was very disappointed and angry at the third man.  If indeed the servant knew he was a “hard man” who gathered where he did not sow, should he not have AT LEAST put the talent in the bank where it would have earned interest?  The servant was wicked and slothful, and he was kicked out into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The wait for the Lord’s second coming may seem long (2,000 years?).  But Jesus’ true followers must be faithful, prepared, and working for the Kingdom, as God has enabled them..

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The illustration of Judgment Day tells us about those who obey or disobey His Commands to love one another (even our enemies). This love reflects God’s great, undeserved love for us and the root of His salvation, planned from before the world began.

At the end, on judgment day, the King will divide the people of all the nations into “the sheep” and “the goats.”  Sheep on the right (the side of blessing) and goats on the left (the side of judgment).  He will bless the sheep and give them the Kingdom that the Father had prepared for them.

Why are we rewarded? they ask.  The King answered, “For when I was hungry, you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.”

“When did we do all this?” the sheep asked.

“When you did it to one of the least of these my brothers… you did it to me.”

THEN…

The King turned to the “goats” on His left and said, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels!”

‘Na-a-a-a, why?” they asked, and were told that when confronted with the hungry and thirsty, strangers, naked ones, the sick and imprisoned … they – from their hard, selfish hearts – did not assist, supply, or help at all.  And because they did not do kindness to these, they had not done it for the King. 

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Again, the Lord is interested in our hearts. Do we look for His coming with longing, serving Him no matter how long it takes?  Do we shun laziness, and honor Him always with what little or abundance that we have?  And are we forsaking self desires and from out hearts serving others with love and kindness?

He knows.

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 311

Nov7

A NEW MONTH!

Day 311 – Reading – Matthew 24

Read and believe in Jesus!

Matthew 24.

This chapter covers what we’ve already read in Luke 21 and Mark 13.  

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The conversation between Jesus and his men is prompted by their admiration of the temple and walls of Jerusalem and Jesus’ abrupt news that it won’t be long before they all will lay in ruins.

This prompted more questions, such as: WHEN it would happen, and WHAT would be the SIGN of His coming and the end of the age.

Across the Kidron Valley on the Mount of Olives (possibly in the Garden of Gethsemane), Jesus sat down with them and began to answer their questions.  They weren’t entirely satisfied (as we are also not), but Jesus admits that even He does not know the exact time.

The warnings are the same as we’ve already read, “See that no one leads you astray,” and “See that you are not alarmed with what is coming.”

Jesus adds more information about their time of persecution and apostasy. “They will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death (James’ death was coming soon!), and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.  Then many will fall away, betray one another, and hate one another. Because lawlessness will increase, the love of many will grow cold.  But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”

Then Jesus told them WHEN the end would come.  Not a certain date or even year, but … “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

Jesus warns them about the “abomination of desolation” spoken about in the prophet Daniel (9:27 and 11:31) – another one coming who will be like Antiochus Epiphanes, only worse.  And during his time, “False messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.”  Jesus told them not to be deceived.  The whole world will see Him at His coming in power. His glory will flash like lightning flashes from east to west.

The fig tree offers an illustration.  When the leaves appear, you know the fruit will follow soon after.

Noah offers another illustration.  Jesus says, “As it was in the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.  In those days, before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark. They were unaware until the flood came and took them all away.”

Jesus cautions them, “Don’t be like the wicked servant, who, when his master went away for a time, began to do evil. He beat his fellow servants, instead of providing food for them; he began to eat and drink with drunkards, using up his master’s goods selfishly. 

“When the master returns … ‘He will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites in that place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

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Whoa.  Okay,  I know the disciples were confused, but the message of Jesus was clear. 

“Don’t be afraid. Don’t be fooled.  Don’t turn aside from the work I’ve given you.  Endure persecution and death.  Be faithful, and you will be rewarded in the end when I return.”

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And, really, that’s how it is for US today!

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 310

Nov6

A NEW MONTH!

Day 310 – Reading – Mark 13

Read and believe in Jesus!

Mark 13.

Today’s reading is another account of the dire predictions we read about yesterday in Luke 21, and what we will read about again in Matthew 24 tomorrow.  The setting is Jerusalem, mid-week before the horrible time of Jesus’s suffering leading up to His crucifixion on Passover. He has had several encounters with Jewish leaders, who are even angrier now. 

Jesus also spoke some dire things about the future that have made His disciples curious.  When they leave the Temple, one of His disciples comments, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”

Jesus answers him cryptically, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”  

As they walked through Jerusalem and out the gates, through the Kidron Valley to the Mount of Olives, I’m sure they were thinking about what Jesus had predicted.  From their viewpoint, they could see the Holy City across the Western horizon, with the Temple prominently standing. All the enormous stones were “golden” in the setting sun.  It was hard to imagine it all in rubble.  (But hadn’t that very thing happened centuries before when Babylon attacked and destroyed the city and temple, taking Israel into exile?  Would that happen again?  (Sadly, yes.)

Sadly, this first part would happen in less than 40 years after Jesus’ warning. The destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple buildings by the Roman General Titus occurred in 70 A.D., and thousands of Jews were killed or taken as slaves.

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As they rested on the Mount of Olives – possibly in the Garden of Gethsemane – the four fisherman brothers (Peter & Andrew, James & John) approached Jesus privately. “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?”

They wondered if this would happen very soon, not-so soon, or not for a long while. Should they start preparing? 

