28th Dec

2 Chronicles 33                       Revelation 19              Malachi 1

The early reign of Manasseh is one of the darker periods in these Chronicles – pagan worship, child sacrifice … the result is conquest by Assyria. But even here in the midst of such darkness, we see the readiness of our Lord to show mercy (12-13); and more, what God’s mercy is designed to achieve – ‘Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.’ He demonstrates his repentance in active obedience – do we?

Malachi’s message comes to God’s people in a time of great spiritual decline. It is approximately 80 years after the rebuilding of the Temple, and the promises of the coming Messiah have not yet happened. As a result, the people had become lax, displaying an increasingly casual attitude toward God and worship. Malachi states that their sacrifices were unacceptable to God, husbands were unfaithful, and the priests neglectful of God’s covenants. In this first chapter, Malachi details the failings of the people as a whole.

We are accustomed to the idea that heaven rejoices at repentance – but at judgment? If Babylon does indeed represent our modern, global economic world order, then it is ironic to think of the rich and famous enjoying Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus in Covent Garden, ignorant of the fact that it is based on the song of heaven in response to the destruction of the very source of their wealth and status. It is striking that Babylon’s destruction is so swift (10). Although numbers in Revelation are usually symbolic, the message is clear: a whole world order collapsing in dramatic fashion. This has particular resonance in our age, the first in human history when an entire global economic order could indeed be undone at a stroke, whether through human greed or error, cyber-terrorism or the spread of civil unrest.

The number seven has been a significant feature throughout the book of Revelation (7 lampstands, 7 seals bowls and trumpets) and now ends with a final seven – a series of visions from 19:11 – 21:1.

1. The Rider on the white horse riding out of heaven’s open door (19:11–16)
2. An angel invites birds to a macabre supper of human flesh (19:17–18)
3. The Battle of Armageddon (19:19–21; see 16:16)
4. An angel binds Satan for 1000 years (20:1–3)
5. Dead Christians are raised (the first resurrection) & reign on earth with Christ for 1000 years, after which Satan is released for a final fling before being destroyed (20:4–10)
6. The Great White Throne appears. The 2nd resurrection brings all people to life for the final judgment, before which the earth disappears (20:11–15; see also Daniel 12:2)
7. The New Heaven & Earth appear & the new Jerusalem descends from heaven (21:1)

I love the image of ‘heaven standing open’ – what a wonderfully evocative picture of what Christ has achieved for us. What a contrast with the scene in Genesis 3 as the entrance to Eden is barred to fallen humanity – now, through the cross, Christ has opened the gate of eternity.

What a contrast, too, between the final image of Jesus in his earthly ministry – hanging and dying on the Cross – and his glorious appearance as the White Rider. Tolkien picks up this image in ‘Lord of the Rings’ – and if you know the films, this verse is the inspiration for the appearance of Gandalf the White, with the massed troops of Rohan, at the end of the Battle for Helm’s Deep in ‘The Two Towers.’

We have just celebrated the birth of the babe of Bethlehem – an apparently insignificant event at the time, and even now, except to the eye of faith. The return of the Lord of Glory will be the biggest public event in history (Matthew 24:30; 1 Thessalonians 4:16).

Why not spend some time today meditating on the glorious description of Jesus we are given in 19:11-16?

(member of the clergy)

27th Dec

2 Chronicles 32                       Revelation 18              Zechariah 14

We may be shocked by what we read about the end of Hezekiah’s reign. After all he’d done (that’s how the chapter opens), Judah is besieged by an enemy of vastly superior strength. Hezekiah shows strong leadership, acting with human wisdom and spiritual insight. His declaration that the Lord is more powerful than any enemy (7, 8) is a wonderful example of seeing things from God’s perspective rather than simply our own. How often do we succumb to fear or doubt because we look at what is going on around us from the wrong perspective? God answers Hezekiah’s prayer and destroys the enemy. Reference to Sennacherib helps scholars date the biblical record, as independent Babylonian records confirm his war with Judah, the defeat of his army and his subsequent death at the hands of two of his sons. The chapter ends with a warning to leaders about pride, but also the encouragement that repentance leads to instant restoration with our Lord.

Zechariah closes with yet more prophecies that weave through various eras. The opening may find partial fulfillment in the destruction of Jerusalem’s Temple in 70AD, but what follows can only be a reference to the very End of Time. We are given to believe that Jesus himself will stand again on the Mount of Olives. This chimes with the words of the angel to the disciples after the Ascension – ‘This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven’ (Acts 1:11). The events depicted in verses 5b-9 are echoed in Jesus’ own teaching in the gospels and in the book of Revelation, in whose 18^th chapter we now read about the destruction of godless humanism as portrayed symbolically in the great city of Babylon.

