Monday after the
Third Sunday in Advent
Lectionary
Morning - Ps.84,
Is. 29:1-14, Mk. 5:1-20
Evening - Ps.
75, 76, Is. 29:15, Rev. 18:11-24
Commentary
Revelation
18:11-24
Tonight let us
pause to retrace the sequence of events in this portion of the book of
Revelation, which began with chapter 12.
The primary message is the fall of Rome
and the end of its persecution of the Church.
In chapter 12 the beast with seven heads and ten horns is shown
persecuting the Church
of God Rome , which was beginning
an empire wide persecution of the Church that would continue for generations. Nero, the Roman emperors, the city of Rome , and the Roman Empire
are all included in the symbolism of the beast.
Chapter 18
pronounces the fall of Rome , calling it "Babylon " as Peter
also called it in 1 Peter 5:13. In
verses 9-19 the wicked lament her fall, but in verses 20-24 the Church
rejoices. Her joy is not that people
will suffer and die in the calamities that will befall Rome .
It is that the persecution will end and the faith and perseverance of
the Christians will be vindicated. The blood of prophets and saints will no
longer run in the streets of Rome .
Tuesday after
the Third Sunday in Advent
Lectionary
Morning - Ps.
90, Is. 30:8-17, Mk. 5:21
Evening - Ps.
91, Is. 30:18-26, Rev. 19
Commentary
Revelation 19
Rev. 6:9-11
shows the souls of the martyrs crying out to God to avenge their blood and
punish their oppressors. Chapter 19:1-6
shows multitudes of people, the twenty-four elders, and the four beasts worshiping
God and giving thanks to Him, "for he hath judged the great whore,"
and has "avenged the blood of his servants at her hand" (19:2). God has answered the prayers of His people
and has poured out His wrath on those who persecute them. Therefore, they praise Him, "Alleluia:
for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" (19:6). It was very important for the Christians to
"see" the fall of Rome
in these chapters of Revelation, for they were being asked to endure
persecution and death for the Gospel of Christ.
They needed to know two things.
First, they needed to know God has a place for them in paradise. Second, the persecutors cannot conquer
God. He is omnipotent, and He will cast
His enemies down forever. Thus, whether
they live through the persecution, or give up their lives for Christ, the Christians
are assured of victory, for their enemies are also God's enemies, and when God
wins, they win.
Verses 7-9
contrast the sins of Rome
with the purity of the Church using the images of the great whore and the
virgin bride. The Church is both the
bride of Christ, and those who are invited to the marriage feast (19:7 and
9). It is not unusual for Revelation to
give more than one meaning to a symbol, as we saw in chapter 17, where the
seven heads of the beast represent seven hills and seven kings (17:9-10).
Verses 10-19
show the Church, led by Christ Himself marching victoriously across the pages
of human history. Christ goes forth to
war on a white horse, followed by the armies of Heaven. He smites the nations with the sharp sword
that comes out of His mouth. He rules
the rebellious with a rod of iron and treads them in the winepress of His
wrath. This symbolises His victory over
His enemies. Again in verse 16 a title
of Caesar is applied to Christ the true King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The final stand
of the beast and its prophet is shown in verses 19-21. These, who have deceived many, forced many to
worship Caesar instead of God, and poured out the blood of God's people, are
conquered and cast into the lake of fire, along with all who followed them.
Wednesday after
the Third Sunday in Advent, Ember Day
Lectionary
Morning - Ps. 1,
15, Jeremiah 23:9-15, Luke 12:35-48
Evening - Ps.
92, Jeremiah 23:16-22, Matthew 28:16-20
Heading into the
change of seasons, we come to the time of fasting and prayer known as Ember
Days. Historically, Ember Days have been
a time when men were ordained to the ministry, and our Scripture readings for
today reflect that tradition. Matthew
28:16-20 is known across denominations as the "Great Commission," for
these verses record Christ commissioning the Apostles to take the Gospel to all
nations.
Looking at the
Apostles, eleven men of modest means with little or no contacts or networks
outside of their own tiny country, this may seem an impossible task. Yet it is clearly the intention of Christ,
go, teach, and baptize all nations. Even
in this time of instant news and internet, making disciples of all nations
seems an impossible task, yet Christ's charge to the Apostles quite obviously continues
to the ministers and Church of today.
"Teach"
(28:19) means to make disciples. It is
to enlist people as students in the school
of Christ
The messengers,
the message, and the means of accomplishing the enormous task of teaching all
nations may seem impossibly small and weak, until we remember we are Christ's
messengers, it is Christ's message, and they are Christ's means. The commission comes from God in flesh, who rose
from the grave, and possesses all authority and power in Heaven and earth. As it is His commission, it is naturally to
be accomplished by His means. And it is
as His messengers carry out His commission in His way that we have His promise,
"I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."
As you observe
this time of fasting and prayer, please remember those charged with leading the
Church in the ministry of pastors and teachers.
Ask God to keep the faithful ones faithful, and to return the erring
ones to the faith. Ask God to be with
them in their work, that they would do God's work the way God has appointed it
to be done. And ask God to make the
people willing to hear and learn the word of God.
