Today’s Reading: Isaiah 9:6-7, Revelation 19:1-16, 1 Timothy 6:11-16 (English Standard Version)
Isaiah 9:6-7
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Revelation 19:1-16
1 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,2 for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.
3 Once more they cried out, Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.
4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, Amen. Hallelujah!5 And from the throne came a voice saying, Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.
6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready;8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure– for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
9 And the angel said to me, Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, These are the true words of God.10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
1 Timothy 6:11-16
11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession,14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,15 which he will display at the proper time–he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
Takeaways:
- The passage from Isaiah is one of my favorites and is such an incredible reminder of the fact that God’s promises always come to fruition.
- I love that the Bible ends with Revelation. We read all sorts of prophecy in the New Testament and are able to see God’s faithfulness revealed as all of that comes true in the New Testament. The New Testament ends with Revelation to give even more prophecy…because it’s not over yet. Jesus Christ will return for the church and we will be with Him!
- The passage from 1 Timothy is a road map that lists the things that I should be running hard after every day.
- God promises that He will be faithful…what more could we ever need or want?