Revelation: Sealed By God
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Revelation 7:1-8 In Revelation 7, we have an interlude between the sixth and seventh seals. The chapter has in mind two groups of Christians … 144,000 servants of God who are given His seal, and a "great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages." A literal and future interpretation of the 144,000 servants sees this as Jewish Christians, who are raised up, and protected from the earthly calamities, in order to proclaim the gospel during the great tribulation. They are chosen from the twelve tribes of Israel...
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Revelation: From Every Tribe and Tongue
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Revelation 7:9-17 Since 1996, one Sunday in November has been designated the "International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church." Exact statistics are hard to determine, but continuing into the 21st century, worldwide, even on the low end of estimates, tens of thousands of Christians are killed every year for the Christian faith … in places like Pakistan, Sudan, North Korea, China, Indonesia, and Iran. Revelation 7 reveals yet another scene in heaven where there is a great assembly of people "from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing...
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Revelation: The Wrath of the Lamb
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Revelation 6:9-17 In this passage, the fifth and sixth seal of the great scroll are opened, and the unleased suffering on the earth continues. The fifth seal reveals that, during this time there will be an extensive martyrdom of Christians. In this heavenly scene these martyrs are praying for God's justice to be brought, in full, on His enemies. The sixth seal releases both cosmic and natural disasters. The inhabitants of the earth, great and small, begin to realize that the horrendous troubles, relentlessly being experienced by everyone, are actually...
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Revelation: Six Seals of Earthly Horror
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Revelation 6:1-8 The focus in the book of Revelation changes sharply from chapter 5 to chapter 6. Chapters 4 and 5 pictured the throne of God in heaven, but in chapter 6 the scene shifts to the earth. There is a stark contrast between the glories of God's presence and the darkness of His wrath, beginning now to be described in chapter 6. Most of the remaining chapters in Revelation have in view what will take place on the earth during the wondrous and horrible time of tribulation that will befall the earth near the end of history, as we know it. The troubles...
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Revelation: Worthy to Open the Scroll
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Revelation 5:1-14 One thing that is revealed to us in Revelation 4,5 is this … at the center of the universe, the Almighty is seated on His throne, ruling over everything He has made. The world we live in is filled with horrors of every kind. And yet, God is governing everything that happens in the world, so that a sparrow does not fall to the ground without the hand of a sovereign God. Revelation 5 is an exaltation of God the Son, as He takes from His Father's hand a seven-sealed scroll. No one, in heaven and on earth, is able to break the...
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Revelation: The Centrality of Worship
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Revelation 4:1-11 In Revelation 4, the entire focus of the book changes … from the churches that existed during John's day, to the events which will take place in the future, indeed, at the end of human history. Before John writes about what will take place at the end of time, he describes for us the glory of God in heaven, as he saw the throne of the Almighty in his vision. Revelation 4 describes the glory of God the Father and chapter 5 describes the glory of God the Son. What is revealed in Revelation 4 is the worship that is going on in heaven … performed...
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Exodus: Introducing Our Holy, Infinite, Faithful Savior Who Knows Our Sorrows
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Exodus 3 Have you ever thought of what preparation might go into meeting someone new? After providentially blessing and multiplying his people for some 430 silent years in Egypt, God re-introduces himself to Moses and to the people of Israel that have now multiplied to some 2.5 million people. How does He describe Himself in this re-introduction? God reveals Himself as a holy God, that is, a God who is pure, unique and supremely worthy of worship. He even commands some preparation for meeting with him so that we physically prepare for spiritual realities. I wonder if more of...
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Revelation: Laodicea - Lukewarm Poverty
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Revelation 3:14-22 If ever there was a church in the Biblical setting which mirrors the church in America today, it is the church in Laodicea. Laodicea was a wealthy city, with a clothing industry, a flourishing money changing trade, and a famous medical school which was known for the development of ointment for the eyes and the ears. Banking, industry, medicine, education … Laodicea had it all. But there was a very serious problem in the church in Laodicea. Spiritually they were lukewarm (Rev 3:15,16). There was no fire in their soul for God. ...
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Revelation: Philadelphia - Keepers of God's Word
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Revelation 3:7-13 We live in an age in which profit margins and statistical analyses are the methods by which almost everything is judged. Bigger is better. It is a world of Apple and Microsoft and Amazon … a world in which larger companies swallow smaller companies … a world in which something is deemed wrong if this year’s numbers are not higher than last year’s numbers. Almost everything in life is quantified and evaluated accordingly. The upshot of this statistical environment is that churches have become preoccupied with numbers. But...
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Acts: Pay Attention to the Flock
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Acts 20:17-38 The account of Paul's exhortation to the elders of the church at Ephesus is one of the more moving stories in the Bible. It contains not only the evidence of Paul's love for his Ephesian brothers, but an insight into the ministry of the apostle. What we have here is a detailed description of what Paul did in serving Christ as well as the manner in which he accomplished his ministry. Two activities of ministry are presented in this passage … instruction and admonition. There is a central focus on teaching the Word of God (Acts 20:20,27,32),...
info_outlineScripture Reading: 2 Samuel 12:26-31
With the daily reports of warfare in almost every corner of the world, we may not expect or desire to come to the Bible and read about wars. But the stories of Old Testament Israel are filled with accounts of the fierce fighting between the Israelites and their enemies. This is especially true of the reign of King David, who was described as a “man of war” (1 Chron 28:3).
2 Samuel 12:26-31 describes the battles between Israel and the Ammonites. It was the Ammonites that Israel was fighting when David committed his sin of adultery (2 Sam 11:1). One question for us is this: what are we to learn for our own lives from Old Testament passages like this, recounting the wars of Israel?
One truth revealed in this passage is the faithfulness of God to His promises. He had promised, "By the hand of My servant David I will save My people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand of all their enemies" (2 Sam 3:18). God’s promises and warnings are all true and utterly reliable. God’s faithfulness to His word is illustrated in this passage.
Second, God’s holiness and justice are revealed in this passage. The Ammonites were a detestable, idolatrous people. Their main god was Molech (or Moloch or Milcom) and people offered their children as sacrifices to this god (Lev 18:21; 20:1-5; 2 Kgs 23:10). So when the Israelites defeated the Ammonites in war, this was God’s judgment on the wickedness of these idolaters. God used war as an instrument of His justice.
These Old Testament stories have relevance to us in that they reveal attributes of the living God who never changes. This is the same God who reigns over his world today. Let us come to know Him and rejoice.