Day's 61-70

Day 61
Pray (AC-ts)
Read — 1 Timothy 1:12-17
Message Alan Burke
We are use to hearing ‘what goes around comes around’ as people rightly or wrongly hope that there will be some kind of recompense and some kind of just comes. There is part of us at least that we like people getting their just rewards, people who have hurt us being hurt themselves. For the believer though, we who have escaped our just rewards through faith in Jesus Christ, we should be longing and praying that many others will escape their just rewards, the wrath of God as we have. Here Paul recalls his conversion sharing his testimony with Timothy and the believers to whom he writes. In doing so he presents himself as a model for them to follow and by it there are several essential qualities revealed to us that should be found in the life of a believer and especially should be evident in those who lead in both how they lead and live.
How does the testimony of Paul start, not by focusing on himself like many of ours do, but by focusing on Christ. For it wasn’t some decision that he had made, it wasn’t the education that he had, it wasn’t the methods that he used or his personality that had enabled him to do all that he was doing, it was Christ who gave him strength to do all that he had done (1:12). Remember who Paul was before his conversion, he was Saul, persecutor of the church extraordinaire, he breathed out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples and he had a licence to do pretty much what he wanted against the church (Acts 9:1), his raison d’être, his entire purpose in life before his conversion was to persecute the church, he was an anti-Christian fanatic and Christians lived in fear off. You wouldn’t have want this fella arriving in Crossgar, Ballynahinch or wherever you live, but he encountered the risen Christ and repented of his sin.
It was Christ who called Paul to himself, it was Christ who had given him strength and considered him to be faithful to be appointed to service (1:12). Paul had experienced the Grace and mercy of God and was saved not because he deserved it, but by the mercy of God, neither does he give us our just rewards, Christ took the wrath that we deserve upon himself (1:13-14). Now Paul was committed to the gospel and makes the point that the faithful teacher stays true to the gospel in comparison to the false teacher (1:3-11). He encourages Timothy and all who believe to do likewise, for the basis of salvation is faith. Paul is an object lesson in the grace of God, if someone like him ‘the worst of sinners’ can be transformed by that grace (15-16) likewise there is hope for those family members who reject the gospel, who dismiss it as nonsense, who are hostile to it. Remember with conversion there is transformation, faith produces a new manner of life, that is seen! Knowing the living God, having received his unmerited favour and not our just rewards should lead us to worship for Paul could not reflect on what had happened to him without worshiping the living God (1:17). Let us be praying for those whom we know that they may likewise escape the wrath of God, that they can like us know his abundant and amazing grace, It is the work of Christ in us not what we have done, and it must be shown in how we live, leading us to worship. 
Pray (ac-TS)
Sing
Westminster Shorter Catechism
Question 61
What is forbidden in the fourth commandment?
The fourth commandment forbiddeth the omission or careless performance of the duties required, (Amos 8:5, Mal. 1:13) and the profaning the day by idleness, (Acts 20:7,9) or doing that which is in itself sinful, (Ezek. 23:38) or by unnecessary thoughts, words, or works, about our worldly employments or recreations. (Jer. 17:24–26, Isa. 58:13)




