March 12, 2023 – John’s Writings – Mercy for those who See

Mercy for those who See

Hosea 6:4 – 7:1a - New International Version (NIV)

⁴ “What can I do with you, Ephraim?
    What can I do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist,
    like the early dew that disappears.
⁵ Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,
    I killed you with the words of my mouth—
    then my judgments go forth like the sun.
⁶ For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
    and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
⁷ As at Adam, they have broken the covenant;
    they were unfaithful to me there.
⁸ Gilead is a city of evildoers,
    stained with footprints of blood.
⁹ As marauders lie in ambush for a victim,
    so do bands of priests;
they murder on the road to Shechem,
    carrying out their wicked schemes.
¹⁰ I have seen a horrible thing in Israel:
    There Ephraim is given to prostitution,
    Israel is defiled.

¹¹ “Also for you, Judah,
    a harvest is appointed.

“Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people,

¹ whenever I would heal Israel,
the sins of Ephraim are exposed
    and the crimes of Samaria revealed.

What is the love of Ephraim and Judah like (verse 4)?

How did the Lord cut Ephraim and Judah in pieces (verse 5)?

What does the Lord desire instead of sacrifice (verse 6)?

How are Ephraim and Judah like Adam (verse 7)?

What is Gilead (verse 8)?

How are marauders and bands of priests similar (verse 9)?

What horrible things has the Lord seen in Israel (verse 10)?

What is appointed for Judah (verse 11)?

When are the sins of Ephraim exposed and the crimes of Samaria revealed (verses 11 and 1)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage show us about God’s mercy?

John 9:24-34 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁴ A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”

²⁵ He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

²⁶ Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

²⁷ He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”

²⁸ Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! ²⁹ We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”

³⁰ The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. ³¹ We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. ³² Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. ³³ If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”

³⁴ To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.

Who did the Pharisees summon a second time (verse 24)?

How did they want the man to “give glory to God” (verse 24)?

What did the Pharisees know (verse 24)?

What did the man know (verse 25)?

In your opinion, why did they ask the man “how did he open your eyes” (verse 26)?

What had the man told the Pharisees before (verse 27)?

Who did the Pharisees say they were disciples of (verse 28)?

What did the Pharisees know (verse 29)?

In your opinion, how does the man’s statement “we don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes” expose the Pharisees hypocrisy (verse 30)?

Who does the man say that God does not listen to (verse 31)?

Who does the man say that God does listen to (verse 31)?

What had no one “ever heard of” (verse 32)?

In your opinion, is the man’s statement that “if this man were not from God, he could do nothing” valid (verse 33)?

How did the Pharisees respond (verse 34)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage show us about God’s mercy?

In your opinion, how is God’s plea in Hosea:4-7:1a that mercy is desired instead of sacrifice demonstrated again in John 9:24-34?

1 John 2:7-14 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. ⁸ Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

⁹ Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. ¹⁰ Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. ¹¹ But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.

¹² I am writing to you, dear children,
    because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
¹³ I am writing to you, fathers,
    because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
    because you have overcome the evil one.

¹⁴ I write to you, dear children,
    because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
    because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
    because you are strong,
    and the word of God lives in you,
    and you have overcome the evil one.

Since when did John’s friends have the commandment that he is writing (verse 7)?

Why is the command new (verse 8)?

Who is in the darkness (verse 9)?

Who does not have anything “in them to make them stumble” (verse 10)?

Why do people who hate their brother or sister “not know where they are going” (verse 11)?

Whose sins are forgiven (verse 12)?

Who has “known him who is from the beginning” (verse 13)?

Who has “overcome the evil one” (verse 13)?

What do the “dear children” now know (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why has what the fathers know not changed (verse 14)?

What has changed for the young men (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage show us about God’s mercy?

In your opinion, how can God’s desire for mercy in Hosea 6:4-7:1a, which is replaced in 1 John 2:7-14 with the command to love, be not a new command but at the same time be a new command (as stated in the 1 John passage)?

In your opinion, what does 1 John 2:7-14 help us understand about why the Pharisees in John 9:24-34 threw out the man who had been born blind?

Revelation 14:14-20 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. ¹⁵ Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” ¹⁶ So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

¹⁷ Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. ¹⁸ Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” ¹⁹ The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. ²⁰ They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.

Where was the “one like a son of man” seated (verse 14)?

What was He wearing (verse 14)?

What was He holding (verse 14)?

Who called out to “him who was sitting on the cloud” (verse 15)?

What was called out (verse 15)?

In your opinion, who was harvested from the earth (verse 16)?

What did the angel who came from the temple have (verse 17)?

Who said “take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine” (verse 18)?

Where did the angel throw the grapes that were harvested (verse 19)?

What happened to the grapes (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage show us about God’s mercy?

In your opinion, how is the harvest of Judah that God has appointed in Hosea 6:4-7:1a related to the two harvests of Revelation 14:14-20?

In your opinion, which of the harvests of Revelation 14:14-20 do you think the man in John 9:24-34 who said “One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” will be taken away in?

