Revelation 12:1-3 (KJV) Two Wonders in Heaven

Revelation 12:1-3 (KJV)
And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

There are two wonders depicted in Revelation 12. The first I believe to be Israel. The second is declared to be the devil.

• Both of the were observed by John
• Both of them appeared in heaven
• Both of them were said to be wonders

They appear as wonders because they are beyond human wisdom.That God would call out one nation, no better than any other, to be the source from which the Saviour would come is wonderful. That an angel the magnitude of Lucifer would rebel against God, that he would lead a third of the angels to join in his rebellion, that he would effectively destroy the spirit of man through his temptation of Eve, that he would be brash enough to attack the very Son of God and that God would use it all for his good purpose is beyond human wisdom.

They appeared in heaven because both are of GodThough I would not say God created Lucifer to become Satan, God certainly allowed for Lucifer’s fall. God could have but did not prevent Eve’s temptation. God chained some dark angels to the pit but did not do that to the devil. God did not approve of Israel’s rejection of Christ but He did allow for it.

These and many other things are beyond our comprehension but nevertheless of God

They are both observed by John as the representative of the ChristianNew Testament believers, because of our finished Word of God, are equipped to see the plan of God in its perfection:

• The Christ as both Lamb and Lion
• The devil as fulfilling the sovereign plan of God
• The Tribulation as purifying Israel while judging Antichrist
• The 1000 year reign as answering God’s promises to Israel and
• Eternity as the ultimate fulfillment of the plan of God.

For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2007.

Revelation 12:1-3 (KJV) Two Wonders in Heaven

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Judges 20:18-28 (KJV) Don’t Let Defeat Stop You

Judges 20:18-28 (KJV)
And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up first.And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah.And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men of Israel put themselves in array to fight against them at Gibeah.And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men.And the people the men of Israel encouraged themselves, and set their battle again in array in the place where they put themselves in array the first day.(And the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until even, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? And the LORD said, Go up against him.)And the children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day.And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.And the children of Israel enquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the LORD said, Go up; for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand.

Israel had asked the Lord concerning the battle against Benjamin and were assured that this was right to do. However, in the first attempt, they were soundly and sorely defeated. Once again they sought God and once again they were assured this battle was right. However, once again they were defeated. At this point nearly twice as many Israelites had died as there were Benjamites.

Once again, with fasting and weeping, they sought God. They were again assured that the battle was of the Lord so they set themselves to fight again. This time they won.

There are elements of this passage that are inexplicable. We may only stand appalled at the evil of men when they are left to their own devices. But there is a lesson in this account. Defeat does not necessarily mean God isn’t in a thing. There are numbers of men I have known who have tried and failed at planting a new church. There are several I could think of who have applied and been turned down for a particular job they believed they would want to do. Failure did not necessarily mean God was opposed to them.

One man applied to several police departments before getting hired. He has succeeded in his field now for many years. One man attempted several fields of work before getting a job that has been a blessing to himself and his family. I was blessed to plant a church in Astoria, OR. After arriving I learned that there had been two unsuccessful attempts before me. The fact that there had been previous failures in no way meant that God did not intend on success.

You might be experiencing a time of failure right now. Do not take that to mean God is opposed to your success. Fast, pray and perhaps adjust your strategy but do not give up. If you have sought the Lord, if your plan is true to the Word of God then be encouraged. God is on your side.

For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2007.

Judges 20:18-28 (KJV) Don’t Let Defeat Stop You

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Revelation 10:7 (KJV) The Finished Mystery

Revelation 10:7 (KJV)
But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

The fact that this is a mystery speaks to its challenges of interpretation. While there are a number of things the New Testament styles as a “mystery” I believe they may all be summed up in the Gospel of Christ.

The Old Testament promised a Messiah and gave prophecies regarding His:

• Person
• Character and 
• End 

But these things were mysteries to the Jews, so much so that they missed the Messiah when He stood right in front of them.

• The coming of Christ as a lamb
• The judgment of Christ in the place of sinners
• The church of Christ composed of Jews and Gentiles

These were all mysteries in the Old Testament that were revealed in the New Testament and find their fulfillment and finish in the end of the Tribulation.

For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2007.

Revelation 10:7 (KJV) The Finished Mystery

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Judges 15:12-13 (KJV) He Was Not Immortal

Judges 15:12-13 (KJV)
And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.

Hebrews chapter 9 verse 27 says, “And as it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment.”  Even a man with the strength and ingenuity of Samson, a man who knew that the Spirit of the Lord was upon him, feared death.