Day 62
Pray (AC-ts)
Read - Revelation 12-13
Message - Scott Woodburn
At secondary school we had a teacher who for a multitude of reasons had our complete respect. We knew he wasn't to be messed with and he had a fabulous turn of phrase that saw many of his words becoming quotes from our own lips. On one particular occasion however we were amazed to find him reading a book by an individual who many of us considered to be a "goat". We challenged our teacher as to why he would read such a book. His reply became another soundbite that would echo around the halls of our school until the day we left. "To defeat your enemy," he said "you must know your enemy." For teenage boys this seemed to be the height of wisdom and we applied it and misapplied it for months. It probably originated with Sun Tzu rather than a teacher in an East Belfast school, but I think it stands the test of time. These chapters show us the enemy of the church so that we need not be overcome. We have heard that the church can expect trouble as she continues her witness in the world. Chapters twelve and thirteen zoom into the character of our enemy. Firstly we meet Satan, described as a great red dragon (12v3), constantly defeated but endlessly hateful against the people of God. He has rebelled in heaven and carried many fallen angels with him (v4). He tries to destroy Christ (v5) and when he fails he tries to destroy the church (v17). His activity is summed up by a loud voice in heaven "Woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short” (v12) Our enemy is defeated but filled with hate.
How does he attack the church? Supported by his two allies the beast from the sea (13v1-10) and the beast from the earth (13v11-18). The beast from the sea represents oppressive state power wherever it if found. It is given authority to rule (v7-8) and demands the worship of the people (v8b). In John's day the church saw this clearly in the Roman Empire with her "god" emperors demanding worship. Today we see the beast's hand in places like North Korea and wherever the state demands adoration and tramples the church. 
The second beast represents false religion and it wields the authority of the first beast (v12) doing miraculous signs (v13) striving to deceive the inhabitants of the earth (v14) with the goal of bringing all to worship the first beast and ultimately Satan. Indeed the power of the these acolytes of Satan will be such that unless you bear their mark your ability to do the basics of life will be greatly curtailed (v17).
As we read this startling truth we begin to quake. Certainly in our land we have been spared the excesses of Satan and his minions. We can be thankful today for freedom of religion and a stable government. Certainly we can criticise our institutions but we shouldn't take for granted the liberty we enjoy. Yet Revelation points to the trouble that the church will face and as the seals are opened, the trumpets blown and the bowls poured out we can expect an increase of Satanic hostility until the return of Christ.
"There's no comfort here." you cry, "I'm off to build a bunker in my back garden." Slow down child of God. Again we see that Satan's time is limited. The beast has authority for 42 months (13v5). The church is protected and nourished for 1260 days (12v6) and a time, times and half a time (12v14). This is the same period we discussed last week, 3 and a half years. The church will know trouble but it will not last forever. Just as these numbers encourage us, we meet the most famous number of all as this section ends. The beast's number is 666 (13v18). Many theories abound to explain the number but again I believe well intentioned Christians have clouded the matter. God is perfect and a number to describe Him is the prefect number 7. Father, Son & Holy Spirit = 777. Satan and his allies are not perfect. He and the two beasts mimic God, but they are a poor imitation, an unholy trinity if you will. Their number is 666. Always angry, always vengeful but always falling short. 
So today we know our enemy and we will overcome him. Not by might but "by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death." (12v11) Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus.
Pray (ac-TS)
Sing
Westminster Shorter Catechism
Q62 What are the reasons annexed to the fourth commandment? The reasons annexed to the fourth commandment are, God's allowing us six days of the week for our own employments, his challenging a special propriety in the seventh, his own example, and his blessing the sabbath-day.




Day 63 - The Lord’s Day
Question 63
Which is the fifth commandment?
The fifth commandment is, Honour thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. (Exod. 20:12)


Day 64
Pray (AC-ts)
Read — Exodus 20:4-6
Message Alan Burke 
You may wonder is the second word of the Lord (better known as second commandment to most of us) really necessary, after all the first was pretty clear. Why is this second word needed, why are we told “You shall not make for yourself a carved image.… you shall not bow down to them nor serve them” (20:4-5). Well for two reasons. Firstly the Lord God is far beyond our comprehension, he is greater than we can fathom, he is infinite (Job 11:7-9), he is the one  after all who put the stars in their place, the one who brings forth each new day, the one who sustains all of life by the power of his word (Heb 1:3). Our desire is to reduce him to a size that we can understand, this command prevents us from doing that, preventing us making God man sized. No idols, no images, nothing can compare to his greatness and they limit is infinite nature so we are prohibited from doing this. Secondly the self revealing God is Spirit and we are to worship him in spirit and truth (Jn 4:23-24). When we come before him we must worship him as he has been revealed (Deut. 4:12, 15-19, 25-28). His word must dwell within us in all wisdom for this is the root of true and acceptable worship (Col. 3:16).