The fall of Babylon is

·         dreadfully tragic, for she is not utterly evil (18:22-23a)

·         dramatic, for she arrogantly assumes she will never be overthrown (8:7,8)

·         ironic, for it is the Beast on which Babylon rides which will destroy her (17:16-17)

·         welcomed by heaven (19:1-6)

And how should God’s people respond to Babylon? We are to ‘come out of her’ (18:4). We are, after all, ‘looking forward to the city with foundations’ (Hebrews 11:8-10, 13-16). This does not mean that we cut ourselves off from the world in which we live, but that we live radically distinctive lives, pursuing Kingdom values rather than those of the world.

(member of the clergy)

26th Dec

2 Chronicles 31                       Revelation 17              Zechariah 13: 2-9

Sung worship within the house of the Lord was not enough in Hezekiah’s day – and nor is it in ours. Action in the community (31:1); giving to the work of the Lord (31:2-15); and serving the Lord in some specific way (31:16-21) are all equal parts of our worship. I love the description of Hezekiah at the end of this chapter. ‘In everything he undertook … he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly.’ May that be God’s verdict on our work for him today.

Zechariah’s words in 13:7 are quoted by Jesus (Matthew 26:31 / Mark 14:27) just before his arrest, in explanation of what is to come. Verses 8 & 9 depict a refining process for God’s people. A silversmith knows when the metal he is refining is pure – it is when he can see his own reflection in it. Are we aware of the Lord’s refining work in our lives, as he turns up the heat, burning away our impurities until we reflect him more truly to our world?

As Revelation nears its climax, we see the Lord’s refining work upon the whole earth, as evil and wickedness are systematically tackled. The book ends in a tale of two cities – Babylon and the new Jerusalem; and what a contrast they present.

We need to remember that, throughout scripture, beginning with the first city, Babel, whose people said ‘let us make ourselves a name’ (Genesis 11:4) ‘the city’ is a depiction of human pride, arrogance and sinfulness. Again, our cyclical model helps to avoid the temptation to see Babylon as one particular city or institution. The reference to 7 hills (17:9) would have been a clear sign to John’s first readers that he was thinking of Rome. But Babylon, like the Beast in chapter 13, is a composite image, incorporating numerous OT references – Nineveh (Nahum), Tyre (Ezekiel), Sodom (Genesis), and the literal Babylon (Isaiah & Jeremiah).

Babylon represents humanistic, godless society – the world as it lives in defiance of God. She is characterised by

·         vast international influence (17:1,2, 15; 18:23)

·         a horrifying level of moral decadence (17:4)

·         vast materialistic affluence (17:4, 18:12-13)

In a Babylonian economy, everything is bought & sold, even the ‘bodies and souls of men’ (18:13). Babylon, then, is the epitome of a global market economy. Note that Babylon rides the beast – John foresees a world where money is the supreme power, dominating political systems (‘Babylon is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth’ – 17:18). Babylon is both antiChristian (17:6; 18:24) & doomed (14:8; 17:1,16-18; 18:1-24).

(member of the clergy)

25th Dec

Revelation 15 & 16                

In chapters 6, 8-9 and now 15-16, we are introduced to, respectively, 7 seals, 7 trumpets and 7 bowls. It is common today, especially in America, to view the seals, trumpets and bowls in a successive or linear pattern – i.e. they each follow on from the previous one.

A more ancient – and in my opinion far more helpful – Christian view sees the various groups of 7 (Seals, Trumpets, Bowls) as simultaneous or ‘cyclical’ – each depicts in a different way either part or the whole of ‘This Present Age’ from Christ’s First Coming to his Second Coming.

This view does not rule out the very real likelihood that there will be an increase in the severity of God’s judgment in the very last days. Indeed, the Seals, Trumpets & Bowls suggest just such an escalation – compare the 2nd Trumpet’s effect on the sea (8:8) with that of the 2nd Bowl (16:3).