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His answer may have been confusing. 

Jesus begins with warnings, “Beware that no one leads you astray.”  “Don’t be alarmed.”  “Be on your guard.”  “Don’t be anxious.”  “The one who endures to the end will be saved.”

This first section seems to refer to the near future, and the persecution they will suffer after He has departed.  However, it could refer to any suffering by believers throughout the centuries.  There will be “false Messiahs” coming that try to fool believers into believing that He has returned.  There will be earthquakes, famines, and wars between nations, but these are just the beginning.

They are to expect persecution from the Jews and governments (think of all that happens in the book of Acts) as they spread the Gospel.  They will be brought to court to give their testimony.  In those times, the Holy Spirit will show them what to say. 

And they are to expect persecution even from their own families, including being put to death (possibly out of fear for their own lives).

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In the next section, Jesus seems to be warning believers IN THE END TIMES. (see verse 14, “let the reader understand.)  The Antichrist of the Great Tribulation will act and appear like that historical Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria in the second century B.C., who raided Jerusalem, killing 80,000 Jews, and then set up a statue of Zeus in the temple and sacrificed pigs on the holy altar. 

Jesus, “For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be.  And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved.  (Read Revelation for further details.)  But for the sake of the elect, whom God chose, He shortened the days.”

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I’m sure the disciples were thoroughly scared by then (I would be).  But Jesus has a little more to reveal.

“After that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.”  (As if they were not fearful enough!)  

“And THEN they will see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send out the angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.”

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And as for their “When?” question, Jesus gives an example of the fig tree.  When it begins to leaf out, you know that summer is near. “So, also, WHEN YOU SEE THESE THINGS TAKING PLACE, you know that he (and the Kingdom of God) is near, at the very gates. 

Then, before they can ask further, Jesus answers. “But concerning the DAY and the HOUR… no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”  Only those alive in that final generation will live to see the return of Christ.

And some final warnings, “Be on guard. Keep awake. Stay awake.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 309

Nov5

A NEW MONTH!

Day 309 – Reading – Matthew 23 and Luke 20-21

Read and believe in Jesus!

Matthew 23.

Remember in yesterday’s study, Jesus was confronted with several groups of the Jewish religious leaders with questions meant to trick Him.  Jesus never faltered, and even asked THEM a question that left them stumped.  Then He warned his disciples to “Beware of the scribes/Pharisees for their hypocrisy.”

Now, this chapter is a series of scathing remarks or judgments on those very leaders to warn the crowds and his disciples about their evil ways.

But first, a caveat. Jesus tells his hearers that these leaders do “sit on Moses’ seat.” In other words, the laws they teach ARE holy as God gave them to Moses.  The people are to “practice and observe” what these leaders SAY from the Scriptures, but they are not to imitate what they DO.

Why?  As hypocrites, they “heap heavy burdens, hard to bear, on the people’s shoulders, but don’t lift a finger to help them.   And they “do all their deeds to be seen by others.”  They love the places of honor, the best seats, greetings in the marketplace, and to be called “rabbi.”  “Don’t be like that,” Jesus tells them. “The greatest among you shall be your servant.”

Then Jesus doubles down with seven “woes” or condemnations.

  1. WOE!  Jesus condemned their harsh demands on the people (far above what Moses wrote), and yet they did not observe them.
  2. WOE!  These hypocrites went to great lengths to make a single convert to Judaism, but then made him “a child of the devil” by their excessive demands.
  3. WOE!  These “blind fools” valued gold, offerings, and material objects more than the sacred things of God.
  4. WOE!  These hypocrites tithed minutely on everything, even the herbs they used, but they neglected the weightier things of God’s Law, like justice, mercy, and faithfulness.  They were straining out “gnats” while swallowing “camels.”
  5. WOE!  These blind hypocrites washed the “outside” of their cups and plates in precise, legalistic ways, while allowing the serving pieces to be full of greed and self-indulgence.  “First, clean the inside!” Jesus told them.
  6. WOE!  Jesus told these hypocrites that they were like white-washed tombs.  Pretty on the outside with their self-righteousness, but inside, they were full of “dead bones and uncleanness,” which is what Jesus called their hypocrisy and lawlessness.
  7. WOE!  They were such “false” leaders that they built monuments to honor the prophets of old who spoke God’s truth.  And all the while they were KILLING them because they did not want to hear God’s condemnation. Jesus calls these sons of murderers, “serpents” and a “brood of vipers” and asks, “How are you to escape being sentenced to hell?”  Jesus says HE is sending them prophets, wise men, and scribes, but they will kill and crucify some, and others flog and persecute … so that … on YOU may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from Abel to Zechariah. 

 

Then Jesus turns to his surroundings and weeps.  “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!  How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings … and you would not!

“See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”

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Luke 21.

While some were looking around and speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stores and offerings, Jesus said,  “As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”   (Did they think of the first Temple’s destruction and their exile?)

“Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?  they asked, worried.

Jesus:  “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and ‘The time is at hand!’  Do not go after them.  And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.

Then Jesus lists events that will occur before His return.  Some are distant, even to us right now. Others will happen in 70 a.d. when the Romans destroy Jerusalem and the Temple.