So in this second word the Lord God gives a comprehensive prohibition against idolatry, there is no distinguishing between the worship of other gods, with our without images, and the worship of Lord God using images, for God hates idolatry (Deut 6:14-15, 32:21, Jer 2:5). Instead we must look to the Lord God who has revealed himself and not subject him to our own imaginations. There are consequences for obedience and disobedience. For the Lord God is a Jealous God (20:5b), When we hear the word ‘jealous’ today, we automatically think negatively. But here the perceived negativity that the word connotes are not what is being portrayed here (20:5), an alternative way of saying it would be that the Lord is zealous towards his people, he has a passion for them, they are his people and he is their redeemer, and is committed to showing his exclusive relationship with them. 


For the people of Israel were his, and through faith we are his, they were as we are a redeemed people, his servants and if his people turn to other gods then God will be jealous of them as a husband is of a wife that turns to other men. For God is passionately committed to his people, he has established a covenant relationship with them (Gen 17:1-8). If you think that the warning that comes for the future generations is severe think about it for a moment, children learn from their parents, there are times I look at my children and see a little mirror of myself, often children grow up and whether we want to admit it or not have copied the values our priorities, values and if we are honest we can all see it and it will either be a blessing to them as they look to God or bring his judgment as they look to anything but God.


What does this mean practically for us, well it means that we should worship God how he has instituted, being careful not to add to it or take from it, receiving tradition from others or looking to the ‘likes’ of others no matter how good intentioned they may be (Footnote 1). Neither should we make any representation of God, of all or of any of the three persons, either inwardly in our mind, or outwardly in any kind of image or likeness of any creature whatsoever; all worshipping of it, or God in it or by it (Footnote 2). And we must look to God, who provided his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, the true image of the invisible God, so that we might know him (Col. 1:15; 2:19), he is our Saviour who has lived a perfect life of obedience it for us so that we might be saved (Rom. 5:19; 2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 4:6, 11, 10:3).


Footnote 1 Numb. 15:39, Deut. 13:6–8 Hosea 5:11, Micah 6:16 1 Kings 11:33, 1 Kings 12:33, Deut. 12:30–32, Deut. 4:2, Ps. 106:39, Matt. 15:9, 1 Pet. 1:18, Jer. 44:17, Isa. 65:3–5, Gal. 1:13–14,1 Sam. 13:11–12, 15:21, Acts 13:44–45, 1 Thess. 2:15–16


Footnote 2 Deut. 4:15–19, Acts 17:29, Rom. 1:21–23,25, Dan. 3:18, Gal. 4:8, Exod. 32:5


Pray (ac-TS)
Sing 
Westminster Shorter Catechism 
Question 64
What is required in the fifth commandment?
The fifth commandment requireth the preserving the honor, and performing the duties, belonging to every one in their several places and relations, as superiors, (Eph. 5:21) inferiors, (1 Pet. 2:17) or equals. (Rom. 12:10)




Day 65


Pray (AC-ts)


Read — Proverbs 3:1-12


Message Alan Burke 


Parents try as best that they can to pass on their wisdom to their children, pass on life’s lessons so that they don’t make the same mistakes. If you are a parent then I’m sure that there are times you have wished that you had done a better job, and for all of us there are likely things that our parents tried to teach us that we wish we had listened too. Here in this passage a father is trying to pass on to his son, pass on what he has learnt for his sons best, because he cares. As we look to the fathers instructions to his son, we should know and understand that the Lord God through Solomon is speaking to his people, he is speaking to us, he is showing us the way to live through what is said (1-2). So as we come as God’s beloved children, adopted heirs with Christ, what we learn from the fathers words to his son will help us to be fully alive for the Glory of God. 