• He was strong but he was not immortal
• He wade reckless but he was not immortal
• He was a ruler of his people but he was not immortal 
• He was able to defeat the enemy over and over but he was not immortal

In the end he met the fate of all men.

The Psalmist taught us to measure our days, to remember that we are but dust and that our life on this earth comes all too quickly to an end. Samson seems to have forgotten that.

When it is all said and done, it is not what happens in this life, but what awaits us in the next that is most important.

For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2007.

Judges 15:12-13 (KJV) He Was Not Immortal

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Judges 13:8 (KJV) This Ought to be the Prayer of Every Parent

Judges 13:8 (KJV)
Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.

Manoah sought direction from God as to how to parent.

He sought direction personally
It was good that his wife had heard from God but not good enough. Parenting is a partnership the father should be part of.

He sought direction from a man of God
They weren’t looking for a counselor or therapist or child expert or school teacher. They sought a man of God.

They received instructions of a heavenly nature
Manoah did not know his teacher was an angel until the very last. When we receive instructions from a man of God, whether we know it or not, we are hearing from heaven.

For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2007.

Judges 13:8 (KJV) This Ought to be the Prayer of Every Parent

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Revelation 7:3 (KJV) Grace, God’s Characteristic Mark

Revelation 7:3 (KJV)
Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

The evidence of God’s grace is manifested in every era of God’s Word:

• Adam and Eve knew God’s grace is covering them with skins
• Noah found grace through the ark
• Abraham found grace in his calling from the world
• Moses found grace as God’s presence did not depart after Israel rebelled at Kadesh Barnea
• This church age is also called the age of grace and even
• During the Tribulation God refuses to allow the earth and sea to be harmed before He has sealed His 144,000

Grace is the characteristic mark of God’s work. He is holy and just but He is also love. From this combination of attributes is birthed grace.

Grace for all who will happily accept it.

For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2007.

Revelation 7:3 (KJV) Grace, God’s Characteristic Mark

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Revelation 6:1 (KJV) Heaven and Earth

Revelation 6:1 (KJV)
And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

There are seven seals on the book. Six of them are opened in this chapter. The first four are unique in that:

• There is a beast to open them
• There is a horse and rider within them
• There is an invitation to “come and see”.

Albert Barnes says that the transition from the fourth to the fifth is from earth to heaven; from the seen to the unseen.

There is, among those of us of faith, a strong assurance of both worlds:

• This temporal, corruptible yet visible world. 
• An eternal, incorruptible and as far as things are now invisible world.

It is by making sound and scriptural observations of this world we can see that we learn lessons concerning that world we cannot. God, who dwells in the invisible world, is sovereign over this visible one. We know that what He says about eternity is true because we can see that what He has said about the earthly ages is true.

For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2007.

Revelation 6:1 (KJV) Heaven and Earth

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Revelation 5:4 (KJV) I Wept Much

Revelation 5:4 (KJV)
And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.

Someone has suggested that the apostle is here a pattern to imitate of the one eager and teachable concerning the things of God. He seeks the Word of God and he longs for the one who can open the Word to him.

The best of us need God’s Word. We need:

• to look upon it
• to read it and, most of all 
• to be instructed in it

Having said that, the teacher we most need to sit under is no man of the earth, but the Lord of heaven.

• To anxiously wait to hear from God, 
• To fear lest you might never be instructed of Him 
• To weep until God assures you that He will teach you; 

this is a pattern worth imitating.

For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2007.

Revelation 5:4 (KJV) I Wept Much

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Revelation 4:5 (KJV) Wherever God Is

Revelation 4:5 (KJV)
And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

The Spirit of God, first seen in this book in Revelation 1:4, and throughout the letters to the seven churches, is seen again in Revelation four (and will be again in chapter five). The working of the Spirit in the churches (hinted at be the mention of the seven lamps of fire) has moved from the earth to heaven where the believers are now represented to be.

• Wherever God is, believers will be found, as the mark of true faith is that they follow the Lord 
• Wherever believers are, a local church will be found, as the character of Christians is to assemble into churches.
• Wherever there is a church the Holy Spirit will be found, as the great work of the Holy Spirit is among the churches
• Wherever the Spirit is there will be Christ, as He loved the church and gave Himself for it

For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2007.

Revelation 4:5 (KJV) Wherever God Is

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Revelation 3:1 (KJV) As Christ Directs

Revelation 3:1 (KJV)
And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. 