In your opinion, what does 1 John 2:7-14 help us understand about those who are harvested by the one “seated on the cloud was one like a son of man with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand” in Revelation 14:14-20 and about those who are harvested by the “angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle” from the same passage? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Hosea, John, 1 John and Revelation teach us about how God reacts to a sinful people?

In your opinion, how do these four very different passages teach us about how to respond to a merciful God?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

March 5, 2023 – John’s Writings – God is Working

God is Working

Exodus 12:1-13 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, ² “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. ³ Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. ⁴ If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. ⁵ The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. ⁶ Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. ⁷ Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. ⁸ That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. ⁹ Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. ¹⁰ Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. ¹¹ This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.

¹² “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. ¹³ The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

Where were Moses and Aaron when God gave them the message (verse 1)?

In your opinion, why was this month “to be for you the first month, the first month of your year” (verse 2)?

What is each man to take on the tenth day of the month (verse 3)?

How is a household to respond if it is too small “for a whole lamb” (verse 4)?

Where will the lambs come from (verse 5)?

When will the lambs be slaughtered (verse 6)?

Where is the blood to be put (verse 7)?

What is to be eaten with the lamb (verse 8)?

How is the lamb to be prepared (verse 9)?

What is to happen to any meat that is left over (verse 10)?

How is the Lord’s Passover to be eaten (verse 11)?

What will happen when God passes through Egypt (verse 12)?

Who will the Lord bring judgment on (verse 12)?

What will happen when God sees the blood (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage display God working?

John 9:1-12 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

³ “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴ As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

⁶ After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ⁷ “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

⁸ His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” ⁹ Some claimed that he was.

Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”

But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”

¹⁰ “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.

¹¹ He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”

¹² “Where is this man?” they asked him.

“I don’t know,” he said.

What did Jesus see (verse 1)?

In your opinion, why would the disciples ask “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind (verse 2)?

Why was the man born blind (verse 3)?

When must Jesus and the disciples “do the works of him who sent me” (verse 4)?

When is Jesus “the light of the world” (verse 5)?

What did Jesus do (verse 6)?

What happened when the man “went and washed” (verse 7)?

Who asked “isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg” (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why would others say “no, he only looks like him” (verse 9)?

How did the man answer the question “how then were your eyes opened” (verses 10 & 11)?

How did the man answer the question “where is this man” (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage display God working?

In your opinion, how are the acts of putting the blood on the sides and top of the doorframes in Exodus 12:1-13 and  going to the pool to wash in John 9:1-12 similar?  How are the results of the two acts similar?

1 John 2:1-6 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. ² He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

³ We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. ⁴ Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. ⁵ But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: ⁶ Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

Why does John write (verse 1)?

Who is the “advocate with the Father” for the one who sins (verse 1)?

Who is Jesus “the atoning sacrifice” for (verse 2)?

What do we have to do “if we keep his commands” (verse 3)?

Who is a liar (verse 4)?

What happens to anyone who “obeys his word” (verse 5)?

How must the one who claims to live in Jesus live (verse 6)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage display God working?

In your opinion, how are the lambs that were sacrificed in Exodus 12:1-13 and the atoning sacrifice of 1 John 2:1-6 similar in what they accomplish?

In your opinion, how are the work of Jesus in returning sight to the blind man in John 9:1-12 and His work as the atoning sacrifice in 1 John 2:1-6 different? 

Revelation 14:6-13 – New International Version (NIV)

⁶ Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. ⁷ He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

⁸ A second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”

⁹ A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, ¹⁰ they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. ¹¹ And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” ¹² This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.

¹³ Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”

What did the “angel flying in midair” have to proclaim (verse 6)?

Who was it to be proclaimed to (verse 6)?

Why should we “fear God and give him glory” (verse 7)?

How is God described (verse 7)?

Who does the second angel say is fallen (verse 8)?

What had the one who had fallen made the nations drink (verse 8)?

What will the one who “worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand” drink (verses 9 and 10)?

How long will “the smoke of their torment” rise (verse 11)?

What does this call for “on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus” (verse 12)?

Who does the voice say is blessed (verse 13)?

What will they rest from (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage display God working?

In your opinion, how are the differences between the people of Israel and the people of Egypt in Exodus 12:1-13, similar to the differences between the people of God and the people who worship the beast and take its mark in Revelation 14:6-13?

In your opinion, how is the choice the man who had mud put on his eyes by Jesus made, to do what Jesus said or do something else, in John 9:1-12 the same choice as those who hear the “eternal gospel” in Revelation 14:6-13 have to make?

In your opinion, how does 1 John 2:1-6 proclaiming that Jesus is the advocate for those who sin help the people of God to have “patient endurance” in the circumstances of Revelation 14:6-13? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Exodus, John, 1 John and Revelation teach us about God’s judgment and how people are prepared to be passed over?