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  • “Nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom.
  • There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences.
  • There will be terrors and great signs in the heavens.
  • Before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to synagogues and prisons, before kings and governors for My name’s sake. (You will be given wisdom to witness.)
  • You will be delivered up even by parents and relatives and friends, and some of you will be put to death.
  • You will be hated by all for My name’s sake.
  • And when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know that its desolation is near.  FLEE to the mountains.
  • There will be great distress upon the earth, and wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and be led captive among all nations.
  • And Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
  • There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations because of the roaring of the sea and waves.
  • People will faint with fear and with foreboding of what is coming o the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
  • And THEN they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  When you see this begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, for your redemption is drawing near.
  • Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”

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Then Jesus turned to them with warning and encouragement.   “But WATCH yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life … that the Day come on you suddenly like a trap.

“Stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place … and to stand before the Son of Man.”

 

(Definitely a serious lesson and it may cause us to be fearful, but TRUST in Jesus, pray, and believe.)

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 297

Oct24

Day 297 – Reading – John 9 – 10

Read and believe in Jesus!

John 9.

After nearly being stoned and hiding Himself, Jesus left the temple area.  As He did, he saw a man blind from birth. (How did he know that?)  Well, He’s God, but the disciples seemed to know too.   “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” they asked.  “Neither, but so the works of God might be displayed in him,” Jesus answered.

Jesus spat on the ground and made a bit of mud with his saliva.  He anointed the man’s eyes with it and told him to, “Go, wash it off in the pool of Siloam.“

Now, I wonder if the man had a young helper that led him around.  How else did he get almost a half mile away, through crowds of people in the city down to the pool of Siloam?

 

Imagine him dipping his hands in the water, bringing them up to splash on his eyes.

Then again, and once more. 

And then suddenly SEEING his hands cupping the water! 

Turning his hands over and flexing them in wonder. 

His hands! He’d never see them before. 

Then looking up and around at the pool reflecting the sky so blue and bright.

Squinting. Blinking.  

Then around at all the people so unique and colorful. 

He’d never seem colors before!

Then looking down at his own clothes and feet, and at his friend’s. 

Then leaning over the pool and seeing his reflection.

His own face with it’s dark hair and scraggly beard. 

What joy welling up in him!

“I can see!  I CAN SEE!!“

Then running to look at people, food stalls, animals, the ox carts, the city’s walls.

“I can see! I see that fruit, oh what is it? Is that a donkey?

I see you, and you, and YOU!”

 

And soon, others noticed him.

  • “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?”   
  • “It IS he!.”
  • But others said, “No, but he is like him.”
  • “I am the man!  I am the man!”
  • “Then how were your eyes opened?” they asked.
  • And the formerly blind man voiced his first testimony, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed and received my sight!”
  • “Where is he?“
  • “ I don’t know.”

So they took him to the Pharisees, most likely because the miracle happened on a Sabbath. (Traitors!)

  • “How did you receive your sight?“
  • “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.“
  • “This man (Jesus) is NOT from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath.” said some of the Jewish leaders.
  • “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” argued other leaders.
  • The turned to the former blind man and asked, “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?”
  • “He is a prophet.”

The Pharisees called for his parents and when they arrived, they quizzed them.

  • “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?   (Did they stare at him in wonder as his gaze took in their faces?)
  • “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.  But HOW he now sees we do not know or do we know who opened his eyes.  He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.”

Not satisfied, the Pharisees turned again to the happy, seeing man.

  • “Give Glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.”
  • The man, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. ONE THING I DO KNOW, that though I was blind, now I see.”
  • “What did He do to you?  How did He open your eyes?”
  • The man, getting exasperated, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?”
  • Infuriated, they answered back, “YOU are his disciple, but WE are disciples of Moses.  WE know that God has spoken through Moses, but as for this man (Jesus), we do not know where He comes from.”
  • The ex-blind man, getting bold under the interrogation answers, “Why…this is an amazing thing!  YOU do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.  NEVER SINCE THE WORLD BEGAN has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.”
  • “YOU were born in utter sin, and would YOU teach US???” 

And they cast him out (excommunicated him) from the synagogue. Did the man go away singing a praise psalm? Was he grinning?  Did he walk smartly as he gazed around at all the sites?  

  • Did he see an average looking man with intense eyes approach him and say, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
  • “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?”
  • “It is He who is speaking to you.”
  • And the man recognized the voice of the one who healed him. “Lord, I believe.” and he worshiped Him.
  • Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see … and those who see may become blind.
  • This infuriated the Pharisees.  “Are You saying that WE are blind??”
  • Jesus: “If you WERE blind you would have no guilt.  But you say, ‘We see.’ so your guilt remains.”

 

Then turning to the people around them, but specifically speaking to and about the Pharisees, whom He considered “false shepherds” of Israel, Jesus said. 

  • “He who does not enter the sheepfold by the door … but climbs in by another way … that man is a thief and a robber.”
  • That probably got their backs up.
  • “But He who enters by the door,” continues Jesus, “is the Shepherd of the sheep. The sheep hear his voice – He calls them by name – and leads them out. THEY know his voice.  But a STRANGER they will not follow. They will flee from them.”  

The Pharisees did not understand what Jesus was saying to them.  So He spoke more on this metaphor, comparing the pompous leaders of Israel to uncaring shepherds, thieves and robbers, and hired hands.