The value of this simultaneous or cyclical model is in providing a pattern which covers the whole of the middle section of Revelation (chapters 6 - 18). In this pattern, 4 themes are interwoven: -

• God’s Activity (judgment & mercy)
• Satan’s Activity (wrath & deception)
• the fate of the earth (destruction)
• the fate of God’s people (redemption)

In chs 6-18, John’s visions offer different viewpoints of the same events, characters & future, seen from various angles. We see God’s people variously as seen by God, Satan & the inhabitants of earth. We see the inhabitants of earth in their political, religious & economic alliances with Satan. We see Satan himself as he appears to the Church, to the inhabitants of earth and to God. These visions are not intended to fit a date & time sequence. John is not concerned to reveal an exact chronology of “earth’s last days” (as a recent series of novels claims!) but rather to provide a pattern by which to understand our calling as God’s people set against the backdrop of the reality of evil in the here and now and the certainty of Christ’s future Return to earth. John’s visions explain these realities in vivid form in order that we might show ‘patient endurance & faithfulness’ (13.10). In biblical prophecy, the future is only unveiled in order to transform the present.

As a general rule

           

• the Seals, Trumpets & Bowls deal with God’s judgment / mercy & the fate of the earth
• the insertions deal with Satan’s wrath / deception & the fate of God’s people

So it becomes possible to depict the pattern of Revelation 6 – 18 as follows

THE SEALS, TRUMPETS, BOWLS	THE INSERTIONS
6:1–17 = Seals 1 to 6
	7:1–8 = 144,000 sealed
	7:9–17 = A great multitude
8:1–5 = the 7th Seal
8:6–9:21 = Trumpets 1 to 6
	10:1–11 = the angel & the little scroll
	11:1–14 = the Two Witnesses
11:15–19 = the 7th Trumpet
	12:1–13:1 = the woman & the dragon
	13:2–18  = the two beasts
	14:1–5 = the Lamb & the 144,000
	14:6–13 = the 3 angels
	14:14–20 = the harvest of the earth
15:1–8 = 7 angels with 7 Bowls
16:1–21 = Bowls 1 to 7
	17:1–18 = the woman on the beast
	18:1–24 = the fall of Babylon

(member of the clergy)

24th Dec

2 Chronicles 29 & 30                                       Zechariah 11 & 12: 1-13:1

For the Chronicler, successful leadership of God’s people is always a matter of doing what is ‘right in the eyes of the Lord.’ After the disaster of Ahaz’s reign, Hezekiah speaks uncomfortable truth to the people about their sin, and leads them in repentance and a return to true worship, which, as we have seen so many times before, involves sacrifice. The consistent teaching of scripture asks the question – can anything which does not involve sacrifice be called worship? I was struck by the closing words of chapter 29: things had seemed bleak for God’s people – but  now there is rejoicing ‘at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly.’

Note Hezekiah’s intentionality at the beginning of chapter 30, as he summons the people to celebrate the key act of worship of the Jewish Year – Passover. May the Lord give us grace to heed Hezekiah’s words today

·         return to the Lord … that he may return to you (30:6)

·         do not be … unfaithful to the Lord (30:7)

·         do not be stiff-necked … submit to the Lord (30:8)

·         serve the Lord your God (30:8)

Lest we have any doubt about the Lord Hezekiah is urging us to serve, he repeats one of the Old Testament’s most enduring descriptions of God’s character – ‘the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.’ The result of Hezekiah’s work is movingly detailed in 30:25-27.

Zechariah also details the Lord’s displeasure at faithless leadership (the false shepherds who have only an eye to personal profit). How often do we heed the Lord’s call in scripture to pray for our leaders? Verses 12 & 13 are quite extraordinary, one of the clearest examples of an Old Testament image being fulfilled, half a millennium later, in the life of Jesus – I can’t help but wonder whether these words echoed in the minds of the Pharisees when they paid Judas his blood money …

From chapter 12, Zechariah’s prophetic vision turns to the coming of the Saviour. In the concertina effect common to biblical prophecy, we find ourselves looking one moment at the earthly life of Christ, and the next into the far future and his return. We learn that Jerusalem will play a key role in the events at the End of Time, but this geo-political reality is dwarfed by what we read from verse 10 onwards, some of the clearest prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament. 500 years before the coming of the baby whose birth we celebrate tomorrow, God speaks of himself as ‘the one they have pierced.’ There are few clearer indications in the Old Testament that Jesus is indeed God incarnate. Many see the promise of 12:10 being fulfilled in our day as more Jews come to faith in Jesus than at any other time in history. Paul urges us to pray for his people – let us make sure that we do.

(member of the clergy).

