Daily Devotional, Year 2 – AUGUST 30 (Revelation 9, Part 3: “The Three Woes!”)
By admin On February 2nd, 2021.
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Daily Devotional, Year 2 – AUGUST 30
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Revelation 9,
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Part 3:
“The Three Woes!”
To read Part 1, click here… October 6th (Revelation 9: Locusts)
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What most Christians are not aware of, is that the Book of Revelation is all about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s why it is titled, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ”. Revelation 1:1
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And why is there so much confusion about Revelation?
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Well, the problem is, like so much of the Bible, Revelation is written in types and symbols and shadows. And Satan (working through unconsecrated, worldly-minded Bible teachers) has successfully locked them out!
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John on Patmos – Wikigallery – US Public Domain
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THE GOSPEL IN TYPES & SYMBOLS
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The great problem is that much of “evangelicalism” insists upon pushing this devilish hermeneutic which prevents Christians from spiritualizing away all the types and symbols found in Revelation.
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Thus, the Christian world, to a great extent, cannot discover the true spiritual meaning, rendering the vast majority of churchgoers helpless and unable to discover that Revelation is merely the Gospel of Jesus Christ, howbeit veiled in Old Testament types, shadows, parables, allegories, and symbols.
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Whore – Babylon – Burgkmair – 1523 AD – Wikimedia – US Public Domain
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THREE WOES
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Now let’s explore another aspect of Revelation 9, concerning the three woes…
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Listen… “And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of Heaven,
saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth
by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels,
which are yet to sound!”
Revelation 8:13
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Now here in Chapter 8, the last verse, God speaks of three woes that come upon “the inhabiters of the earth”. And two of those woes are found in Revelation 9 and the third is unveiled in the subsequent chapters.
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Angel with trumpet – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
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THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST
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Now it is impossible to go into any length of detail about these things in a short devotional. But hopefully, this devotional will attempt to point the Reader in the right direction.
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And one very important truth to always bear in mind is found in the last chapter of Revelation…
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Listen…“I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches.” Revelation 22:16
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We must keep in mind that Revelation is primarily for the Church, more specifically for the churches.
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Audience hands – cropped & altered – Wikimedia – Universal Public Domain
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FLESHLY & EARTHY CHRISTIANS
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And so, when we come to a verse that says… “Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth”, we immediately assume that this is speaking only about the unsaved masses around the globe.
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But this is primarily speaking about “the inhabiters of the earth” in a spiritual sense: earthly and sensual Christians who have not yet fully crucified the “Old Man” within!
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Yes, it is first speaking about world-loving Christians…
“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God:
and if it first begin at us,
what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?”
1st Peter 4:17
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Oh yes, judgment will eventually come upon all mankind. But God’s judgment will first come upon His Elect and chosen ones, who have been sleeping the sleep of the drunken. And so, these two woes found in Revelation 9 are primarily for God’s own people.
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PS Krøyer – Hip hip hurra! Kunstnerfest på Skagen – 1888 – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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A WORLD-WIDE APPLICATION
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Certainly, the Christian persecution happening around the world, and the persecution of the Christian community, which is just beginning right here, affects the world at large.
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And so, there is a world-wide application to this verse which bleeds through in the description of these woes…
“Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth
by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels,
which are yet to sound!”
Revelation 8:13
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ISIL – Execution of man – September 2014 – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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THE 1ST WOE OF REVELATION 9
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The first woe produces a composite beast which comes out of the smokey abyss, and torments men five months. This composite beast is actually a picture of the various plagues which befall God’s unprepared servants: locusts, scorpions, women’s hair (the covering for Christ’s bride, the Church), horses (congregations), men’s faces (the unconverted who have not the face of Christ) and etc..
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This plague is designed to torment all those in God’s house who have yet to become purified from their worldly dross. That is why it is the fifth trumpet woe, “five” symbolizing the family, in this case, the family of God (the 5th Commandment).
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Likewise, being tormented for five months also speaks of God’s family in the sense of, as Job puts it, “So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.” Job 7:3.
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Job’s suffering was spoken of as “months”, because a month here symbolizes a long period of time to be afflicted. And “five” months symbolizes the “family” of God being afflicted.
