February 5, 2023 – John’s Writings – Sanctuary’s Gate

Sanctuary’s Gate

Ezekiel 37:15-28 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ The word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁶ “Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, ‘Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, ‘Belonging to Joseph (that is, to Ephraim) and all the Israelites associated with him.’ ¹⁷ Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand.

¹⁸ “When your people ask you, ‘Won’t you tell us what you mean by this?’ ¹⁹ say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph—which is in Ephraim’s hand—and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah’s stick. I will make them into a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.’ ²⁰ Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on ²¹ and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. ²² I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. ²³ They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

²⁴ “‘My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. ²⁵ They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever. ²⁶ I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. ²⁷ My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. ²⁸ Then the nations will know that I the Lord make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.’”

What was Ezekiel to write on the first stick of wood (verse 15)?

What was Ezekiel to write on the second stick of wood (verse 15)?

What was Ezekiel to do with the two sticks of wood (verse 16)?

How was Ezekiel to answer when the people ask “won’t you tell us what you mean by this” (verses 18 and 19)?

What is the Sovereign Lord going to do with the Israelites (verse 21)?

How many kings will the formerly two nations have (verse 22)?

What will the Sovereign Lord save them from (verse 23)?

What will the people be (verse 23)?

How many shepherds will they have (verse 24)?

Where will they live (verse 25)?

How long will the covenant of peace last (verse 26)?

Where will God’s dwelling place be (verse 27)?

What will the nations know (verse 28)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s sanctuary and our need for it?

John 10:7-18 - New International Version (NIV)

⁷ Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸ All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. ⁹ I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. ¹⁷ The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

How did Jesus describe Himself (verse 7)?

Who came before (verse 8)?

What will happen to those who enter through Jesus (verse 9)?

Why has Jesus come (verse 10)?

What does the “good shepherd” do (verse 11)?

What happens after the hired hand abandons the sheep (verse 12)?

Why does the man run away (verse 13)?

Who do the sheep know (verse 14)?

What does Jesus do for His sheep (verse 15)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean when He says “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen” (verse 16)?

How many flocks will there be (verse 16)?

Why does the Father love Jesus (verse 17)?

What authority does Jesus have (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s sanctuary and our need for it?

In your opinion, how are the two sticks of Ezekiel 37:15-28 different from the two flocks of John 10:7-18? 

1 John 5:5-13 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵ Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

⁶ This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. ⁷ For there are three that testify: ⁸ the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. ⁹ We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. ¹⁰ Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. ¹¹ And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹² Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

¹³ I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Who overcomes the world (verse 5)?

Who “came by water and blood” (verse 6)?

Who testifies (verse 6)?

What three are in agreement (verses 7 and 8)?

What is greater than “human testimony” (verse 9)?

Who “accepts this testimony” (verse 10)?

What is “the testimony” (verse 11)?

Who has life (verse 12)?

Why does John write (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s sanctuary and our need for it?

In your opinion, how is God promise to call all the dispersed descendants of Israel and Judah back “into their own land” in Ezekiel 37:15-28 related to 1 John 5:5-13’s promise that everyone “who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” has overcome the world?

In your opinion, what do both John 10:7-18 and 1 John 5:5-13 teach us about the importance of individual discernment?

Revelation 12:13-17 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. ¹⁴ The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. ¹⁵ Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. ¹⁶ But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. ¹⁷ Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.

What did the dragon do when he “saw that he had been hurled to the earth” (verse 13)?

Why was the woman “given the two wings of a great eagle” (verse 14)?

How long would the woman “be taken care of” (verse 15)?

Why did the serpent spew “water like a river” (verse 15)?

What did the earth do (verse 16)?

Who was the dragon’s next target (verse 17)?

How are the rest of the woman’s offspring described (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s sanctuary and our need for it?

In your opinion, how is the pursuit of the woman in Revelation 12:13-17 related to the covenant of peace promised to God’s people in Ezekiel 37:15-28?

In your opinion, what does Jesus’s discussion about the sheep who are in the pen and those who are not in John 10:7-18 help us understand about those who the dragon is pursuing and making war against in Revelation 12:13-17?

In your opinion, how does 1 John 5:5-13 reassure us about the outcome of the dragon’s war in Revelation 12:13-17 against “those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus”? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ezekiel, John, 1 John and Revelation teach us about the outcome of the confrontation of the Good Shepherd and the wolf/dragon?

In your opinion, how do these four very different big picture overviews help us understand about “Sanctuary’s Gate”?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

January 22, 2023 – John’s Writings – God’s Powerful Love

God’s Powerful Love

Daniel 7:15-28 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ “I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. ¹⁶ I approached one of those standing there and asked him the meaning of all this.

“So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things: ¹⁷ ‘The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth. ¹⁸ But the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’

¹⁹ “Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. ²⁰ I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully. ²¹ As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them, ²² until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.

