Monday, June 5, 2006

Good Morning  

 

Aren't we just all over this Revelation and apocalypse talk in the media that has been stirred up by 6/6/06 date?

 

Couple of web sites that have been noted in the latest press:

 

www.raptureready.com

 

http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/666.htm  -- some fun stuff at the top -- more serious academic stuff at the bottom of the page.

 

Today's Reading:    Revelation 13:11-17, Barclay 111-113 (two sections, stop at The Number of the Beast -- we'll cover that section on -- how odd -- on 6/6/06)

 

-- Continuing on with Barclay's approach that this second beast represents the vast governmental infrastructure of the Roman Empire.

 

-- some interesting thoughts about this passage from the commentary from my NIV bible.

 

-- one is the fact that the first beast came from the sea, while the second beast came from the earth -- just an interesting tidbit.  The second beast is later identified as the false prophet, and in a sense, he is a counterpart of the Holy Spirit. 

 

-- The miracles that the second beast performs are somewhat of a reminder of the miracles that Pharoah's priests performed to mock and mimic Moses's miracles, in that they were miracles intended to deceive.  I guess that the warning here for us is that miracles alone should not lead us, we need to see the whole picture.

 

-- The mark of the Beast that everyone will need to have is a parallel to the seal that God places on his believers to protect them from his wrath.  In a sense, Satan is marking his people/his believers so that he can protect them (so to speak) from the persecution is going to inflict on God's people.

 

-- again, consistent with Barclay's take on this section, citizens during the time of the Roman Empire received a mark to acknowledge their worship of Caesar, so this is entirely consistent with his take on this section.

 

Today's Scripture   

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith..

Ephesians 3:16-17a

Today's prayer requests:     Our bosses

Need to pray for those who lead us at work -- the managers, owners, etc. that we work for.  We need to pray that they lead in a manner that is consistent with our faith, and that they do the right things for the right reasons

Today's class member prayer: 

Michelle Ray 

 

Jay