In your opinion, how, in the turmoil between those who follow God and those who reject God, can God display His work in us today?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

February 26, 2023 – John’s Writings – Fire and Light

Fire and Light

Daniel 3:19-28 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual ²⁰ and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. ²¹ So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. ²² The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, ²³ and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.

²⁴ Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”

They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”

²⁵ He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

²⁶ Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”

So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, ²⁷ and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.

²⁸ Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

Why did Nebuchadnezzar order “the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual” (verse 19)?

Who did Nebuchadnezzar order to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and then “throw them into the blazing furnace” (verse 20)?

What were Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego wearing when they were tied up and thrown into the furnace (verse 21)?

What happened to the soldiers who threw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into the furnace (verse 22)?

Where did Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego end up (verse 23)?

Who ask “weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire” (verse 24)?

What did the fourth man who was “walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed” look like (verse 25)?

In your opinion, why did King Nebuchadnezzar call Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego “servants of the Most High God” when he called for them to come out (verse 26)?

What did the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers see when they crowded around Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (verse 27)?

Who did King Nebuchadnezzar give praise to (verse 28)?

What choice had Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego made (verse 28)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about how we can be successful when the world is against us?

John 8:48-59 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴⁸ The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”

⁴⁹ “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. ⁵⁰ I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. ⁵¹ Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”

⁵² At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. ⁵³ Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

⁵⁴ Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. ⁵⁵ Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. ⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”

⁵⁷ “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”

⁵⁸ “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” ⁵⁹ At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

What did the Jews say about Jesus (verse 48)?

Who did Jesus say he honored (verse 49)?

Who did Jesus say the Jews dishonored (verse 49)?

In your opinion, who is the one who seeks glory for Jesus (verse 50)?

Who will “never see death” (verse 51)?

Why were the Jews convinced that Jesus was demon-possessed (verse 52)?

In your opinion, why would the question “who do you think you are” at this time be awkward for Jesus to answer (verse 53)?

How did Jesus answer the question (verse 54)?

Who did Jesus say that He knew and obeyed (verse 55)?

What had Abraham “rejoiced at the thought of” (verse 56)?

In your opinion, why did the Jews doubt that Jesus had seen Abraham (verse 57)?

When was Jesus (verse 58)?

What did the Jews do (verse 59)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about how we can be successful when the world is against us?

In your opinion, how are the roots of the conflict between Nebuchadnezzar and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Daniel 3:19-28 and the roots of the conflict between the Jews and Jesus in John 8:48-59 similar? 

In your opinion, how is the promise of Jesus that whoever obeys His word will never see death even more impressive than the salvation of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the fiery furnace?

1 John 1:1-10 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. ² The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. ³ We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. ⁴ We write this to make our joy complete.

⁵ This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

⁸ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

What does John “proclaim concerning the Word of life” (verse 1)?

Who did the life appear to (verse 2)?

Why does John proclaim “what we have seen and heard” (verse 3)?

What does John write (verse 4)?

What is the “message we have heard from him and declare to you” (verse 5)?

When do “we lie and do not live out the truth” (verse 6)?

What happens “if we walk in the light” (verse 7)?

When do “we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (verse 8)?

What happens when “we confess our sins” (verse 9)?

When is His word “not in us” (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about how we can be successful when the world is against us?

In your opinion, how is the message of John about Jesus in 1 John 1:1-10 even more powerful than the amazing witness of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Daniel 3:19-28?

In your opinion, how does John’s statement that “If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth” in 1 John 1:1-10 help us understand the Jews in John 8:48-59?  How does John continue in 1 John to show how the Jews, and anyone today, can escape from that lie?

Revelation 14:1-5 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. ² And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. ³ And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. ⁴ These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. ⁵ No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.

How does John see Jesus as He stands on Mount Zion (verse 1)?

What did the 144,000 with Jesus have on their foreheads (verse 1)?

Where did the sound “like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder” come from (verse 2)?

Even though the sound was loud, what did it sound like (verse 2)?

Who did they sing the new song to (verse 3)?

Who could learn the new song (verse 3)?

What is distinctive about the 144,000 (verse 4)?

Who do they follow (verse 4)?

Who were they purchased “from among” (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why are they “blameless” (verse 5)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about how we can be successful when the world is against us?

In your opinion, how are Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Daniel 3:19-28 like the 144,000 in Revelation 14:1-5?  How is the purchase of the 144,000 even more amazing than the salvation of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego?

In your opinion, how does John seeing the 144,000 standing with Jesus on Mount Zion in Revelation 14:1-5 validate Jesus’s promise in John 8:48-59 that “whoever obeys my word will never see death”?

In your opinion, how does John’s statement in 1 John 1:1-10 that “⁸ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” apply to the 144,000 of Revelation 14:1-5? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Daniel, John, 1 John and Revelation teach us about how we move from the darkness and fire of the world into salvation?

In your opinion, how is the challenge we face within ourselves to depend on God for our salvation similar to the struggle we face within ourselves to daily depend on God for success in our daily walk in the world?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)