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Job (oil on canvas) by Bonnat, Leon Joseph Florentin (1833-1922) – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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“And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them”
Revelation 9:6
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This above verse reveals an important concept which is reiterated in Job…
“Why died I not from the womb?
why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?…
For now should I have lain still and been quiet,
I should have slept: then had I been at rest…”
Job 3:11, 13
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Yes, Job desired physical death because of his intense sufferings. But even though God’s people may likewise desire (during times of suffering), to literally go to sleep in Jesus, a much grander and more glorious fulfillment is being presented here!
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You see, Job’s sufferings are a fantastic portrayal of what God’s beloved people have endured through the ages, as a result of the fiery trials which God uses as a means of purifying them…“But He knoweth the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold!” Job 23:10
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Yes, Job’s fiery trials are a portrait of why God allows His people to suffer…“when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold!”
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And so, those saints who are seeking death, are actually hoping to die-to-self, so that Christ can fully live in them and through them! This is what is meant by “when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” But though we would like to have a quick and immediate victory, nevertheless, spiritual death-to-self shall not come so quickly.
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Listen to Peter…“But the God of all grace,
who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus,
after that ye have suffered a while,
make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”
1st Peter 5:10
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And so, this coming tribulation will be painful, and yet will ultimately purify us, even as gold! And though we would like it to end quickly, nevertheless, God’s purifying process takes some time.
Munch – Det Syke Barn – 1896 – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
Goldkey (logo removed) – cropped photo – Wikipedia – Public Domain
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REVELATION ABOUT THE CHURCH GLORIFIED
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To say it concisely, this first composite beast of Revelation 9 deals with the tribulation and torment upon Christians throughout the history of the Church, but more specifically in these last days. God has always allowed Satan to sift Christians as wheat, for the ultimate purpose of purifying His people even as gold and silver are purified by fire…
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Listen… “And I will bring the third part (of My professed people) through the fire,
and will refine them as silver is refined,
and will try them as gold is tried:
they shall call on My name, and I will hear them:
I will say, It is My people:
and they shall say, The LORD is my God.”
Zechariah 13:9
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This above verse (and many similar passages) lays out the fundamental purpose for sending us through the fires of tribulation.
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And even though many teachers today only see Revelation’s great tribulation as judgment upon the world, by careful and prayerful comparing of spiritual things with spiritual, the Book of Revelation is discovered to be about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how He brings His people through great tribulation for the purpose of glorifying His Church who will in turn glorify His holy name!
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To read Part 4, click here…
AUGUST 31 (Revelation 9, Part 4: The Three Woes! Continued)
Revelation – www.pri.org/stories/2011-08-10/revelations-book-revelation – courtesy www.pre.org
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Give me a repentant heart that seeks Thy grace. Help me to see the spiritual message of the Bible…
Prayer at Day’s End – Angelus by Jean-François Millet – Wikipedia – Public Domain
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The Crown of Revelation 12: What Is “The Time of Jacob’s Trouble”?“ or you can also read…January 24th (The True Message of Revelation!)
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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THE END
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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN
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THE HOLY GHOST RIDER CONSTELLATION
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This newest Signs Of Heaven Constellation (Fall, 2013) is by far the faintest of constellations, but is a very incredible and awesome one in a number of ways (which this article will explain).
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It is primarily comprised of the Camelopardalis Constellation (head and upper back), plus about 5 stars from the Cassiopeia Constellation (his leg), plus some random stars. It appears as an outline of a rider. Only the back of his head is detailed. And his back and the back of his legs are also detailed. Both sides of his arm are visible, and his hand is gripping the horses mane, and that is detailed by three stars (which are also part of the horse’s mane). The rider is in a position vaguely similar to a race-horse jockey. The two brightest stars in this constellation, are from the Cassiopeia Constellation, and are part of his leg. All the rest of the stars are very faint, and must be viewed on a very starry night.
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The Holy-Ghost-Rider Constellation”
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TOMORROW:
AUGUST 31 (Revelation 9, Part 4: The Three Woes! Continued)
Revelation – www.pri.org/stories/2011-08-10/revelations-book-revelation – courtesy www.pre.org
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20+ MINUTE AUDIO JEREMIAH STUDY
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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.
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THIS IS STUDY #607 PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…
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Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.com – Public Domain
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