The Lord in his self revelation declares his ‘steadfast love and faithfulness’  (Ex. 34:6-7). These attributes throughout scripture are used to describe God, so the father is teaching the son if you want this fulfilled life, then what you need is the LORD God. The father is teaching his son that he needs to not only know about God but know him in his heart (3). What we need to do is to know him, all people and we know him through faith in the Jesus Christ (Rom 5:6-10). What are we to do in response, how are we to live, we are to trust in him with all our heart (5). The idea is that we completely rely on him, not some kind of half hearted trust, or a trust when it suits us and we are warned not to lean on our own understanding (5). When we let the bible be our rule and guide, then we allow the Lord through it to challenge our inner most thoughts and desires, it challenges our feelings, and it will work itself out in our lives, we need his truth first then look at the practical out-workings of that, we need his truth first to know how to live.


In all our ways we are to acknowledge him, to trust in the Lord completely and acknowledge him rightly, in how we love each other, how we care for those who grieve, how we care for those who are unable to be with us because of age or infirmity, supporting each other in all ways. And as we do this, as we acknowledge him rightly and he will make straight our paths, he will help us on the way, its a wonderful assurance for us, that in this life as we live for him, desiring to trust in him with all our heart that he will lead us helping us to turn from this worlds ways to God (6-7). 


Again proverbs tells us to fear the Lord which is to know and trust him, this is the wisest move any of us could make (7). We don’t fear the Lord like that of a servant to his master but that of a child towards their parents. When we fear the Lord we turn from evil to him, instead of facing a lost eternity, we find salvation in the LORD’s amazing grace toward us, this will be of benefit to our entire being (8). We are also to honour God in the recognising that all that we have comes from Him, turning from the temptation is, of honouring ourselves (9-10). Why, because of how he has treated us, “for you know that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for our sake became poor, so that we by his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). Knowing that in what we face just as a parent disciplines his child the Lord will do that for us his children (11-12), so that we will grow and know that we have a saviour who is able to empathise with our weaknesses, who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. (Heb 4:15) so the bible tells us what we do in times of suffering, we are (Heb. 4:16) to approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.


Pray (ac-TS)


Sing 


Westminster Shorter Catechism
Question 65
What is forbidden in the fifth commandment?
The fifth commandment forbiddeth the neglecting of, or doing any thing against, the honor and duty which belongeth to every one in their several places and relations. (Matt. 15:4–6, Ezek. 34:2–4, Rom. 13:8)




Day 66


Pray (AC-ts)


Read - Micah 6:6-8


Message - Scott Woodburn
How does one approach Almighty God? With what will He be pleased? These questions are not new. We see similar asked in Micah 6v6-7. At first glance we can imagine a worshipper crying to the Lord out of sincerity. "Lord what will please you? I want to know because You are my heart's desire. I want to praise You and extol Your name, so please Father what can I bring?" But that's not it at all. Earlier in this chapter God has charged the people with being tired of the things of God (v3). They're fed up with Yahweh. They've heard all the stories before and they've sung all the Psalms. They need a wee break. With this background suddenly we see verses 6 and 7 in their proper context. 


The people are essentially asking "What will it take to get God off our backs?". Perhaps burnt offerings and calves will do it (v6)? Maybe a little bit more will be necessary. How about thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of oil (v7a)? No? Still not pleased? Well what about my firstborn child (v7b)? If I offered my son will that please the God who tires my soul? Imagine someone from Ballynahinch or Crossgar who offered all these things. They'd be considered fine members of our church and yet what many in our fellowships fail to realise is that we don't get to bargain with God. He doesn't listen to the self righteous who tell Him that they pay into a church. He has no regard for the Orangeman who defends the reformed faith on one Sunday per year just before the 12th. He has no interest in the one who tolerates the Word of God only at funerals. My friends if any of this describes your "faith" then may I humbly suggest you have believed a lie. Christianity is not a "I'll scratch God's back and He'll scratch mine" faith.