  • “I AM the (protecting) door of the sheepfold. If any enter by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”
  • “Thieves come to steal, kill, and destroy. But I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
  • “I AM the good shepherd. I lay down my life for the sheep.  I know my own and my own knows me.  And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also. There will be one flock and one shepherd.”
  • “For THIS reason, the Father loves me – because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. NO ONE TAKES IT FROM ME.  I lay it down of my own accord.
  • And I have the authority to take it up again.”

 

There was division among the Jewish leaders. Some thought Him demon-possessed or insane, and asked why they were even listening to Him.  But others said the words Jesus spoke were NOT of a demon or an insane man.

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The next event takes place two months later in Jerusalem.  It’s winter.  It’s at the “Feast of Dedication” (also called the Festival of Lights, or Hannukah). Jesus was in the Temple, walking along the colonnade of Solomon, when the Jewish leaders approached Him.

  • “How long will you keep us in suspense?  If you ARE the Christ, tell us plainly.”
  • “I’ve told you, but you do not believe.  The miracles I do in my Father’s name are also a witness about me, but you do not believe them either.”

Then carrying the theme of two months earlier, because it was so important, Jesus tells them,

  • “You are not part of MY flock.  My sheep HEAR my voice. I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.
  • My Father is greater than me. He is greater than all.   
  • “I and the Father are ONE.”  

At that the Jews picked up stones to kill Him.

  • “For which of my good works will you stone me?
  • “NOT for a good work, but for BLASPHEMY, because YOU, a man, make YOURSELF God.”
  • “Oh, because I said I was the Son of God?  Even though you do not believe ME, believe the works, that you may KNOW that the Father is in me and I AM in the Father.”

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Again they sought to arrest Jesus, but he slipped through their hands and went away across the Jordan River.  THERE, many believed in Him, saying, “Everything that John said about this man was true.” 

 

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Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 295

Oct22

Day 295 – Reading – Matthew 18

Read and believe in Jesus!

Matthew 18.

While looking right at Jesus, the disciples dare to ask, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven?” (The KING, or course!)  But I’m sure they were looking among themselves and wondering, is it Peter, our spokesman, or maybe John who is always close to Jesus and hears his revelations first? Which of us?

Jesus surprised them by calling over a little child and putting him on His lap. “Truly, unless YOU turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven.  Whoever humbles himself  like this child here, is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven.”

Well, the disciples weren’t expecting THAT.  And Jesus continues, hoping they get what He’s saying, “Whoever receives one such a child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin … it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and be thrown in the depth of the sea.”

Whoa!

And then more shocking statements.  “If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.  It’s better to enter life crippled and lame than with two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. The same with your eye, if it causes you to sin.

Looking again at the child on his lap, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in Heaven.”  “It is not the will of my Father who is in Heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”

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As the child settles back into Jesus’ arms and perhaps closes his eyes, Peter comes up with another question. “Lord, how often shall my brother (did he glance at Andrew here?) sin against me and I forgive him?  Seven times?

Jesus had just been telling them how to resolve issues between themselves. It was to go to that brother and talk to him.  If that didn’t work, they were to take 2-3 others along and try to resolve the problem.  And if that didn’t resolve the issue, they were to bring the man before the whole congregation. And if that failed, he was to be kicked out.   

So now Peter was asking HOW MANY TIMES did he have to forgive his  brother for sinning against him.

“Seventy times seven times. Forgive him 490 times!”   Yeow! That’s a lot!!!

Then after maybe gently caressing the child on his lap,  Jesus gave the disciples a parable to show how much the Father in Heaven is willing to forgive THEIR sins.

“There was a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. One of them owed him 10,000 talents (a huge amount).  The servant no way could pay back that amount to his master. So the king ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all he  had, and payment be made.”

Probably all who were listening, nodded their heads in agreement. That was fair.

Jesus continued. “The servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything!”

“Yeah, right!” and “No way!” the disciples said.

“Out of pity the master released him and forgave his debt.” said Jesus.

The people listening were shocked. “What??” “How could he?” 

Jesus continued the story, the “lesson” hadn’t be learned yet – the one about forgiving your brother 490 times.

“But then that (forgiven) servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denari.  He grabbed him and began to choke him, saying ‘Pay what you owe me!” 

The fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, just as the first servant had pleaded to the king, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’  But the forgiven servant (who was also greedy and mean) refused.  He put his fellow servant in prison until he should pay the debt.

The disciples and crowd were agitated.  How could the one who’d been forgiven so much not forgive his fellow servant?  That’s disgusting! What a bad guy!

But Jesus was not finished. Gently he set the little child down and watched as he ran to his mother, then continued.  “When the other servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master what had happened.  The king called in that forgiven servant and said, ‘You wicked servant!  I forgave you ALL that debt because you pleaded with me.  You should have had mercy on YOUR fellow servant, as I had on you.’  And in anger, his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.”

Yay! they all cried, hi-fiving each other. Good reddens! Serves him right!

Jesus held up a hand and they quieted. Then Jesus looked slowly around at each face and ended on Peter’s. “So also my heavenly Father will do to everyone of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Silence, while they pondered. Who did they need to go and forgive?

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(Lord, thank you for this reminder. God has forgive me so much!  I should also forgive others.  It’s hard, but God’s example encourages me to obey. Thank You!)

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 294

Oct21

Day 294 – Reading – Matthew 17 and Mark 9

Read and believe in Jesus!

