NL-Day357 Zechariah 3-5; Isaiah 60; Revelation 14

ZECHARIAH 3-5:
In Zechariah 1-2 we heard how Zechariah’s dreams often included angels talking with him. There were horses and riders, horns and blacksmiths, and the measuring Jerusalem. Jerusalem will not be nearly big enough. God’s people WILL COME out of captivity in Babylon. Note that by Zechariah’s time, this was already happening. His words and those events foreshadow what we read in Revelation about the new Jerusalem. Consider the last verses of Zech. 2:

Zech. 2:10-13 NLT The Lord says, “Shout and rejoice, O beautiful Jerusalem, for I am coming to live among you.
11 Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on that day, and they, too, will be my people. I will live among you, and you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies sent me to you.
12 The land of Judah will be the Lord’s special possession in the holy land, and he will once again choose Jerusalem to be his own city.
13 Be silent before the Lord, all humanity, for he is springing into action from his holy dwelling.

ISAIAH 60:
In Isaiah 59 we again read beautiful messages that harmonize with what we are reading in Revelation. The beginning verses contain foundational truths:

Is. 59:1 NLT Listen! The LORD’s arm is not too weak to save you,
nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call.
2 It’s your sins that have cut you off from God.
Because of your sins, he has turned away
and will not listen anymore.

Ephesians 6 is not the only place we hear of spiritual armor, but in 59:17 it is the Lord who wears it.

The next-to-last verse of the chapter prophecies about the coming Redeemer. And the last verse says about those who are God’s redeemed people and enjoy a covenant with Him, “My spirit will not leave them.”

REVELATION 14:
Note that the beast that comes up from the sea— which we heard about in chapter 13, is under the ancient dragon of chapter 12. It says this about the beast:

Rev. 13:7 NLT And the beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation.
8 And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life before the world was made—the Book that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered.

Note that the Book of Life belongs to the Lamb, and note when the names were written in it. This should encourage us who are on the path of Life! God knew you from before the world was made!

Back in chapter 12 we heard how long all this would last: a time, times, and half a time = 3 ½ years, 42 months, or 1260 days. We heard those times in Daniel. But remember these are symbolic numbers, and God alone knows how to calculate them.

 

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.