To be saved is to repent of one's sins and to put your faith in Christ and His finished work. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. Salvation when it comes, sees lives transformed and we can expect visible evidence of a renewed heart. What sort of evidence? The sort that the Lord requires, justice, kindness and a humble walk (v8). Please remember that the evidence doesn't save us but instead flows from a God given born again heart. 


We are to deal justly with our neighbour. Just as God is righteous in all His dealings so we are to reflect that in how we deal with one another. No more playing fast and loose with our tax return. No more slander in B&M as we share the latest whispers. No more filling our handbag with supplies from the work stationary cupboard.


Walk justly says the Lord and deal kindly with those around you. It's much easier to punish those who have wronged us. We refuse to speak to them. We see them coming down the street and we look away or we are suddenly engrossed in an imaginary text message. Kindness costs. It requires us to put aside our grumps and to pour out grace on those who we feel don't deserve it, just as it has been poured out on us. 


Walk kindly says the Lord and in all of this walk humbly. We do not live out our faith on Facebook hoping our friends see our good deeds and give us a "like". Instead we know that every breath is dependant upon the grace of the Lord and so in all we do we cling to and lean on Christ with "Soli Deo Gloria" as our cry. 


None of us will master this and yet our imperfect good works will be received by God because we are in Christ. The Confession puts it this way, our "good works also are accepted in Christ, not as though they were in this life wholly unblamable and unreprovable in God’s sight; but that God, looking upon them in his Son, is pleased to accept and reward that which is sincere, although accompanied with many weaknesses and imperfections." 


Jesus is the one who fulfilled Micah 6v8 perfectly. Today we look to Him and in response we do justice, love kindness and walk humbly before the Lord.       


Pray (ac-TS)


Sing


Westminster Shorter Catechism
Q66 What is the reason annexed to the fifth commandment? The reason annexed to the fifth commandment, is a promise of long life and prosperity (as far as it shall serve for God's glory and their own good) to all such as keep this commandment.


Day 67
Pray (AC-ts)
Read — Mark 7:1-13
Message Alan Burke 
Hyacinth Bucket, remember her? Or rather Hyacinth Bouquet as she preferred to be known. She was the lead character in the early 90’s sitcom ‘Keeping Up Appearances’ (available on Britbox just incase you’re interested). If you are unfamiliar with who Hyacinth is you may be able to guess from the title of the show what it’s about, as Hyacinth’s main mission in life is to impress others with her refinement and pretended affluence but the truth was somewhat different, she was trying to keep up an appearance. There is a point to this honest, I’m not just talking about Hyacinth because of the likeness my granny shared with her both in appearance and character but I hope I have your attention and if you haven’t read the passage you should really do that now. 
What’s going on in Mark 7:1-13. Well once more the Pharisees were on a scouting mission to try to build a case against this Jesus who was causing a stir (1) and they spotted how Jesus’ disciples did not follow the tradition and practices of the elders by ritual washing (2-4). These Pharisees were effectively asking Jesus what the craic is, how could he allow this to happen (5), and look at the response, Jesus calls them out for being ‘hypocrites’ (6), telling them that everything they hold on to (7) is not from God but man (8). Effectively they were more concerned about the external than they were with the internal, they were more concerned with what was seen than unseen. The problem was that everything they were doing to keep the word of God has actually made it worthless to them (9), they had used the Word of God as a tool for their own purposes (10-13). These pharisees had substituted the truth for a lie, they had subsided the word of God for their own traditions. 
Hyacinth made me laugh countless times, it provided many a family joke at my granny’s expense but sadly there are many people who are simply 'keeping up appearances’. Maybe you are one of them, just as the Pharisees who honoured God outwardly, who did all the right stuff yet they were spiritually dead. Your neighbours may look at you and think ‘great Christian there’ but are you simply just keeping up appearances? What does your private devotion say about you? Could it be that you are able to talk a good talk but are spiritually dead? If that’s the case then turn to Jesus   know that through faith you will be saved (Eph 2:8-9). On the other hand you may be given a hard time because you are a rubbish Christian, your husband or wife may point the finger reminding you of your failures, your friends may mock you because of what you did that last night when you were out, you may feel like you are the worst Christian ever, but you trust in the saviour, you love him, you pray to him, you read his word even though you struggle to understand it, then know you are his and nothing can separate you from the Love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:38-39)
Finally for the Church the Jewish church should be a warning to us, we can be excessively religious and not excessively in relationship with Christ. We must never consider the word of God as trivial, as unimportant and its teaching and doctrine outdated, we must beware of false teachers and teaching that will lead us away from God and his word. If we add to it or take away from God’s word then we are on a hiding to naethin and will end up with absurd and ridiculous practices that are as worthless and we too will end up honouring the Lord with our lips, but our hearts will be far from him, our worship will be in vain and our teachings are but rules taught by men and not God (Is. 29:13, Mk 7:6-7).
Pray (ac-TS) 
Sing 
Westminster Shorter Catechism
Question 67
Which is the sixth commandment?
The sixth commandment is, Thou shalt not kill. (Exod. 20:13)