Matthew 17 and Mark 9,

After telling His disciples about His soon-to-arrive suffering, death, and resurrection, Jesus says something hard to understand. “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not see death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

Our first thought may be, well, WE are here, 2000 years later, and WE haven’t seen Jesus coming into His Kingdom.  But consider a few other thoughts. Jesus could have been referring to His resurrection.  Or, perhaps the coming of His Holy Spirit at Pentecost was in His mind. 

But most likely, Jesus was referring to His “transfiguration” when Peter, James, and John saw Jesus glorified.  In both Matthew and Mark (and Luke), it’s the very next thing that happened after those words.

Jesus and the disciples were still in northern Galilee around Caesarea Philippi. Mt. Hermon (9,000 ft.) is nearby. Jesus took the “inner-circle” disciples, Peter, James, and John, up into this “high mountain.”

Jesus was “transfigured” before them.  And these three disciples saw Him, in some of His ‘Eternal Glory.’

  • Peter says in his account – 2 Peter 1:16b-18. “…we (3) were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to Him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,’ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with Him on the holy mountain.”

Matthew: “His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light.”

Mark: “His clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.”

(Luke: “The appearance of His face was altered and His clothes became dazzling white.”)

Can you imagine?

And THEN, as if this vision was not enough, the revered Old Testament heroes, MOSES and ELIJAH (representing the Law and Prophets), appeared with Jesus.  These two men, whose own deaths are a mystery, were discussing Jesus’ own upcoming “departure,” which He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem in just a few months. 

  • What do you think they were saying to Jesus?  How were they encouraging Him, do you think?
  • I believe they were calling to His remembrance all the Old Testament scriptures that pointed to Him – beginning at Genesis 3:15 (which Moses wrote) about the “seed of the woman crushing the head of the serpent.”
  • Did Moses remind Jesus of the “Passover Lamb” whose blood on the doors saved a nation from the death angel? Now He would provide salvation to ALL who believed.
  • Perhaps Elijah brought the prophecy of Isaiah 53 to Jesus’ remembrance, reviewing His upcoming suffering, but also the final reward He would have in the Redeemed Saints He would take to Glory. 
  • Maybe Elijah, thinking of the chariot of fire that took him to heaven, encouraged Jesus that He too would return to His Father by being “lifted up to the sky,” while his disciples watched.

We don’t know. My thoughts are just speculation. But in some way, these Old Testament powerhouses strengthened Jesus for the road ahead, and the “cup” he would drink.

And then…

Peter’s words penetrated all that sweet communion. “Lord. It is good that WE are here. If You wish, I will make three tents here, one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah…!”

But the Father interrupted him, covering the scene with a bright cloud and saying in majesty, “THIS is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, LISTEN TO HIM.”

When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. Perhaps they even fainted, because it took Jesus coming to them, touching them, and saying, “Rise, and have no fear” for them to see that the vision had gone.

On the way down the mountain, Jesus commanded the three, “You are to tell NO ONE about the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”   They kept the matter among themselves, but they didn’t really understand what Jesus meant by ‘rising from the dead.’

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When they came back to the rest of the disciples, they saw a crowd with them, some Jewish officials, a man, and a very distressed boy.  There was loud arguing by the Jewish scribes, and a great deal of distress in the crowd.

“What’s going on here? What are you arguing about?” Jesus wanted to know.

A man from the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought my son to You, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid.  So….I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.”

Jesus sighed. “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?  Bring him to me.”

They brought the boy to Jesus, and when it saw Him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth.  

Jesus turned to the father, “How long has this been happening to him?

“From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him.” answered the man. “But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 

Jesus, to the man, “If YOU can.  All things are possible for one who believes.”

Immediately the father cried out, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

Jesus, seeing the crowd amassing around them, said, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come of of him and never enter him again.”

And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that some said he was actually dead.  But Jesus took the boy by the hand and lifted him up. And he arose.  And all were astonished at the majesty of God. 

Later, in the house, the disciples asked Jesus privately why they could not cast the spirit out.  Jesus confided in them that “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”  

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A little later, back in Galilee, Jesus was trying to keep His disciples isolated, for He was teaching them. “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days He will rise.”

The disciples were greatly distressed and did not understand what He was saying. And they were afraid to ask Him.  Jesus would keep reminding then of what MUST happen to Him, clear up to the night of His arrest. But they didn’t understand and wouldn’t accept it.   

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How sweet it must have been to talk with Moses and Elijah on the mountain. They affirmed what was going to happen to Him. And they encouraged Him that indeed, He WOULD rise from the dead, to the glory of God. The plan of salvation, decided on before creation, would be accomplished. Jesus would conquer death and the devil and save His people from their sins.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 289

Oct16

THE NEW TESTAMENT!

Day 289 – Reading – Matthew 10

Read and believe in Jesus!

Matthew 10.

Chapter ten focuses on Jesus’ disciples (learners), whom He named apostles (messengers).

The order in the list fascinates me. Jesus seems to put them into pairs.  Was this the “two by two” order they went out? How did these men work together? Or challenge each other? Did their personalities clash? What if the tax collector and the Zealot had been together!! (whoa!)

  • First, Simon Peter and his brother Andrew,
  • James, the son of Zebedee and his brother John,
  • Philip and Bartholomew (or Nathaniel)
  • Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector,
  • James, the son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus (or Judas, the son of James)
  • Simon the Cananaean (or Zealot)  and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.

