August 30, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Wise and Wicked / Special and Common

Matthew 28:18-20 – New International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission

¹⁸ “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Wise and Wicked / Special and Common

Matthew 24:45-51 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴⁵ “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. ⁴⁷ Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ ⁴⁹ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. ⁵⁰ The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. ⁵¹ He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

What has the master put the wise servant in charge of (verse 45)?

When will it be “good for that servant” (verse 46)?

How will that servant be rewarded (verse 47)?

What does the wicked servant say to himself (verse 48)?

In your opinion, why would the wicked servant “beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards” (verse 49)?

When will the master come home (verse 50)?

How will the wicked servant be treated (verse 51)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

1 Kings 19:9-18 - New International Version (NIV)

⁹ “There he went into a cave and spent the night.

And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

¹⁰ He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

¹¹ The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

¹⁴ He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

¹⁵ The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. ¹⁶ Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. ¹⁷ Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. ¹⁸ Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”

Where was Elijah when the “word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah”” (verse 9)?

How has Elijah been “for the Lord God Almighty” (verse 10)?

What have the Israelites done (verse 10)?

In your opinion, why does Elijah feel that he is “the only one left” (verse 10)?

Where is Elijah to go (verse 11)?

Was the Lord in the “great and powerful wind” (verse 11)?

Was the Lord in the earthquake (verse 11)?

Was the Lord in the fire (verse 12)?

In your opinion, what can we learn from the fact that the Lord was in the “gentle whisper” and not the powerful wind, the earthquake or the fire (verse 12)?

How did Elijah respond to the gentle whisper (verse 13)?

In your opinion, why does the Lord ask the same question, and Elijah give the same response (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why did God instruct Elijah to anoint the three different people to the three different positions (verses 15, 16 and 17)?

How did God reassure Elijah that he was not “the only one left” (verse 18)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does the statement of Elijah “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” in 1 Kings 19:9-18 show us about what the faithful servant of Matthew 24:45-51 (or faithful servants of today) might feel?

James 4:4-10 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴ “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? ⁶ But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”

⁷ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

What does friendship with the world mean (verse 4)?

Who becomes an enemy of God (verse 4)?

How does God long for the spirit He has caused to dwell in us (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what does James want us to learn from the quote “God opposes the proud, but shows favor to the humble” (verse 6)?

How should we respond to God (verse 7)?

How should we respond to the devil (verse 7)?

What happens if we “come near to God” (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what does James mean when he says “wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (verse 8)?

What should laughter be changed to (verse 9)?

How will God treat us if we humble ourselves before Him (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does Elijah’s situation in 1 Kings 19:9-18 illustrate the enmity between God and the world that James wrote about in James 4:4-10?

In your opinion, how do the actions of the two servants that Jesus talked about in Matthew 24:45-51 provide an illustration for the James’s discussion proud and the humble in James 4:4-10?

2 Timothy 2:20-26 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁰ “In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. ²¹ Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.

²² Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. ²³ Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. ²⁴ And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. ²⁵ Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶ and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.”

What kind of articles are there in a large house (verse 20)?

How are the purposes of the articles different (verse 20)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says “those who cleanse themselves from the latter” (verse 21)?

What will those who “cleanse themselves from the latter” and are “instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master” be prepared to do (verse 21)?

How should we react to the “evil desires of youth” (verse 22)?

What should we pursue “along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (verse 22)?

Why shouldn’t we have anything to do with “foolish and stupid arguments” (verse 23)?

In your opinion, why should the “Lord’s servant” not be quarrelsome but “be kind to everyone” (verse 24)?

Why should opponents be “gently instructed” (verse 25)?

What does Paul tell Timothy that opponents need to “come to their senses and escape” from (verse 26)?

In your opinion, why does Paul tell Timothy that opponents have been taken “captive to do his will” (verse 26)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how can both James and Paul be right when James says that “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble” in James 4:4-10 while Paul in 2 Timothy 2:20-26 says that those who cleanse themselves from “common use” will be instruments of gold and silver used for special purposes?

In your opinion, what can the seven thousand in 1 Kings 19:9-18 that God had in reserve in Israel “whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him” show us about fleeing “the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart” as Paul instructs Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:20-26?