²³ “He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. ²⁴ The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. ²⁵ He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.

²⁶ “‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. ²⁷ Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’

²⁸ “This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself.”

How did Daniel’s visions affect him (verse 15)?

What did Daniel do (verse 16)?

What are the “four great beasts” (verse 17)?

Who will “receive the kingdom and will possess it forever-yes, for ever and ever” (verse 18)?

How was the fourth beast “different from all the others” (verse 19)?

What horn “looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully” (verse 20)?

What was this horn doing (verse 21)?

When did this horn stop (verse 22)?

What will the fourth kingdom do (verse 23)?

Who is the “other horn” (verse 24)?

Who will be “delivered into” the other horn’s hands (verse 25)?

What will happen to the other horn’s power (verse 26)?

What will happen to the “sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven” (verse 27)?

How did Daniel react to this information (verse 28)?

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

In your opinion, where is God’s power demonstrated in this passage?

John 8:21-29 - New International Version (NIV)

²¹ Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”

²² This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”

²³ But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. ²⁴ I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”

²⁵ “Who are you?” they asked.

“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. ²⁶ “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”

²⁷ They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. ²⁸ So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. ²⁹ The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” 

Who was talking (verse 21)?

Where is He going (verse 21)?

What will happen to the listeners (verse 21)?

In your opinion, why did the Jews ask “will he kill himself” (verse 22)?

What is the difference between Jesus and the people listening to Him (verse 23)?

What will happen to the people who are listening if they “do not believe that I am he” (verse 24)?

How did Jesus answer the question “who are you” (verse 25)?

What does Jesus have much of (verse 26)?

Who was Jesus telling them about (verse 27)?

When will they know that Jesus has done nothing on His own (verse 28)?

What does Jesus always do (verse 29)?

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

In your opinion, where is God’s power demonstrated in this passage?

In your opinion, how is Jesus’s statement “if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins” in John 8:21-29 related to the kingdom that Daniel was told “the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever” in Daniel 7:15-28?

1 John 4:18-5:4 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. ²¹ And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

5 ¹ Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. ² This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. ³ In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, ⁴ for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

Where is there no fear (verse 18)?

What does perfect love do (verse 18)?

Why do we love (verse 19)?

Who is a liar (verse 20)?

What command have Christians been given (verse 21)?

Who is “born of God” (verse 1)?

How do we “know that we love the children of God” (verse 2)?

What is “love for God” (verse 3)?

Who overcomes the world (verse 4)?

What is “the victory that has overcome the world” (verse 5)?

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

In your opinion, where is God’s power demonstrated in this passage?

In your opinion, how is the promise from 1 John 4:18-5:4 that “everyone born of God overcomes the world” related to the transfer of power from Daniel 7:15-28 which says “the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High”?

In your opinion, where in John 8:21-29 do you gain understanding of what 1 John 4:18-5:4 means by “we love because he first loved us”?

Revelation 12:1-12 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. ² She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. ³ Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. ⁴ Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. ⁵ She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. ⁶ The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.

⁷ Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. ⁸ But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. ⁹ The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have come the salvation and the power
    and the kingdom of our God,
    and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
    who accuses them before our God day and night,
    has been hurled down.
¹¹ They triumphed over him
    by the blood of the Lamb
    and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
    as to shrink from death.
¹² Therefore rejoice, you heavens
    and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
    because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
    because he knows that his time is short.”

What was the “great sign” that appeared in heaven (verse 1)?

Why did the woman cry out (verse 2)?

What was the next sign that appeared in heaven (verse 3)?

Why did the dragon stand in front of the woman (verse 4)?

What happened to the child that was born (verse 5)?

Where did the woman flee to (verse 6)?

Where did war break out after the woman fled (verse 7)?

What did the dragon and his angels lose (verse 8)?

Where were the devil and his angels hurled (verse 9)?

Why did the loud voice from heaven say “now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah” (verse 10)?

How have “our brothers and sisters” triumphed (verses 10 and 11)?

Who should rejoice (verse 12)?

Why is there “woe to the earth and the sea” (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, where is God’s power demonstrated in this passage?

In your opinion, how is triumph in Daniel 7:15-28 different from the triumph of Revelation 12:1-9?  How is the battle of Daniel 7:15-28 similar to or different from the battle of Revelation 12:10-12?

In your opinion, how does Jesus in John 8:21-28 anticipate the crisis of Revelation 12:1-9?  How does He anticipate the triumph of Revelation 12:10-12?

In your opinion, how does 1 John 4:18-5:4 demonstrate that the people of the world can have victory in the cosmic battles portrayed in Revelation 12:1-12? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Daniel, John, 1 John and Revelation teach us about God’s power in the battle with Satan?

