Friday, May 12, 2006

Good Morning   

 

-- See everyone on Sunday.  Remember that Sunday is Mother's Day. 

 

Today's Reading:    Revelation 11: 7:19   --  Barclay 81-83   (two sections)  

 

-- These two sections in Barclay wrap up Chapter 11.

 

-- In today's verses, we have two events -- (1) the death of the two witnesses and (2) the sounding of the seventh and final judgement.

 

-- again, the death of the two witnesses is something that we won't miss when it happens, because as John notes, everyone will be happy that they are gone, because of what they had to say.  The beast from the Abyss is the one is able to overcome them and kill them.  And while it might seem odd or unusual that their bodies would lie in the street for 3.5 days, we have some recent examples of behavior close to that -- remember in Iraq, the contractors in Fallujah who were captured and their bodies hung on the bridge in Fallujah?  And even further back, there have been outlaws in 1920's and 1930s -- such as John Dillinger --  that have been gunned down by police officers and their bodies lay in the street for a time and then later put on display before burial.  I think that during the Romanian revolution, Nicholai Ceasescu and his wife Elena were executed, and their bodies were left out for awhile and abused.

 

-- as Barclay notes, the symbolic nature of the witnesses' death and then resurrection and ascension into heaven 3.5 days later brings some of the survivors of the earthquake that befalls Jersusalem to God.  With the end of the story of the witnesses, John announces that the second woe is passed, but the third is coming soon.

 

-- the sounding of the seventh trumpet begins the third woe, though in our verses for today, nothing immediately bad happens.  In our reading, the sounding of the trumpet brings forth an initial hymn of praise and thanks to God, in celebration of the beginning of the reign of God and the kingdom of Heaven.  But more is to come.

 

Today's Scripture   

 

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

Hebrews 12:14

Today's prayer requests:     Our mothers 

Need to remember our mothers during this special weekend. 

Today's class member prayer:

Nicole McKinney  

Jay