In your opinion, what can the wise servant and the wicked servant that Jesus talks about in Matthew 24:45-51 help us to understand about the “articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use” of 2 Timothy 2:20-26?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from Matthew, 1 Kings, James and 2 Timothy show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 25:1 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

August 23, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – The Day of the Lord

  

Matthew 28:18-20 – New International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission

¹⁸ “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The Day of the Lord

Matthew 24:36-44 – New International Version (NIV)

³⁶ “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³⁷ As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹ and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

⁴² “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. ⁴³ But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

Who knows the day or hour (verse 36)?

How will it be “at the coming of the Son of Man” (verse 37)?

What were people doing “up to the day Noah entered the ark” (verse 38)?

In your opinion, how could the people know “nothing about what would happen until the flood came” when the ark was being built in the midst of them (verse 39)?

At the coming of the Son of Man what will happen to the two men in the field (verse 40)?

At the coming of the Son of Man what will happen to the two women grinding with a hand mill (verse 41)?

Why should we keep watch (verse 42)?

What would the owner of the house have done if he knew what time of night the thief was coming (verse 43)?

When will the Son of Man come (verse 44)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

Amos 5:18-24 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ “Woe to you who long
    for the day of the Lord!
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?
    That day will be darkness, not light.
¹⁹ It will be as though a man fled from a lion
    only to meet a bear,
as though he entered his house
    and rested his hand on the wall
    only to have a snake bite him.
²⁰ Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light—
    pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?

²¹ “I hate, I despise your religious festivals;
    your assemblies are a stench to me.
²² Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
    I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
    I will have no regard for them.
²³ Away with the noise of your songs!
    I will not listen to the music of your harps.
²⁴ But let justice roll on like a river,
    righteousness like a never-failing stream!”

Who does Amos “woe” (verse 18)?

What does Amos say about that day (verse 18)?

In your opinion, how would you feel if you fled from a lion and met a bear (verse 19)?

In your opinion, what is distressing about the man who entered his house and rested his hand on the wall “only to have a snake bite him” (verse 19)?

How is the darkness of the “day of the Lord” described (verse 20)?

How does God feel about the religious festivals of the Israelites that Amos is writing to (verse 21)?

How will God respond if the Israelites bring “choice fellowship offerings” (verse 22)?

How will God respond to the music of the Israelites harps (verse 23)?

What should justice do (verse 24)?

What should righteousness be like (verse 24)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does Amos warning to the Israelites that their comfort in their religion brings “woe” to them in Amos 5:18-24 change our understanding of the warning of Jesus in Matthew 24:36-44 that “as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man”?

2 Peter 2:4-11 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴ “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; ⁵ if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; ⁶ if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; ⁷ and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless ⁸ (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— ⁹ if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. ¹⁰ This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority.

Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; ¹¹ yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from the Lord. ¹² But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish.”

Who did God not spare when they sinned (verse 4)?

Who did God bring the flood on in “the ancient world” (verse 5)?

What did God do for Noah, “a preacher of righteousness, and seven others” (verse 5)?

How did God condemn “the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah” (verse 6)?

How is Lot described (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why did Lot live in a place where he was “tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard” (verse 8)?

Who does the Lord know how to rescue (verse 9)?

What will the unrighteous be held for (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why is it wrong to “heap abuse on celestial beings” (verse 10)?

How are angels described (verse 11)?

In what matters do the unrighteous blaspheme (verse 12)?

How are the unrighteous like unreasoning animals (verse 12)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does Peter’s statement that “these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand” in 2 Peter 2:4-11 help us understand why the people who God refuses to accept anything from in Amos 5:18-24 could “long for the day of the Lord”?

In your opinion, how does Peter’s discussion of the protection of Noah and the rescue of Lot in 2 Peter 2:4-11 help us understand what Jesus meant when He said that “one will be taken and the other left” in Matthew 24:36-44?

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, ² for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³ While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

⁴ But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. ⁵ You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. ⁶ So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. ⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. ⁸ But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. ⁹ For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁰ He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. ¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

Who is Paul writing to (verse 1)?

Why does Paul say he does not need to write about the “times and dates” (verses 1 and 2)?

When will destruction come (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why does Paul use the illustration of “as labor pains on a pregnant woman” (verse 3)?

Why should the brothers and sisters not be surprised (verse 4)?

What are the brothers and sisters children of (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to be “asleep” (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to be “awake and sober” (verse 6)?

When do those who sleep, sleep, and those who get drunk, get drunk, (verse 7)?

What do we who are sober put on (verse 8)?

Who did not appoint us “to suffer wrath” (verse 9)?