In your opinion, how can we move from being troubled like Daniel to fearless as described in 1 John?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

January 15, 2023 – John’s Writings – Putting the “Umph” in Triumph

Putting the “Umph” in Triumph

Ezekiel 37:1-14 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. ² He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. ³ He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵ This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. ⁶ I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

⁹ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

¹¹ Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ ¹² Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹³ Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. ¹⁴ I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”

What filled the valley that the “hand of the Lord” set Ezekiel in the middle of (verse 1)?

How did Ezekiel describe the bones in the valley (verse 2)?

How did Ezekiel answer the Lord’s question “son of man, can these bones live” (verse 3)?

What was Ezekiel to say to the bones (verse 4)?

How was the Lord going to give the bones life (verse 5)?

When will the bones know that God is the Lord (verse 6)?

What happened when Ezekiel prophesied (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that there were tendons, flesh and skin, but no breath (verse 8)?

What did Ezekiel prophesy to next (verse 9)?

What happened when Ezekiel “prophesied as he commanded me” (verse 10)?

Who did the bones represent (verse 11)?

What does the “Sovereign Lord” say (verse 12)?

When will the people of Israel know that God is Lord (verse 13)?

What will the Lord do that will cause them to live (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, what triumph of God is displayed in this passage?

John 7:37-43 - New International Version (NIV)

³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” ³⁹ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

⁴⁰ On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”

⁴¹ Others said, “He is the Messiah.”

Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? ⁴² Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” ⁴³ Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. 

Which day was the greatest of the festival (verse 37)?

What did Jesus say “in a loud voice” (verse 37)?

Who will have “rivers of living water” flowing from within (verse 38)?

What did the “rivers of living water” mean (verse 39)?

Why had the Spirit not been given yet (verse 39)?

What did some people say after “hearing his words” (verse 40)?

What did others say (verse 41)?

Why did “still others” doubt Jesus was the Messiah (verse 41)?

Where did the Scripture say the Messiah would come from (verse 42)?

Why were the people divided (verse 42)?

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

In your opinion, what triumph of God is displayed in this passage?

In your opinion, how are the dry bones in Ezekiel 37:1-14 and the people who believe in Jesus in John 7:37-43 similar?

1 John 4:7-17 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

¹³ This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. ¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ¹⁷ This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.

Where does love come from (verse 7)?

Who “has been born of God and knows God” (verse 7)?

What is God (verse 8)?

How did God express love for us (verse 9)?

How might we live (verse 9)?

What is love (verse 10)?

Why should we “love one another” (verse 11)?

When does God live in us (verse 12)?

How do we “we know that we live in him and he in us” (verse 13)?

Who does God live in (verse 15)?

What do we “rely on” (verse 16)?

Who are Christians like (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, what triumph of God is displayed in this passage?

In your opinion, how are God’s promise in Ezekiel 37:1-14 that “I will put my Spirit in you and you will live” and John’s statement in 1 John 4:7-17 that “This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit” related?

In your opinion, does the statement in 1 John 4:7-17 that “If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God” help us understand how to respond to Jesus’s invitation in John 7:37-17 “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink”?

Revelation 11:11-19 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ But after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. ¹² Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.

¹³ At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

¹⁴ The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon.

¹⁵ The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:

“The kingdom of the world has become
    the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah,
    and he will reign for ever and ever.”

¹⁶ And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, ¹⁷ saying:

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
    the One who is and who was,
because you have taken your great power
    and have begun to reign.
¹⁸ The nations were angry,
    and your wrath has come.
The time has come for judging the dead,
    and for rewarding your servants the prophets
and your people who revere your name,
    both great and small—
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”

¹⁹ Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm.

When did the breath of life enter them (verse 11)?

How did “those who saw them” respond when they “stood on their feet” (verse 11)?

What did their enemies do when they “went up to heaven in a cloud” (verse 12)?

How did the survivors respond to the severe earthquake (verse 13)?

What is coming soon (verse 14)?

What do the “loud voices in heaven” say after the second woe (verse 15)?

What do the “the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God” say that the Lord God Almighty has begun to do (verses 16 and 17)?

How did the nations respond (verse 18)?

Who will be judged (verse 18)?

Who will be rewarded (verse 18)?

What is opened (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, what triumph of God is displayed in this passage?

In your opinion, how is the breath from the four winds entering the dry bones and making them into a mighty army in Ezekiel 37:1-14 similar to “breath of life from God” entering the two witnesses in Revelation 11:11-19?

In your opinion, are the people who respond to Jesus’s invitation to “come to me and drink” in John 7:37-43 a part of the “the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah” proclaimed in Revelation 11:11-19?

In your opinion, how can the love that 1 John 4:7-17 proclaims help us understand what the “kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah” that Revelation 11:11-19 proclaims has come after the seventh trumpet sounds will be like? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ezekiel, John, 1 John and Revelation teach us about God’s ability to bring the victory of life and love into every circumstance of our lives?

In your opinion, how can our lives today be the “umph” in God’s triumph?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)