Jesus gave these men authority over unclean spirits so they could cast them out, and authority to heal every disease and every affliction. (He had been demonstrating these very things to them so far in His own ministry.) 

Jesus told them to AVOID Gentiles and Samaritans, and to go only to “the lost sheep of Israel.”  (Paul did this in the New Testament, although he was called to go to the Gentiles.  “To the Jew first,” was his mantra. Later, after Pentecost, the disciples would go “to the uttermost parts of the world.”)

Jesus gave His disciples the “message” to proclaim, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  Then they were to heal the sick, raise the dead (wow!), cleanse lepers, and cast out demons.

They were to take no pay, only accepting meals and lodging in “worthy” homes. And they were to take no luggage, trusting God would supply their needs, either by making the clothing/sandals sufficient or by donations.

Jesus warned them to expect persecution. They would be like sheep among wolves, so they were to be WISE as serpents and INNOCENT as doves.  They might be arrested and taken to court, Jewish leaders from the synagogues might flog them, and they might even be dragged before governors and kings for Jesus’ sake. If so, they could trust the Holy Spirit to speak through them when the time came to testify.

They would be hated for Jesus’ sake, but “endure to the end” for they WOULD be saved!  They were to go fearlessly, not being afraid to die for His sake. Instead, they should fear God, who determines their eternal destiny.  But HE cares for them; He knows even the number of hairs on their heads.  So, Jesus says, acknowledge Me before men, and I will acknowledge YOU before My Father in Heaven.

He reminded them to expect enemies of the kingdom in their own families, and to remember that whoever loves father, mother, son, or daughter MORE than Jesus is not worthy of Him.  And, pointedly, “whoever does not take his cross and follow me is NOT WORTHY of me.”   Whoever “finds” his life will lose it, and whoever “loses” his life for Jesus’ sake, will find it.

Jesus then reminds them that they are His “ambassadors.”  The way that people treat them (well or poorly) is also how they treat Him. (Remember Jesus’ words to Paul on the road to Damascus? See Acts 9:4-5)  So anyone who even gives them a cool cup of water in His name won’t miss out on his reward.”

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These words of Jesus could well be taken by us today as we seek to serve Him and tell others about His Kingdom, and the precious salvation He “bought” for those who believe. 

(LORD, Help me not be shocked if I am persecuted for Your sake (even by loved ones), but show me how to depend on You to act the way YOU did when men despised You and treated You wickedly. 

And help me not to expect praise or to seek money, but only desire to serve You humbly, trusting that You will care for me.  Help me to always look forward to my unperishable reward in Heaven.

Oh LORD, may we be “worthy of You” in all we do.”)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 282

Oct9

THE NEW TESTAMENT!

Day 282 – Reading – Matthew 12, Mark 3, and Luke 6

Read and believe in Jesus!

Matthew 12, Mark 3, Luke 6

SABBATH ARGUMENTS AND TRICKS

As in John 5 (yesterday’s study), the Sabbath Laws and healing on the Sabbath are addressed again in these chapters. Jesus never broke the commands God gave Israel about the Sabbath.  He did, however, seem to flaunt disobedience to the “traditions of man,” those extra laws that the Pharisees added to “protect” God’s Word. (As if He needed help!)

Jesus’ disciples were caught eating grain from a field they were passing.

(Did the Religious Leaders follow them everywhere??  Were they always looking for opportunities to “catch” Jesus in some “sin?”  Yes, they were!) 

But, this practice of picking a few heads of grain, rolling it in your hands to remove the husks, then crunching on the grain inside, WAS LEGAL.  In fact, it was a law that helped provide for the poor. Farmers were instructed not to harvest the edges and corners of their fields, leaving those for the needy to glean. 

THAT wasn’t the problem. The day of the week was.  Sabbath. The simple act of plucking and eating a few kernels was considered WORK.  Say what?  Well, plucking was “harvesting.”  Rolling the grain in your hands and blowing the chaff away was “winnowing.”

“YOU ARE WORKING ON THE SABBATH!” They accused.

Jesus, who knew the Scriptures FAR BETTER than the teachers of the Law, reminded them of a time when David and a few of his men were desperately hungry. They asked the priest to give them the previous day’s bread that had been in the Tabernacle on the Table of Showbread.  The priest gave it to them as an act of mercy and kindness. (This bread was usually eaten by the priests.)

Then Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6 for them. “If you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.” Then Jesus added, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” HE had the right to rule over, not only THEIR rules, but also the Sabbath itself, for it was designed to worship God.  (This was another claim to deity by Jesus.)

Right after that, Jesus went to the nearby synagogue.  OF COURSE, there was a man who desperately needed healing.  (Did those rulers put the man there on purpose???)

Jesus immediately SAW the man and KNEW what they were thinking. They asked Him, “the” question, “Is it lawful TO HEAL on the Sabbath?”  They needed something to accuse him.

And again Jesus speaks of MERCY above sacrifice.  “Would you save one of your sheep who’d fallen into a pit on the Sabbath? (yes, of course)  How much more valuable is a man than a sheep?”

Then Jesus re-asks their question, slightly different, “Is it lawful to DO GOOD on the Sabbath?”

And just like that, Jesus healed the man.

And the Pharisees fumed. They went outside and conspired on how to DESTROY Jesus.

And Jesus, aware of this, went out from them. Many followed, and HE HEALED THEM ALL!”  Ha!

