Prayer ~ Lord, please give me wisdom to understand all
the visions that John had…and the significance and chronology of the events.
Then I witnessed in heaven an event of great
significance. I saw a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her
feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant, and she cried
out because of her labor pains and the agony of giving birth. Then I witnessed
in heaven another significant event. I saw a large red dragon with seven heads
and ten horns, with seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept away one-third of
the stars in the sky, and he threw them to the earth. He stood in front of the
woman as she was about to give birth, ready to devour her baby as soon as it
was born. She gave birth to a son who was to rule all nations with an iron rod.
And her child was snatched away from the dragon and was caught up to God and to
his throne. Revelation 12:1-5
Is the story and the visions of John in the Book of
Revelation in chronological order? When and where do things happen? This story
is interwoven at different times and places, both on earth and in heaven. It is
like a three-D chess game or several interlocking puzzles. Toss up all the facts
and chapters up in the air and see where the story falls out. Here, way back in
Chapter 12 we see the rapture of believers, those faithful followers of Christ,
for which so many of us are longing. Did you expect to see the rapture earlier?
We’d like it to happen today or tomorrow—but we have to wait for God’s timing.
Will it happen on one of His Feast Days? Who knows? We do know that Jesus told
us to be ready.
The “woman” in this passage above is foretold to represent the
nation of Israel and the birth of the male child is all the Christian believers—according
to Matthew Henry and other commentators. The male child was rescued from the dragon
by being caught up—the Greek word “harpazo” meaning to snatch out or catch away.
I like that idea of rescued in a rapture. There was about to be a war between Michael
and God’s angels and the dragon and his angels—and the Christians were spared
from being taken captive by the dragon and being in that war. Protected by God
Himself as He brought His adopted children up to Heaven.
John calls this an event of great significance. Could
it be “significant” because it is the culmination of that resentment that God
predicted way back in the Garden of Eden?
Then the LORD God
asked the woman, "What have you done?" "The serpent deceived
me," she replied. "That's why I ate it." Then the LORD God said
to the serpent, "Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all
animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust
as long as you live. And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and
between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you
will strike his heel." Genesis 3:13-15
The serpent and a pomegranate fruit...
used to tempt Eve and Adam.
Was it really an apple...or other fruit?
No matter--a curse resulted.
What have you done? God asked Eve…and listen closely as He
may be asking you the same thing. It is by the very grace of God that no matter
what we’ve done—we can be forgiven, if we repent of our mistakes…our sin.
Personally, I find that I seek God’s forgiveness and approval regularly. My
relationship with God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is important to me—the guiding
light of my days and nights. I look forward to the day when He snatches me up!
Verse of Salvation ~ While Jesus was here on earth, he
offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could
rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence
for God. Even though Jesus was God's Son, he learned obedience from the things
he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he
became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. Hebrews
5:7-9
Friday’s Feast at the King’s Table
How refreshing is a cool salad on a hot day? Very
satisfying. The best is a nice fruit salad and the best place—other than your
own farm or garden—to get these fresh fruits is the local farmer’s market. Our grandson,
Isaac, was with us last Sunday when we stopped at the local Farmer’s Market
near our church. It is only open 10 AM to 2 PM on Sundays. Great place to pick
up some melons from Hermiston, Oregon. So, Isaac picked a watermelon that had a
huge yellow area—actually almost half of the black mambo watermelon. He thumped
it. Nice hollow sound. Yep. That was the one for us. Sure enough it was sweet
and tasty!
Combine some watermelon with cantaloupe, honeydew,
blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and you’ll have a perfectly refreshing
salad—especially if it is particularly hot outside. Top it with some feta
cheese to add a protein that will keep you satiated for hours. Enjoy!
© 2023 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights
reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
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