I think John Gill is on track when, of Revelation 1:4 he writes, “…by these seven spirits are intended the Holy Spirit of God, who is one in his person, but his gifts and graces are various; and therefore he is signified by this number, because of the fulness and perfection of them…”

The Lord Jesus claims possession of the stars or angels (pastors) as well as that of the seven Spirits of God. His possession speaks of his authority over. The pastor of each church is subject to Christ. He is not in charge but he is under the direction of the Lord.

The same may be said of the Spirit of God. Though He is co-eternal and equal to Christ in every way He is subjected to Christ in the same manner that Christ is subjected to the Father. The Spirit’s ministry upon churches, each loved of Christ, is directed by Christ. The

• perfections, 
• completions, and 
• fullnesses 

of the Holy Spirit are poured out to Christ’s own churches as Christ directs.

For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2007.

Revelation 3:1 (KJV) As Christ Directs

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Revelation 2:1 (KJV) Bible Continuity

Revelation 2:1 (KJV)
Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; 

It strikes me that, though chapter two begins the letters to the seven churches, there is a continuity of thought that runs from chapter one to these seven letters. The Lord, who instructs John to write these letters, assumes that the readers of these letters (Ephesus expressly) will have read what is in chapter one of Revelation first.

That suggests that the seven letters were always a part of something bigger than themselves; that the seven letters were never meant to be sent individually to each one of these churches. It tells me that, though each church was a whole in and of itself, it was not to think of itself as isolated and alone. It tells me that the seven letters rest upon each other for interpretation and that the whole message of the Lord is not to be found in one letter or the other but in all of the letters taken together and in consideration of the book of the Revelation as a unit.

This principle would be true of the Bible. No one part of it stands without every part of it.

• A verse of the Bible, 
• A chapter of the Bible, 
• A book of the Bible; yea, 
• A Testament of the Bible 

taken without consideration for the rest of the Bible, is wrested from the Bible.

For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2007.

Revelation 2:1 (KJV) Bible Continuity

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Revelation 1:7 (KJV) Coming With Clouds

Revelation 1:7 (KJV)
Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Concerning the opening words of this verse, John Gill writes,
“The manner of his coming will be “with clouds”; either figuratively, with angels, who will attend him both for grandeur and service, or literally, in the clouds of heaven…”

Albert Barnes says,
“The design of introducing this representation of the Saviour, and of the manner in which he would appear, seems to be to impress the mind with a sense of the majesty and glory…”

Jamieson, Faucett and Brown adds to this that clouds often represent “wrath to the sinner.”

Clouds can mean:
Something of grandeur to us
Those billowy shining white clouds are a magnificent sight to behold.

Something of peace to us
I am reminded of my brother and me in our youth, laying in the grassy yard, looking at the clouds as they peacefully floated by.

Something ominous to us
This became the most real to me when, for a brief time, I lived in Oklahoma. Dark clouds there often indicated hailstorms and possible tornadoes.

So when Christ comes:

• It is magnificent and glorious to the believer
• It signals a time of great peace to those who are his but
• It ushers in a great storm of tribulation for those who have refused him

Revelation 1:7 (KJV) Coming With Clouds

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Judges 9:1-3 (KJV) Come to Ruin

Judges 9:1-3 (KJV)
And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother’s brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying,Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.And his mother’s brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother.

Israel’s first king was not:

• David, whom God anointed or 
• Saul, upon whom the people insisted or 
• Gideon, who was first approached by them to rule over them

Israel’s first king was Abimelech, Gideon’s son by a concubine.

• It was not God who chose him or 
• A prophet who anointed him. 
• It was not the people who appointed him. 

Abimelech approached them first.

Seeing their scattered and vulnerable state, sensing his own opportunity for advancement, he swayed them and them destroyed those he viewed as his only threat, his brothers.

Gill calls this, “a most bold and daring action;” and explains, “being done without asking counsel of God, without which no king was to be set over Israel, and by a single city, without the knowledge, advice, and consent of the body of the people of Israel…”

Nothing good could possibly have come out of this “daring action” and nothing good did. After three years the very people who had made him king revolted against him. Before it was said and done, Abimelech had devastated Shechem and Shechem had succeeded in killing Abimelech.

We do not need:

• The one who climbs his own ladder or
• The one who seems best to the majority 

to rule over us. We need God to be our authority and seek His guidance in appointing our leaders.

Anything else will come to ruin.

Judges 9:1-3 (KJV) Come to Ruin

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