BR-52 Chronological Bible Read (December 24-31)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Chronos! Well, this is it. The last note of the year. 

I have a comment, below, about Revelation. But in case you don’t read those, I can sum up the book with a quote from Rev 19:10 and 21:9: “Worship only God!”

 

The last KEY VERSE: “Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.” (‭‭1 John‬ ‭2:6‬)  

Wow. Just ... wow.

I hope you’ve had a good year and that you were blessed by spending some time in God’s word, albeit a bit differently that the usual. Even though we’re finishing, please let me know if you have a question I can address about scripture. I would love to hear from you at any time, and I would love to help.

Many Blessings,

Steve

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We’re reading The One Year Chronological Bible, New Living Translation (Tyndale). It’s best with your own copy. Or, paste in this link to the daily reading schedule:

http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/readingplan/oneyearchronologicalbiblereadingplan.pdf

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This week's highlights: 

John’s three letters: the first to “my dear children”; the second to “the chosen lady”; the third to “my dear friend.” Jude’s letter (“to all who are called by God the Father”). The book of God’s Revelation to the Apostle John (the fifth Bible piece penned by John the Apostle).

Comments: 

December 24th  —1st John 1:5—  says “God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.” This connects perfectly to Revelation which declares that in Heaven, because God is present: “there is no night there!”

December 24th  —1st John 4:5&6—  Better than any other verses I’ve read, these make clear the difficulty we face in this life getting others to understand.

 

December 25th  —1st John 5:21—  “Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.” That sounds like a tall order ... maybe even impossible on our own ... but it is achievable with the help of the Spirit.

December 26th  —Jude 1:24-25—  referred to as the Jude Doxology or the Jude Benediction, this has served as the source of many a hymn ... worth a re-read.

 

December 26th  —Revelation—  This is the last “book,” both in the Bible and in the chronology of the Bible story. The notes of mine that follow are just a scratch on the surface of the meaning(s) of this scripture. If it interests you, I recommend you consult some commentaries: there are many excellent ones out there. The central problem with understanding it is this: despite that fact that no one really knows, for a fact, the full meanings of this book, there are plenty of people who claim to. My advice: proceed with caution when anyone purports to, conclusively, know the meaning of the book.

December 26th  —Revelation 1:4, 11—  Revelation is a book of mysteries. Here is just one of them: who is the revelation for? The book/letter is addressed to the “Seven Churches of Asia” (They are all located in what is modern-day Turkey, on or not too far from a stretch of coastline shared by the Adriatic and Mediterranean Seas. Patmos, where the author lives in exile, is an island just off this coast.). Since there are no other specific addressees, it could be argued that this revelation given to John by God’s angel was for those churches, only. 

December 26th through 31st  —  Other mysteries of the book of Revelation include: what the symbols mean, when the predicted events will take place (or if they already have, or if some of them already have), whether it is an accurate description of the heavenly realm, who are the people described, how much of this can we take at face value, etc.? While plenty of people have reached conclusions about these things, there remains zero consensus.

A FINAL NOTE ABOUT REVELATION

If you want to pursue Revelation, further, let me know and we can carry on a side discussion. I can recommend some books to read if you want.

Blessings to you all,

Steve