Day 68


Pray (AC-ts)


Read (Heb 4.14-16)


Message (Scott Woodburn)
Sometimes we all need a friend, someone who has our back and isn't going to leave our side. Unfortunately sometimes those individuals are hard to find. The Christian however never stands alone. We have someone who is constantly for us and even as we read, He stands as our advocate in the heavenly places. Jesus Christ is, as we see in today's passage, our great high priest (v14a). In the Old Testament we meet the prophets who stood and proclaimed "Thus says the Lord". We also meet the kings who took the throne to govern God's people. There too are the priests. The men who would offer sacrifices daily to the Lord and chief among them was the high priest. He would be allowed to enter the holy of holies just once a year. Christ is our prophet, our king and our great high priest who offers no further sacrifice. His sacrifice was once and for all and never to be repeated and today Jesus stands in the holy place. He doesn't go there once per year but he stands there permanently. Therefore we are to hold fast our confession (v14b). We are to persevere in the faith. That sounds straight forward enough until we are hit by a major storm. We believe that Christ is coming again but sometimes we wonder when. We believe that our sins have been forgiven but sometimes we are crippled by guilt. We believe the Bible to be the inspired word of God but the critics have caused us to doubt. My brother and sister Christ is our great high priest, he is for us, and when we feel our fingers losing their grip, hold fast. But sometimes those who we look to have no idea what we are actually going through. A millionaire politician can't imagine what it is like to worry about the next mortgage payment. Thankfully we know that Christ understands fully what it is to be human. He knows and sympathises with our weaknesses (v15a). Indeed Jesus experienced temptation as we face every day (v15b) but at no point did he fall into sin (v15b). Christ alone is able to represent us in glory. He has no skeletons in His cupboard, no mud thrown at Him will ever stick, He has never broken lockdown by driving to visit family. Christ is sinless and spotless and stands as our great high priest in heaven. As a result we can draw near to God's throne with confidence (v16a). It was another high priest called Joshua who wore filthy garments (Zechariah 3). Joshua was a man like any other and found himself accused by the enemy. The wonderful picture we then see is Christ taking Joshua's side and rebuking Satan. Indeed he declares "Is Joshua not a brand plucked from the fire?" In other words "Is Joshua not a hell deserving sinner? And yet I have plucked him from the fire. I have redeemed him. I am for him." Christ clothes Joshua with new garments and Satan in Joshua's case and in yours is left with nothing else to say. In Ulster we don't name our sons Jesus but we often call them Joshua perhaps not knowing that it is the same name. Joshua (Yeshua) the high priest is defended by Jesus (Yeshua) the great high priest and Jesus is called Yeshua because He would save His people from their sins. So with confidence we draw near, knowing that we can, because Jesus stands for us. At the throne we do not find condemnation but instead mercy, grace and help (v16b). Sometimes we all need a friend...Jesus is His name.


