Author Archive for: meiling

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Revelation 6:1-17. Let’s go!

Revelation 6:1-2 (NIV)
1 I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!”
2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

On verses 1-2: Jesus, referred to here as the Lamb, opens the first of the seven seals, which causes a rider on a white horse holding a bow to appear. While Jesus Himself will later appear on a white horse (Revelation 19:11), according to many scholars, this particular rider on this particular white horse is not Jesus but the anti-Christ, a powerful figure bent on conquering everything he sees.

What can we learn from this? In the end times, an anti-Christ, also known as “the man of lawlessness” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4), will appear and deceive many into following him. We will discuss the anti-Christ in more detail as we go further along in Revelation.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Revelation 5:1-14.  Let’s go!

Revelation 5:1-4 (NIV) 
1  Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 
2  And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 
3  But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 
4  I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 

On verses 1-4:  John’s vision of heaven continues as he sees in the right hand of God a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals (v1).  At first no one is found worthy to open the scroll or even look inside it (v2-3).  This causes John to weep and weep (v4). 

Why would John weep so much because no one could open the scroll?  Part of the reason I believe is because the scroll represents God’s will. 

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Revelation 4:1-11. Let’s go!

Revelation 4:1 (NIV)
1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”

On verse 1: After receiving messages from Jesus for seven churches in Asia (chapters 2-3), John, still in a posture of prayer, sees in front of him a door open to heaven. The same trumpet-like voice he heard before – Jesus’ voice – invites him to come up to the door and He will show John “what must take place after this”. In other words, Jesus is about to show John things that will happen in the future.

Revelation 4:2-3 (NIV)
2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.
3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Revelation 3:14-22.  Let’s go!

Revelation 3:14 (NIV) 
14  “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.
 
On verse 14:  In His message to the church in Laodicea, we learn 3 things about Jesus:
 
– Jesus is the “Amen”.  What does Jesus mean when He calls Himself “the Amen”?  “Amen” carries the meaning of agreement, affirmation and certainty.  When Jesus calls Himself the “Amen”, it means that everything that Jesus is and everything that Jesus does affirms and agrees with who God is.  Jesus is the One who gives us certainty about who God is and what He is like.  If you want to know who God is and what He is like, look at Jesus.

– Jesus is the faithful and true witness, which we discussed when looking at Revelation 1:5.
 

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Revelation 3:7-13.  Let’s go!

On verses 7-13:  The church in Philadelphia was going through a similar trial as the church in Smyrna, which was persecution from a group that claimed to be Jews but were not.  Jesus calls this group of persecutors a bunch of liars (v9) and, as He did in Revelation 2:9, “a synagogue of Satan”.  To the suffering church in Philadelphia, Jesus expresses His love in several different ways:

1. Jesus tells them that “I know your deeds…I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and not denied my name” (v8).  Jesus expresses compassion for His church.

2. Jesus tells them, “See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut” (v8).  In other words, whereas the church in Philadelphia probably experienced many closed doors in the form of trials and persecution, Jesus tells them that He Himself holds a door open for them that no one can shut.