Saturday, November 26, 2022

 

Saturday, November 26, 2022


Psalms 65; 70

Malachi 3:13-4:6

Revelation 13:11-18


The LORD took note and listened, and a book of remembrance was written before Him of those who revered the LORD and thought on His name.


If you have never read the book of Revelation before, now you know the context for the infamous number 666. The beast of the land, which represents satan’s influence on religious institutions, points people towards the beast of the sea, which represents satan’s influence on political institutions. As this monstrous and horrifying syncretism of politics and religion play off each other, they remove all distinction and freedom not just between the religious life and the political world, but between individual human beings. The number “is that of a man”: people are fooled or scared into worshipping as God that which is material and worldly.


Much fear and anxiety can result if this message is not put into context. There is much more to know about the mark, but the basic point is this: it comes from a union between religion and politics, and between all religions and all political institutions. The rebellion which began and was defeated in heaven has been brought here to earth, and the pattern is the same: is it possible for God’s creatures to compete with God?


What is the point of this competition? Firstly, it is obviously an exercise in futility. What chance does any creature have against its Creator? Secondly, why would we creatures even desire to compete with the One Who Loves Us?


There is no need to fear the monsters or the mark. It is quite clear from the passages surrounding the mark that there is no danger for those whom God loves. This safety we have in God is supported across both Testaments of the Bible. Our security in the salvation won by Christ is absolute. He loses none whom the Father gives Him. In fact, there is a book in which our names are written, and God remembers us always, both in our prayers now, and on the day He calls us home.


We have been given this text because God thinks it is important for us to know. What is more important is that we know that God loves us, and that nothing can separate us from His love. Think nothing of satan and the monsters; think everything of Christ and His outstretched arms, calling us into His love. Fill your mind with the good things of God, Christian, and know that nothing can endanger His love for you.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Monday, September 12, 2022

  Monday, September 12, 2022 Psalm 33 Habakkuk 1:1-11 Ephesians 1:1-14 In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. The lectionary has taken us from the beloved disciple to one of the most beloved of Paul's epistles: Ephesians. Paul must have loved this church very much: we get a sense of his fondness for them and their shared sense of purpose and worship just from the introduction. In what is likely just an introduction to a letter in the style of the ancient Roman world, Paul has managed to squeeze in the entire, wondrous story of God's work of redemption. Paul has framed it the way it ought to be framed: in a pastoral, encouraging tone. He has three main points here (remember, Paul proceeds logically to build up an argument, unlike John who circles around his main point). First: God intended to save us before the world was formed. Think back to the first l
Read more

“Short time or long – I pray to God not only you but all who are listening become like I am, except for these chains.”

  Monday, September 11, 2023 Psalms 28; 29 1 Kings 7:51-8:21 Acts 26:19-32 Observance: Deiniol, bishop (d. 384) “ Short time or long – I pray to God not only you but all who are listening become like I am, except for these chains.” The great many blessings of being under the protection of the blood of the Lamb fill our hearts with joy and peace. To have the Almighty Creator of the universe, the One who sits above the flood, filling the temple of our being with the cloud of His presence is what it truly means to be human. Every day is filled with adventure; every night turns to the rest of the victor. Certainly there are chains: sometimes they are physical chains, the suffering of being a Christian among people who do not love the Lord. Sometimes they are spiritual; the attacks of the powers of the air who try to distract us from the One we love. But they always fall away. Our Rock of Ages always frees us; always brings us out of the pit of despair. A won
Read more

Monday, September 19

  Monday, September 19 Psalm 45 Nahum 1:15-2:9 Ephesians 4:17-28 ...be renewed in the spirit of your minds... It is far too easy to read some of these Pauline lists of virtues and vices and feel like we have gone back to the dark days before the Reformation. The idea that if we behave ourselves then we can call ourselves “good people” is pagan, not Christian. Paul feels very strongly about how Christians behave, he “affirms and insists” upon it. But it is because of what has already happened that we should mind our step, not because of where we are going. Christ's resurrection is many things, but one aspect relevant for Paul's teaching this morning is that it demonstrates to us the radical new reality in which we now live. We too have passed (spiritually) from death to life; therefore, we experience a “renewal of our minds”. Instead of treading water until we die, we live lives. Everything now makes sense: God has spoken, so we have logic. God made us in His im
Read more