Thursday after
the Third Sunday in Advent
Lectionary
Morning - Ps.
96, Is. 32, Mk. 6:1-6
Evening - Ps.93,
98, Is. 33, Rev. 20:1-6
Commentary
Revelation
20:1-6
Tonight's
reading takes us from the era of the Roman Empire
to the distant future of the Millennial Reign.
Here the persecuted Christians are allowed to see that Rome has passed away under the judgment of
God, and even the devil, their greatest enemy, will be defeated by God. The world of strife and sin, in which they
dwell, will be put under the complete rule of Christ. His ways will be the dominant ones, evil will
be cast to the outer fringes, and the era written of in Micah 4:1-8 and Isaiah
11:6-10 will become reality. This era
begins when God, by His angel, imprisons the devil in the bottomless pit for a
thousand years.
It is important
to note the progression in Revelation.
It begins by warning the Church of the intensifying of the persecution
that has already begun. It continues by
warning them to put aside all distractions and sins because only those who are
fully dedicated to Christ will be able to stand firm in the face of such
tribulation. Revelation then moves to
the fate of those who cause the death and suffering of the Christians. They will not go unpunished. God will vanquish them with His power, and
the Church will continue by His power. First
to fall under the wrath of God are the unbelievers of Israel , where
prophets were murdered, Christ was crucified, and the Church is persecuted.
Their fate is shown in chapters 4-11, concluding with the fall of Jerusalem . Next God deals with the Roman Empire, the
great whore, drunk with the blood of the saints. Rome 's
judgment is accomplished in chapters 12-19.
Yet the one who is behind the persecutions is still at large. What will happen to him whom the book of
Revelation calls the dragon and the devil?
Will he go on forever raising up new enemies of the Church? Will Christians always suffer under his
hand?
"No." He, too, will be struck down by the power of
God. He will be cast into the pit for a
thousand years, during which the world will see great advances in evangelism
and Godliness, and the Church will enjoy peace and holiness. The souls of the martyrs (20:4) will rejoice
in Heaven as the Church on earth rejoices here.
The details are not made clear to us.
We see the outlines of this event through a glass darkly. But even if we see these things vaguely (and
I think God intended vagueness here) we do see them. We know that they will come about. Satan will be bound and God's Kingdom will
reign upon earth. This is the meaning of the verses we read tonight. Grasp
this, and you have made great progress in understanding the book of Revelation
and God's plan for this world.
Friday after the
Third Sunday in Advent
Lectionary
Morning - Ps.
40, Jer. 23:23-32, 2 Cor. 5:5
Evening - Ps.
51, Jer. 26:1-15, 2 Tim. 3:14-4:8
Commentary
Jeremiah
23:23-32
Today, the
second of the seasonal Ember Days, leads us into a reading from Jeremiah that
should arrest our attention. The passage
concerns people who took it upon themselves to speak for God, but, rather than
speaking the truth, they spoke their own ideas.
They claimed to have the inspiration of God. "I have dreamed" they said, meaning
to have received a vision from God with a message for His people. But they spoke lies (26) because their dreams
were false (32). They may have truly
believed what they were saying, but it was not from God. No minister in any church, no person in any
church has any right to teach anything but that which is in agreement with the
revelation of God in Scripture. This is
so evident in the Bible that it is apparent to even the most casual reader.
But something in
this passage expresses why such people have this problem. It is a single word found in Jeremiah 23:32,
"lightness." They have counted
the truth of God, and God Himself, as lightness. Living for Him is not something they take
seriously. Understanding His revelation
is not something they take seriously. Preaching
and teaching and shepherding the flock are not things they take seriously. They have a casualness about the things of
God.
This is just as
true of people in our own time as it was in Jeremiah's day, and it is just as
great a sin now as it was them. The
things of God are weighty matters. There
are no trivialities in God, everything about Him and His word to us is of
eternal significance. Let those who
minister in His name do so in the realisation that they deal in weighty
matters, and the let the people attend to the words of faithful teachers as
though they are hearing things of weighty importance.
Saturday after
the Third Sunday in Advent, Ember Day
Lectionary
Morning - Ps.
42, 43, Mal. 2:1-9, Mt. 9:35-10:15
Evening - Ps.
103, Mal. 3:1-6, Heb. 4:14-5:10
Commentary
Mt.9:38
The commentary
on Mathew 9:38 is adapted from Bishop J. C. Ryle's Expository Thoughts on the Gospels.
"[T]here is
a solemn duty incumbent on all Christians, who would do good to the unconverted
part of the world. They are to pray for
more men to be raised up to the work of conversion of souls."
"If we know
anything of prayer, let us make it a point of conscience never to forget this
solemn charge of our Lord's. Let us
settle it in our minds, that it is one of the surest ways of doing good, and
stemming evil. Personal working for
souls is good. Giving money is
good. But praying is best of all. By prayer we reach Him without whom work and
money are alike in vain. We obtain the aid
of the Holy Ghost."
"The Holy
Ghost alone can make ministers of the Gospel, and raise up lay workmen in the
spiritual harvest, who need not to be ashamed.
Never, never may we forget that if we would do good to the world, our
first duty is to pray"
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