23rd Dec

2 Chronicles 27-8                    Revelation 14              Zechariah 10

Jotham (king of the southern kingdom of Judah in the middle of the 8^th-century BC) was the son of Uzziah. That name may well sound familiar, for it was in the year that he died (and his son therefore succeeded him) that Isaiah saw God’s glory filling the temple (Isaiah 6). The theme of God’s coming glory will be our companion in these readings as we complete our year’s journey through the bible.

It’s all too easy to find history boring! Kings and Chronicles (originally both just one long book rather than divided in two) can seem an endless list of long-dead kings and the brief details of their reigns. But the chroniclers are making a very important point. God’s people prosper and flourish – or do not – as a direct result of their response to his Word – faithfulness or disobedience. Note the stark reversal in fortunes for Judah, and the key roles played by the king in each case. Jotham and Ahaz both reign for 16 years, but the consequences of their actions could hardly be more different (27:6 & 28:19). The temptation to compromise on the calling of God is as present today as it ever was.

Zechariah was a younger contemporary of Haggai, and encouraged the Jews returning from Exile to rebuild the Temple. Here, he emphasises the gulf between the one, true God and the false gods to which people so readily turn. There is promise upon promise of restoration, victory and peace for God’s people – some of which was fulfilled in the Return, some of which is fulfilled among God’s people in every age as they return to him in repentance and a true desire for his glory; but the final fulfillment of which awaits the return of Jesus and the establishment of God’s perfect Kingdom – themes which Zechariah will explore more fully in the coming days.

In Revelation 14 John relieves the horror of chapters 12 & 13 by showing us those who do not follow the Beast (the name or mark they bear contrasts sharply with the mark of the Beast). 144,000 is a symbolic number: they are only the ‘firstfruits’ (implies martyrdom) of those ‘purchased’ for God (a clear reference to the price paid by Jesus).

The remainder of the chapter is taken up with a procession of 6 angels of judgement, who warn of the terrible consequences of submitting to the rule of the Beast, which means sharing his fate (20:10 – compare the Christian’s hope ‘in Christ’). The link between wrath, blood & wine throws a poignant light upon Gethsemane (which means ‘wine or oil press’ from a root meaning ‘crushing’). Right at the heart of God’s judgment of our world lies the key to its salvation. Even in the middle of the Book of Revelation, stands the Cross.

Verse 12 (repeating 13:10) is the heartbeat of Revelation, certainly as we apply it to our lives. The Christian life is ‘a long obedience in the same direction’ and no bed of roses. When persecution comes to us, may God grant us patient endurance and faithfulness.

(member of the clergy)

22nd Dec

2 Chronicles 26     Zechariah 9     Revelation 13     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

See, your king comes to you – Zech 9:9

Do you sometimes wonder about why there is so much suffering and unhappiness in our society and in our personal lives, despite us living in a stable society, with peace and unprecedented prosperity?

I read about a group of persecuted Christians in China, who started their regular secret meetings by asking each other: “What were your wounds for Christ this week?” A visiting Western Christian answered: Oh, in the West Christians are not persecuted. The Chinese Christians responded with disbelief: Satan is not active in the West?

It is fascinating to think about possible identities of the two beasts in Rev 13. Whatever or whoever they are, it is clear that they are hostile and dangerous to Christians. The saints are therefore called to patient endurance and faithfulness (v10) and wisdom (v18). Today this is still highly relevant for persecuted Christians worldwide, but also for us, since our enemy, Satan, is always at work against us, prowling “around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Pe 5:8).

In Zechariah 9 we read more detailed prophecy about the Messiah being a gentle and humble Saviour, taking away and breaking weapons, proclaiming peace to the ends of the world and bringing freedom and salvation. In contrast, king Uzziah in 2 Chr 26 is described as being very powerful with a large well-trained army and weapons. God gave him success as long as he sought the Lord, but ultimately his pride lead to his downfall through attempting to perform duties of a priest. Interestingly, in an earlier prophecy of Zechariah we read that the Messiah would be both king and priest (Zech 6:13).

Jesus said of himself: “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matt 10:34). The NIV study Bible commentary explains that this is no contradiction with Jesus being the ‘Prince of Peace’ (Isa 9:6), since although Christ came to bring peace between the believer and God, and peace among men, the inevitable result is conflict, between Christ and the anti-christ.

Heavenly Father, thank you that through our King Jesus Christ, we have peace with you. Please help us to fulfil our calling for patient endurance, faithfulness and wisdom when we face difficulties. Amen.

(friend of Christ Church)