From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] daily devotional
Evening...
Song of Solomon 8:6
Love is strong as death.
Whose love can this be which is as mighty as the conqueror of monarchs, the
destroyer of the human race? Would it not sound like satire if it were applied
to my poor, weak, and scarcely living love to Jesus my Lord? I do love Him, and
perhaps by His grace, I could even die for Him, but as for my love in itself,
it can scarcely endure a scoffing jest, much less a cruel death. Surely it is
my Beloved's love which is here spoken of-the love of Jesus, the matchless
lover of souls. His love was indeed stronger than the most terrible death, for
it endured the trial of the cross triumphantly. It was a lingering death, but
love survived the torment; a shameful death, but love despised the shame; a
penal death, but love bore our iniquities; a forsaken, lonely death, from which
the eternal Father hid His face, but love endured the curse, and gloried over
all. Never such love, never such death. It was a desperate duel, but love bore
the palm. What then, my heart? Hast thou no emotions excited within thee at the
contemplation of such heavenly affection? Yes, my Lord, I long, I pant to feel
Thy love flaming like a furnace within me. Come Thou Thyself and excite the
ardour of my spirit.
"For every drop of crimson blood
Thus shed to make me live,
O wherefore, wherefore have not I
A thousand lives to give?"
Why should I despair of loving Jesus with a love as strong as death? He
deserves it: I desire it. The martyrs felt such love, and they were but flesh
and blood, then why not I? They mourned their weakness, and yet out of weakness
were made strong. Grace gave them all their unflinching constancy-there is the
same grace for me. Jesus, lover of my soul, shed abroad such love, even Thy
love in my heart, this evening.
Revelation 14:9-11
(9) And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any
man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or
in his hand, (10) The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which
is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be
tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in
the presence of the Lamb: (11) And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for
ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and
his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
No person alive looks forward with any kind of wonderful anticipation to
going through what these verses show.
Its clear from the context of Revelation 13 and 14 that "beast" is being
used in the sense of a wild, adversarial animal. There are a couple of reasons
for this. One is because of the use of leopard, bear, lion, and dragon. These
are not domesticated animals, but rather they are animals that we would make
every effort to avoid. We do not want to cross their paths if we find any
indication that they are around. We make a great big circle to get out of their
way.
Then, of course, there is the contrast with a lamb-a domesticated animal.
Cattle, sheep, and goats are beasts, but they hardly qualify as being animals
that strike terror in people.
The Beast being described here would cause our hair to stand on end. It
exudes malevolence. It is interested in eating us for food or destroying us for
crossing its path-it is a beast that is violent and aggressive and simply wants
to perpetuate itself.
"Beast" is being used as a symbol, and the context is not really talking
about an actual animal. The beast represents a governmental system, the
personality of a system, and that system's philosophy of life. The context is
showing us that from the system's point of view, people have no value other
than for its purpose, and its purpose is simply to maintain and to extend its
existence and power through the use of terror, fear-things that any wild animal
would naturally exercise. In the "beast's" eyes, we are fodder or chattel.
John W. Ritenbaugh
From The Spiritual Mark of the Beast
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From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
daily devotional
Evening...
Psalm 148:14
A people near unto him.
The dispensation of the old covenant was that of distance. When God appeared
even to His servant Moses, He said, "Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes
from off thy feet"; and when He manifested Himself upon Mount Sinai, to His own
chosen and separated people, one of the first commands was, "Thou shalt set
bounds about the mount." Both in the sacred worship of the tabernacle and the
temple, the thought of distance was always prominent. The mass of the people
did not even enter the outer court. Into the inner court none but the priests
might dare to intrude; while into the innermost place, or the holy of holies,
the high priest entered but once in the year. It was as if the Lord in those
early ages would teach man that sin was so utterly loathsome to Him, that He
must treat men as lepers put without the camp; and when He came nearest to
them, He yet made them feel the width of the separation between a holy God and
an impure sinner. When the gospel! came, we were placed on quite another
footing. The word "Go" was exchanged for "Come"; distance was made to give
place to nearness, and we who aforetime were afar off, were made nigh by the
blood of Jesus Christ. Incarnate Deity has no wall of fire about it. "Come unto
me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," is the
joyful proclamation of God as He appears in human flesh. Not now does He teach
the leper his leprosy by setting him at a distance, but by Himself suffering
the penalty of His defilement. What a state of safety and privilege is this
nearness to God through Jesus! Do you know it by experience? If you know it,
are you living in the power of it? Marvellous is this nearness, yet it is to be
followed by a dispensation of greater nearness still, when it shall be said,
"The tabernacle of God is with men, and He doth dwell among them." Hasten it, O
Lord.
2 Corinthians 4:3-4
(3) But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: (4) In whom
the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest
the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine unto them.
Revelation 12:9 says that the Dragon, Satan, has deceived the whole
world. But has the import of that really sunk in? The doubtful resistance that
is in each of us does not go away easily. It remains though we are converted.
It still needs to be fought and overcome.
If we do not condition ourselves to be aware and choose the right way, it
will continue to exert its influence. Much can be done to lessen its influence,
particularly continuing to develop our relationship with God through study and
prayer.
As we exercise God's way, the influence of Satan the Devil begins to
slip. There is a negative side to this in that, as soon as his influence starts
to slip away, he tries harder to ensure that it does not leave us entirely. In
other words, he picks up the intensity of his pressure on us.
But do not be disheartened! I Corinthians 10:13 is still in the book. God
only gives us what we can handle, and He provides a way of escape. God is
always there protecting us, making sure that Satan does not increase the
pressure to the point that we are unable to bear it. We can be sure that as we
continue to grow, and Satan steps up the pressure, we will be equal to the
task. Do we have faith in that? We had better have faith because the intensity
of the pressure will get greater and greater.
John W. Ritenbaugh
From We Are Unique!
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