Category: Bible Reading & Meditation

SPLIT END

“These things you are contemplating – the day will come when not one stone will be left on another, but it will all be torn down.” –Luke 21:6 Jesus predicted the fall of Jerusalem and the end of the world. Matthew, Mark, and Luke put these two predictions together. This is sometimes confusing because we don’t always know whether Jesus was referring to Jerusalem’s fall or the world’s end. However, there are at least two benefits from joining the two predictions. First, since Jesus’ prediction of Jerusalem’s fall was fulfilled in 70 AD just as He said, we have every...

MONEY TALKS

“She from her want has given what she could not afford – every penny she had to live on.” –Luke 21:4 Jesus commended the widow who put two copper coins into the temple treasury because in so doing she gave her whole life. This is the exact translation of Luke 21:4. The widow’s two coins were not just all her money but a true symbol of her whole life. The widow’s offering was a statement concerning her total love for God. People in the world use their money to make the statement that money is important and so are they....

KING OF THE POOR

“Christ must reign until God has put all enemies under His feet.” —1 Corinthians 15:25 Kings traditionally are concerned about pomp and circumstance, military might, taxes, palaces, and monuments. King Jesus is altogether different. When King Jesus “comes in His glory, escorted by all the angels of heaven, He will sit upon His royal throne, and all the nations will be assembled before Him” (Mt 25:31-32). He will judge on behalf of refugees, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned (Mt 25:36). He has no Pentagon, no military budget, and no national debt. He commands: “Owe no debt to anyone...

THE TRUE CHURCH

“The earth’s inhabitants gloat over them and in their merriment exchange gifts, because these two prophets harassed everyone on earth.” —Revelation 11:10 The two witnesses, two olive trees, and two lampstands represent the Church (Rv 11:3-4; see also Rv 1:20). The Church has such power that fire comes out of her mouth to devour her enemies (Rv 11:5). The Lord has given the Church “the keys of the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 16:19). She is “the pillar and bulwark of truth” (1 Tm 3:15). Because the Church is the Body of the almighty Christ (see 1 Cor 12:27), she is...

SWEET-SOUR

“In my mouth it tasted as sweet as honey, but when I swallowed it my stomach turned sour.” –Revelation 10:10 Imagine hearing a voice from heaven. Then you meet an angel, a gigantic angel who stands “on the sea and on the land” (Rv 10:8). This angel commands you to eat a little book (Rv 10:9). Books are not your favorite food, but try saying “no” to an angel. Surprisingly, the book tastes sweet, although later it tastes sour in your stomach and gives you indigestion (Rv 10:10). Eating the little scroll is accepting God’s call to prophesy. This ministry...