  • (Matthew then quotes from Isaiah about Jesus. “A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not quench…”  Mercy, kindness, and justice for the needy, Jesus was an example to all.)

 

.THE TWELVE APPOINTED

Jesus slipped away for some quiet time with his followers.  He called twelve of them to be His appointed apostles (messengers). He would later send them out to preach on their own (as practice for later).

He called Simon Peter; James, and John (the sons of Zebedee, which Jesus named “Sons of Thunder”);  He called Peter’s brother, Andrew; and Philip; Bartholomew (Nathaniel); and Matthew (Levi); and Thomas (the melancholy one; another James who was the son of Alphaeus; and Thaddaeus (another Judas, the son of James); Simon the Zealot; and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.

A motley crew, indeed. I wonder how the Zealot and the ex-tax collector got along. How did Judas “Iscariot” (meaning “a man of the city”) get along with all those fishermen? Was his “city” background why they appointed him group treasurer?  Jesus knew all their hearts and their potential.

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DEMONS AND DEVILS VS THE HOLY SPIRIT

Some in the crowds of people Jesus healed were filled with unclean spirits (demons).  When Jesus forced them out by His command, those devils often cried out, “You are the Son of God!”  Jesus silenced them. He did NOT want the testimony of the agents of Satan.

But some of the people who saw and heard picked up on this and asked, “CAN this be the Son of David (Messiah)?

When the Scribes and Pharisees heard what they were saying, they rushed to refute it. 

“It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this Man casts out demons.” 

(Gasp!  Clutch your heart!!)

Jesus responded. “Now that is downright foolish.  If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against HIMSELF. How will his kingdom stand?  But I cast out demons by THE SPIRIT OF GOD, so the Kingdom of God has come upon you. WHOEVER is not with Me and does not gather with Me… scatters. 

And then Jesus defends the precious Spirit of God, the third person of the Holy Trinity.

  • “Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but not the blasphemy against the Spirit. Whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will NOT be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”

“Either make the tree good so the fruit is good, or make the tree bad, so it produces bad fruit. THE TREE IS KNOWN BY ITS FRUIT.   You brood of vipers!  How can you speak good, when you are evil???

And then the portion that we often recite.

  • Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
  • The good person, out of his good treasure, brings forth good.
  • The evil person, out of his evil treasure, speaks forth evil.
  • On Judgment Day, people will give account for EVERY CARELESS WORD they speak.
  • By your WORDS you will be justified, and by your WORDS you will be condemned.

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A SIGN FROM JONAH

Not afraid of Jesus’ fiery answer, the Scribes and Pharisees come back at Jesus, asking Him to do some “wondrous” sign.”  They want to see a sign, a miracle, a wonder.

“No sign will be given to YOU, but the sign of the prophet Jonah.”

  • Three days and nights Jonah was in the belly of the great fish.
  • So the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.

“Those men of Nineveh (who repented at Jonah’s words) will rise up on Judgment Day and CONDEMN this generation ….. for someone greater than Jonah is here.”

“The queen of Sheba will ALSO rise up in judgment with this generation and CONDEMN it.  She came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon ….. and something greater than Solomon is here.”

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A MOM IS WORRIED

When Jesus’ family saw and heard Jesus speaking, and saw the crowds pressing in on Him, and watched the angry religious leaders threatening Him, they tried to rescue Jesus.  They may have tried to excuse His exuberance by saying, “He’s out of his mind.”

The crowds around Him noticed the distraught mom with her other sons, and, while He was still speaking, said to Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are outside seeking You.”

Looking around Him at the crowd who was sitting around him, Jesus said with outspread arms, “HERE are my mother and my brothers! For whosoever does the will of God, he is my brother, sister, and mother.”

Jesus was not “dissing” his earthly family. He was emphasizing the importance of SPIRITUAL relationships.  After all, his own family needed Him as Savior. (See John 7:5)  And besides that, even in His intense physical pain on the cross a few years later, Jesus carefully put His mother into the hands of His beloved disciple, John. (See John 19:26-27)

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 273

Sep30

Day 273 – Reading –  Malachi  1 – 4

Malachi is the last prophetic word from God until John the Baptist comes to announce the “Lamb of God/Messiah”; a long 400 years. (Although in the earlier Jewish Bible, Nehemiah was the last book, as it finishes Israel’s history.) 

Malachi’s prophecy was most likely written during the time Nehemiah temporarily returned to Persia after completing and dedicating the wall of Jerusalem.  Remember how angry the cupbearer was when he heard all the ways the Jews had slipped back into their old ways? (Nehemiah 13).

He hurried back to Jerusalem to try and correct the corrupt priests, the failure to support the Temple work by tithing, their working and selling on the Sabbath, and their intermarriage with pagans, even among the priests. Also, their earlier injustice towards the poor.

Malachi also addresses these sins.

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Malachi 1.

“The word of the LORD  to Israel.” And n insightful conversation with them.

The LORD: “I have loved you.”

People: “How have you loved us?”

The LORD: “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother, and I hated Esau.”  See all the ways I have judged and destroyed Esau’s people. I will be angry with THEM forever. But you, O Jacob, I have loved, even in judgment.

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Then God zooms down on the corrupt PRIESTS.

The LORD: “Where is My honor, My fear, O priests who despise My name?”

Priests: “How have we despised Your name?”

The LORD: “By offering polluted food on My altar.”

Priests: “How have we polluted you?”

