From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] daily devotional
Evening...
Luke 24:16
But their eyes were holden that they should not know Him.
The disciples ought to have known Jesus, they had heard His voice so often,
and gazed upon that marred face so frequently, that it is wonderful they did
not discover Him. Yet is it not so with you also? You have not seen Jesus
lately. You have been to His table, and you have not met Him there. You are in
a dark trouble this evening, and though He plainly says, "It is I, be not
afraid," yet you cannot discern Him. Alas! our eyes are holden. We know His
voice; we have looked into His face; we have leaned our head upon His bosom,
and yet, though Christ is very near us, we are saying "O that I knew where I
might find Him!" We should know Jesus, for we have the Scriptures to reflect
His image, and yet how possible it is for us to open that precious book and
have no glimpse of the Wellbeloved! Dear child of God, are you in that state?
Jesus feedeth among the lilies of the word, and you walk among those lilies,
and yet you behold Him not. He is accustomed to walk through the glades of
Scripture, and to commune with His people, as the Father did with Adam in the
cool of the day, and yet you are in the garden of Scripture, but cannot see
Him, though He is always there. And why do we not see Him? It must be ascribed
in our case, as in the disciples', to unbelief. They evidently did not expect
to see Jesus, and therefore they did not know Him. To a great extent in
spiritual things we get what we expect of the Lord. Faith alone can bring us to
see Jesus. Make it your prayer, "Lord, open Thou mine eyes, that I may see my
Saviour present with me." It is a blessed thing to want to see Him; but oh! it
is better far to gaze upon Him. To those who seek Him He is kind; but to those
who find Him, beyond expression is He dear!
Ezekiel 23:36-39
(36) The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah
and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations; (37) That they have
committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they
committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to
pass for them through the fire, to devour them. (38) Moreover this they have
done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned
my sabbaths. (39) For when they had slain their children to their idols, then
they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they
done in the midst of mine house.
What vile things these people were committing on God's holy Sabbath days!
Theyworshipped idols, sacrificed their children, even burning them in the fire,
and afterward, they presented themselves at the Temple services. That is
horrifying! God specifically mentions that they did these things on the
Sabbath-on His day. It shows how far idolatry will take a person, imposing its
will on the actions of an individual.
We need to be very careful about this. These people were guilty of the
common Israelitish sin of idolatry-syncretism, the blending of the world's way
with God's way. God, of course, does not accept it as true worship. How could
He. The Israelites would attend services, supposedly in honor and out of
respect for the Creator Godm after killing their children in the fires of
Molech!
in Ezekiel 20-23, where a brief overview of the relationship between God
and Israel is presented, idolatry and profaning the Sabbath are specifically
named nine times as the major reasons God drove Israel into captivity.
John W. Ritenbaugh
From Sabbathkeeping (Part 1)
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From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
daily devotional
Evening...
Song of Solomon 8:13
Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to Thy voice: cause
me to hear it.
My sweet Lord Jesus remembers well the garden of Gethsemane, and although He
has left that garden, He now dwells in the garden of His church: there He
unbosoms Himself to those who keep His blessed company. That voice of love with
which He speaks to His beloved is more musical than the harps of heaven. There
is a depth of melodious love within it which leaves all human music far behind.