How are we to “receive salvation” (verse 9)?

Why did Jesus die for us (verse 10)?

What are we to do (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does Peter talking about the protection of Noah and the rescue of Lot in 2 Peter 2:4-11 help us understand the way that God can carry through on the promise of Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 when he says “God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ”?

In your opinion, how does the promise of Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 that “God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” bring us comfort as we read the statement of God in Amos 5:18-24, “Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord!”?

In your opinion, how does Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 with his instruction to “encourage one another and build each other up” help us understand how Jesus wants us as the community of believers to “be ready” in Matthew 24:36-44?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from Matthew, Amos, 2 Peter and 1 Thessalonians show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 24:45 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

August 16, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Words

Matthew 28:18-20 – New International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission

¹⁸ “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Words

Matthew 24:32-35 – New International Version (NIV)

³² “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. ³³ Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. ³⁴ Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”

What are we to learn a lesson from (verse 32)?

How do we tell that summer is near (verse 32)?

In your opinion, what will we know is near when we “see all these things” (verse 33)?

What will not pass away until all these things have happened (verse 34)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean when He says “heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (verse 35)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

Isaiah 55:6-11 - New International Version (NIV)

⁶ “Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call on him while he is near.
⁷ Let the wicked forsake their ways
    and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
    and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

⁸ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.
¹⁰ As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

When are we to seek the Lord (verse 6)?

Who will the Lord have mercy on (verse 7)?

What does the Lord declare is different from us (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what does God mean when He says “as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts that your thoughts” (verse 9)?

What does the rain and snow do before returning to heaven (verse 10)?

How is God’s word like the rain and snow (verses 10 and 11)?

What will God’s word not do (verse 11)?

What will God’s word accomplish (verse 11)?

What will God’s word achieve (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does God’s promise in Isaiah 55:6-11 that His word “will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” amplify the statement of Jesus in Matthew 24:32-35 that “heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away”?

2 Peter 3:1-7 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. ² I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.

³ Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. ⁴ They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” ⁵ But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. ⁶ By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. ⁷ By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.”

Why has Peter written two letters (verse 1)?

What does Peter want the reader to recall (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why does Peter want the reader to understand “that in the last days scoffers will come” (verse 3)?

What will the scoffers follow (verse 3)?

What statement will the scoffers use to ridicule “this ‘coming’ he promised” (verse 4)?

How do the scoffers “forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water” (verse 5)?

What was “deluged and destroyed” “by these waters” (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why does Peter say that “the same word” that caused the heavens to come into being and the earth to be formed out water and by water now has reserved “the present heavens and earth” for fire (verses 6 and 7)?

What are “the present heavens and earth” being kept for (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does Peter’s reminder that “by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water” in 2 Peter 3:1-7 when combined by God’s promise in Isaiah 55:6-11 that the word that goes out from His mouth “will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” add force to Peter’s statement that “by the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly”?

In your opinion, what can we understand when we consider that Jesus said in Matthew 24:32-35 that “when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door” and that Peter in 2 Peter 3:1-7 said “above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires”?

Revelation 1:1-8 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, ² who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. ³ Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

⁴ John,

To the seven churches in the province of Asia:

Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, ⁶ and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

⁷ “Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
    and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
    and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Why did God give Jesus Christ this revelation (verse 1)?

What does John testify to (verse 2)?

Who is blessed (verse 3)?

Why are they blessed (verse 3)?

In your opinion, who is “him who is, and who was, and who is to come” (verse 4)?

How is Jesus Christ described (verse 5)?

In your opinion, who is “him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood” (verse 4)?

Why are we made into “a kingdom and priests” (verse 6)?

Who will see Jesus when He comes “with the clouds” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why will “all people on earth” “mourn because of him” (verse 7)?

How does God describe himself (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what is the relationship between God’s word that Peter talks about in 2 Peter 3:1-7 and the “word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ” that John is to reveal according to Revelation 1:1-8?

In Isaiah 55:6-11 God promises that “my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty”, in your opinion, what are the “words of this prophecy” from Revelation 1:1-8 and the rest of Revelation supposed to accomplish?

In your opinion, how reassuring is it that the “One” John says in Revelation1:1-8 “who loves us and has freed us of our sins by his blood” is the “One” who in Matthew 24:32-35 says “heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away”?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from Matthew, Isaiah, 2 Peter and Revelation show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 24:36 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)