The LORD: “When you offer blind animals as sacrifice. You offer the lame and sick. I have no pleasure in you, and I will not accept the offering from your hand.  My Name will be great among the NATIONS, and in every place incense and a pure offering will be offered in My Name.”

Priests: “Snort! What a weariness this is.”

The LORD: “Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished.”

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Malachi 2.

MORE judgment comes onto the corrupt priests. God gives these men (who are supposed to represent God to the people) a choice – Listen and obey, OR “I will send the curse upon you and will curse your blessings.  I will rebuke your offspring. I will spread dung on your faces and on your offerings. (WHOA!) “And you will be taken away as the waste of the sacrifices is carried outside the camp and burned.”

Originally, God’s covenant with the Levite priests was “one of life and peace.”  As they feared God and stood in awe of His Name, “true instruction was in their mouths.”  They “walked with God in peace and uprightness, and they turned many from iniquities.“

(This is what our church leaders should do today as well.)

Then the LORD blasts those corrupt priests again.  “But YOU have turned aside from the way. YOU have caused many to stumble by your instruction. YOU have corrupted the covenant of Levi.  And so, I will make YOU despised and abased before the people.”

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Then the people of Judah get into the conversation again. It’s about the foreign women again.

People: “Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us all? Then why do You say we are faithless and profane the covenant of our fathers?

The LORD: “You have been faithless, and abomination has been committed. You have profaned the sanctuary of the LORD, which I love, and have married the daughter of a foreign god.  May any descendant of Jacob who does this be cut off from my people.”

People: “Why don’t you regard our offerings or accept them? Don’t you see our weeping and groaning?

The LORD: “Because I see the wives of your youth, to whom you have been faithless.  Did I not make you ONE, with a portion of the Spirit in your union?  I desired godly offspring.  The man who does not love his wife but divorces her (and marries a pagan woman), covers his garment with violence. GUARD YOURSELVES IN YOUR SPIRIT AND DO NOT BE FAITHLESS.”

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And then it seems God has had enough.

The LORD: “You have wearied the LORD with your words.”

People and priests: “How have we wearied Him?

Answer:  “By saying that, everyone who does evil (inferior offerings, pagan wives), is ‘good’ in the sight of the LORD because He ‘delights’ in them.”

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Malachi 3.

Then, one of the familiar passages in the book, “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me.  And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple;  and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, Behold, He is coming, says the LORD of Hosts.

He is like a refiner’s FIRE and like fullers’ SOAP. He will refine and purify the sons of Levi as silver and gold, so they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD.”

Notice the TWO MESSENGERS that God promises to send. 

  1. The messenger who will prepare the way…. (John the Baptist).
  2.  The Messenger of the Covenant will suddenly come to his temple. He will refine and purify… (Jesus, in both his first and second comings, refining the remnant).

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Then comes more of their rebellious conversation with God.

The LORD: “I, the LORD, do not change, therefore YOU, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.  As of old, you have not kept my statutes.  RETURN TO ME, AND I WILL RETURN TO YOU.  But you will ask how to return.  Will a man rob God?  YOU are robbing me!

The people:  “How have we robbed you? 

The LORD: “In your tithes and contributions. The whole nation of you are ROBBING ME!

Again, another very familiar passage of God telling them (and us) that we can “test Him” on this. 

The LORD: “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. PUT ME TO THE TEST, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”

(I have done this – I have tested the Lord by giving a regular, full tithe.  And He proved more than faithful and delightful in His blessings to me. You won’t believe how he can stretch the amount that is left from the tithe!  We couldn’t see how it happened, but it did.  God was faithful.  He delighted in proving Himself in this test.  PRAISE HIM!)

Next, the whining people of the God of Israel bring up another point.  They say that “God is not fair. We serve Him by walking in His laws, and we are chastised, whereas evildoers do what they want and prosper.  They defy God and escape. It’s not fair!”

Malachi now mentions the “book of remembrance,” to counter the people’s complaint that the evildoers always prosper.  In that book are all the names of those who fear the LORD and esteem His Name. 

“THEY are mine!” says the LORD. “In the day of judgment, I will spare them. And you will see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does NOT serve Him.”

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Malachi 4.

Malachi continues the thought of the differences between the evildoer and the faithful.

  1. “The day of the LORD is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble, set ablaze till nothing is left. 
  2. “But for those who fear God’s name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.  They will walk all over the wicked for they will be ashes under their feet.

So, God’s final word to the arguing, complaining people of His Name?  “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and the rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.”

(Israel was still obligated to keep the Law……. until their Messiah came as the Lamb of God, sacrificed for their sin (fulfilling the Law).   

  • That time was coming! 
  • The saving Messiah was coming. 
  • Watch out for the herald who will announce Him! 
  • Watch and be ready!

 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.  And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers …………. lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”

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John the Baptist was a “type” of Elijah, “preparing the way” of Jesus, in His first coming.

Elijah and Moses both appeared with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration.

Maybe it is Elijah and Moses as the two witnesses in the Great Tribulation.

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Okay, now.  It will be 400 years before they again hear the voice of God.  It comes in the form of Gabriel the angel, speaking to the priest Zacharias. 

“Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear a son, and you shall call his name John.  And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord.  And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, AND GO BEFORE HIM IN THE SPIRIT AND POWER OF ELIJAH … to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

WOW.  Tomorrow’s study will be 400 years later than todays!