Pray (ac-TS)


Sing


Westminster Shorter Catechism
Q68 What is required in the sixth commandment? The sixth commandment requireth all lawful endeavours to preserve our own life, and the life of others.




Day 69
Pray (AC-ts)
Read - Revelation 15&16
Message - Scott Woodburn
We have already discussed that Revelation reveals to us what must take place between Christ’s ascension and His return. It is a book of encouragement for the church of Jesus Christ, from the well known churches of the earlier chapters to your little known church in your little corner of the world. There are three cycles of judgement in the book, each describing the same period of time but from different perspectives. As we reach this part of the book the final cycle of judgement comes as God pours out the seven bowls of His wrath on the world. These bowls show us that trouble will intensify before the return of Christ and with them God’s wrath is finished (v1). Yet before the judgement we see again the peace in heaven (v2-4). The victorious saints are there, they have overcome the unholy trinity of Satan, the beast and the false prophet and they praise God with the song of Moses (Exodus 15). Revelation does this constantly. We marvel at what must take place but the Lord gives us precious interludes to catch our breath and focus on His majesty. The saints have been brought out of the captivity of this world and have reached the promised land of glory. No wonder they sing the song of Moses! Yet even as the church is kept safe above and below, the bowls are poured out and judgement is loosed upon the earth. We see echoes of Moses in Egypt. The first bowl (16v2) is like the sixth plague in Egypt (Exodus 9v8-12) and physical pain and torment is promised for those in league with Satan. The second bowl (16v3) is like the first plague in Egypt (Exodus 7v21) and judgement is brought upon the world’s oceans, symbolising Satan's kingdom of chaos. The third bowl also mirrors the first Egyptian plague with fresh water sources becoming undrinkable. Indeed the enemies of Christ who had become bloodthirsty will be given blood to drink (16v6). The fourth bowl (16v8-9) has no Egyptian comparison but the sun scorches the earth and still the enemies of God do not repent. The fifth bowl (16v10-11) is like the ninth plague in Egypt (Exodus 10v21-23) and is poured directly upon the throne of the beast. Satan delights in spiritual darkness but now a deeper darkness falls upon his kingdom causing anguish among his followers. Still they do not repent. The sixth bowl (16v12-16) sees the Euphrates river drying up. The Euphrates was often seen as a strong border against Israel's enemies but here symbolically we see God removing His restraint and the enemies of God gathering to destroy the church. This is the famous battle of Armageddon. We shouldn’t expect a literal battle with two armies facing off. Rather this shows us that in the last days the enemies of the church will be so fierce, so angry and so outnumber the church that all will seem hopeless. Satan pulls the strings, the beast persecutes the church, the false prophet urges worship of the beast and in the last of the last days that man of sin, the Antichrist will rise. He will be the visible representation of the unholy trinity on this earth. The foe is strong and yet the armies of Satan do not win, indeed they have rushed forward to their defeat. As the seventh bowl is poured out (16v17-21) that defeat comes as Christ returns. All that the world has built falls as God acts in His just wrath. So what are we to make of all this? Today I am thankful for God's long-suffering patience. He may seem to move slowly but this "slowness" is so that all would reach repentance (2 Peter 3v9). Today is a day of grace. A day for preaching and proclamation. A day for prayer asking the Lord to save. A day that the call "flee the wrath to come" can be posted on Facebook and find its way to whomsoever the Lord wills. Time is short but as I write there is still time to call upon the name of the Lord and be saved. Christian, remain watchful (v15). Christ rejecter, repent while you may. Now is the favourable time, now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6v2). 


Pray (ac-TS)


Sing


Westminster Shorter Catechism​

Q69 What is forbidden in the sixth commandment? The sixth commandment forbiddeth the taking away of our own life, or the life of our neighbour unjustly, or whatsoever tendeth thereunto.

Day 70 - The Lord's Day