Ten of thousands on earth, and millions above, are indulged with its harmonious
accents. Some whom I well know, and whom I greatly envy, are at this moment
hearkening to the beloved voice. O that I were a partaker of their joys! It is
true some of these are poor, others bedridden, and some near the gates of
death, but O my Lord, I would cheerfully starve with them, pine with them, or
die with them, if I might but hear Thy voice. Once I did hear it often, but I
have grieved Thy Spirit. Return unto me in compassion, and once again say unto
me, "I am thy salvation." No other voice can content me; I know Thy voice, and
cannot be deceived by another, let me hear it, I pray thee. I know not what
Thou wilt say, neither do I make any condition, O my Beloved, do but let me
hear Thee speak, and if it be a rebuke I will bless Thee for it. Perhaps to
cleanse my dull ear may need an operation very grievous to the flesh, but let
it cost what it may I turn not from the one consuming desire, cause me to hear
Thy voice. Bore my ear afresh; pierce my ear with Thy harshest notes, only do
not permit me to continue deaf to Thy calls. To-night, Lord, grant Thine
unworthy one his desire, for I am Thine, and Thou hast bought me with Thy
blood. Thou hast opened mine eye to see Thee, and the sight has saved me. Lord,
open Thou mine ear. I have read Thy heart, now let me hear Thy lips.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-10
(3) Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not
come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed,
the son of perdition; (4) Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is
called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of
God, shewing himself that he is God. (5) Remember ye not, that, when I was yet
with you, I told you these things? (6) And now ye know what withholdeth that he
might be revealed in his time. (7) For the mystery of iniquity doth already
work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. (8)
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the
spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: (9)
Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs
and lying wonders, (10) And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them
that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might
be saved.
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Daniel 7:8
(8) I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them
another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up
by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a
mouth speaking great things.
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Daniel 7:21
(21) I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and
prevailed against them;
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Daniel 7:25
(25) And he shall speak great words against the most High, and
shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws:
and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing
of time.
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Revelation 13:11-18
(11) And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he
had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. (12) And he exerciseth all
the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which
dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. (13)
And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the
earth in the sight of men, (14) And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by
the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast;
saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the
beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. (15) And he had power to
give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both
speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast
should be killed. (16) And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor,
free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
(17) And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name
of the beast, or the number of his name. (18) Here is wisdom. Let him that hath
understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and
his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Revelation 19:20
(20) And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that
wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the
mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast
alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
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Paul wrote II Thessalonians to correct their false impression by
telling them what Christ had revealed to him regarding the "gathering together
with Christ" of those dead in Christ and those remaining alive when He
returned. He opens by telling them, first of all, that Christ's return will be
preceded by a period of apostasy that could include anything from a falling
away, a departure from doctrine or teaching, all the way to and including an
outright political rebellion.
The second sign would be the appearance of the man of sin. This
person has four different names or titles, but all of them are described
similarly: the man of sin (II Thessalonians 2:3-10), the little horn (Daniel
7:8), the two-horned lamb who spoke like a dragon (Revelation 13:11-18), and
the false prophet (Revelation 19:20). The description in each location is not
exactly alike, but each adds to what the other gives. Consider this summary of
comparisons.
In each case, the person described appears at the time of the
end. This is the one piece of information that every one of them has in common.
In three of the four, his end-his destruction or
annihilation-comes at the return of Jesus Christ (Daniel 7:8-9; II
Thessalonians 2:3; Revelation 19:20).
In three of the four, it directly states or strongly implies
the person speaks with great pompous words (Daniel 7:8-9; II Thessalonians 2:4;
Revelation 13:11-14).
In three of the four, it directly states the person does
miraculous, supernatural signs (II Thessalonians 2:9; Revelation 13:13-15;
Revelation 19:20).
In two of them, the signs are done in the presence of the
Beast, showing they are not the same figure (Revelation 13:13-15; 19:20).
In two of them, he deceives and leads people into idolatry (II
Thessalonians 2:4,9-10; Revelation 13:12,14).
In two of them, he either makes war against the saints or
causes those who would not worship the beast to be put to death (Daniel 7:21;
Revelation 13:15).
In two of them, he either thinks to change times and
law-suggesting the law of God-or he sets himself in the Temple of God,
proclaiming himself to be God. The implication is that he has the authority to
do these things (Daniel 7:25; II Thessalonians 2:4).
In two of them, his period of greatest influence is three and a
half years (Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:5).
All of these scriptures are describing the same person. The Bible
shows that this person-the man of sin-has a direct connection to a large
political power and has a religious influence. It should be understood that we
are dealing with a personage and with prophecies of global significance.
John W. Ritenbaugh
From A Place of Safety? (Part 4)
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