Good Morning! My name is Chuck Lee and I was asked to give you a devotional thought from the book of Revelation, chapters 8-10.
KEY VERSE:
10:1 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire.
REFLECTIONS:
In Rev. 8:1 we see the opening of the seventh seal which begins the sounding of the seven trumpets. The first thing that we observe is the silence in heaven for about one half hour. I think as the multitudes in heaven saw what was opening before them they were awestruck. The trumpet judgments were so terrible that they were rendered dumb as the scene unfolded. I'm not sure of the significance, but the first trumpet which involved hail and fire, also happened in Exodus 9:23-23 in the land of Egypt in Moses’ time. In Moses’ day the waters of Egypt became blood which happened in the second trumpet. Trumpets three and four involved physically the souring of the water and dimming of the heavenly luminaries. Terrible visions are recounted by John as he describes the bottomless pit, locusts, and torment that mankind will be experiencing in the fifth trumpet’s sounding. Rev. 9:6 tells that the suffering will be so great that men will seek death. I remember the horrible suffering of the people after the planes flew into the World Trade Center towers. The heat was so intense that many people chose to jump to certain death instead of suffering the fire. Those who reject Christ as Savior won't have a chance to jump from the fires of eternal punishment. After seeing the death and destruction, Rev 9:21 tells us that the men who remained still did not repent after seeing all that happened. There is no hope for these.
The angel in Rev 10:1 is thought by most commentators to be Christ. His right foot was on the sea and left is on land which shows He has dominion over the land and sea, according to Matthew Henry. We do not see the picture of the lamb here but the powerful lion. At His first advent we see the sacrificial lamb. This time He is the conquering lion and master of all He created.
APPLICATION:
In seeing Christ in all of His splendor I am happy to bow before Him now voluntarily instead of being forced to bow before Him in judgment. His love compels me to worship Him.
Thank you for being a part of the 100 Day Challenge. Thanks for reading, and you have a blessed day!
In Christ, Chuck
SAVED: age 10
FAVORITE BIBLE CHARACTER: Joseph
FAMILY: Married to Pat in 1968; 2 children, Dawna and Scott, and 4 granddaughters
OCCUPATION: Retired
HOBBIES: Woodworking
FAVORITE BOOK IN BIBLE: I John and Ephesians
MINISTRY INVOLVEMENT AT VBC: Treasurer