April 16, 2023 – John’s Writings – Reaction to God

Reacting to God

Isaiah 66:4-10 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴ so I also will choose harsh treatment for them
    and will bring on them what they dread.
For when I called, no one answered,
    when I spoke, no one listened.
They did evil in my sight
    and chose what displeases me.”

⁵ Hear the word of the Lord,
    you who tremble at his word:
“Your own people who hate you,
    and exclude you because of my name, have said,
‘Let the Lord be glorified,
    that we may see your joy!’
    Yet they will be put to shame.
⁶ Hear that uproar from the city,
    hear that noise from the temple!
It is the sound of the Lord
    repaying his enemies all they deserve.

⁷ “Before she goes into labor,
    she gives birth;
before the pains come upon her,
    she delivers a son.
⁸ Who has ever heard of such things?
    Who has ever seen things like this?
Can a country be born in a day
    or a nation be brought forth in a moment?
Yet no sooner is Zion in labor
    than she gives birth to her children.
⁹ Do I bring to the moment of birth
    and not give delivery?” says the Lord.
“Do I close up the womb
    when I bring to delivery?” says your God.
¹⁰ “Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her,
    all you who love her;
rejoice greatly with her,
    all you who mourn over her.

Who listened when the Lord spoke (verse 4)?

What did people do in the Lord’s sight (verse 4)?

Why do people hate those “who tremble at his word” (verse 5)?

What do people who hate those “who tremble at his word” say (verse 5)?

What is the uproar in the city and the noise in the temple (verse 6)?

What happens “before she goes into labor” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, “can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment” (verse 8)?

Who asks “do I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery” (verse 9)?

What are those who “mourn over” Jerusalem to do (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage show us about how people react to God?

John 19:25-30 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁵ Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” ²⁷ and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

²⁸ Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” ²⁹ A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. ³⁰ When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Who stood near the cross of Jesus (verse 25)?

What did Jesus say to His mother about “the disciple whom he loved” (verse 26)?

What did Jesus say to the disciple (verse 27)?

How did the disciple react (verse 27)?

When did Jesus say “I am thirsty” (verse 28)?

What did they soak the sponge in (verse 29)?

How did they get the sponge to Jesus’ lips (verse 29)?

What did Jesus say “when he had received the drink” (verse 30)?

What did Jesus give up (verse 30)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage show us about how people react to God?

In your opinion, how do you reconcile the “harsh treatment” that is promised in Isaiah 66:4-10 for those who do evil and displease God with the Son of God, who is God, hanging on the cross and giving up His spirit in John 19:25-30?

1 John 3:11-18 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. ¹² Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. ¹³ Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. ¹⁵ Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

¹⁶ This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? ¹⁸ Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

When did John’s readers hear the message “we should love one another” (verse 11)?

Who did Cain belong to (verse 12)?

Why did Cain murder his brother (verse 12)?

What should not surprise Christian “brothers and sisters” (verse 13)?

How can we “know that we have passed from death to life” (verse 14)?

Where does someone “who does not love” remain (verse 14)?

Who is a murderer (verse 15)?

How do we know what love is (verse 16)?

How should we love (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage show us about how people react to God?

In your opinion, who in Isaiah 66:4-10 is like Cain as he is revealed in 1 John 3:11-18?

In your opinion, how does what Jesus finished in John 19:25-30 help us understand the love that 1 John 3:11-18 tells us about?

Revelation 16:17-21 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!” ¹⁸ Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. ¹⁹ The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. ²⁰ Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. ²¹ From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, fell on people. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.

Where did the seventh angel pour out his bowl (verse 17)?

What did the loud voice “from the throne” say (verse 17)?

What did the pouring of the bowl cause (verse 18)?

What split into three parts (verse 19)?

Who got the “cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath” (verse 19)?

What did “every island” do (verse 20)?

How heavy were the huge hailstones that fell from the shy (verse 21)?

How did people respond to all of this (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage show us about how people react to God?

In your opinion, how does the “uproar from the city” in Isaiah 66:4-10 relate to the events of Revelation 16:17-21?

In your opinion, how is Jesus’s statement from the cross, “it is finished” in John 19:25-30 related to the loud voice from the throne in the temple that says “it is done” in Revelation 16:17-21?

In your opinion, how can you reconcile that the God 1 John 3:11-18 teaches us love by Jesus Christ laying His life down for us being the same God that has a cup filled with the wine of His wrath for Babylon the Great in Revelation 16:17-21? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, John, 1 John and Revelation help us understand about the complexity of God?

In your opinion, how should we, who have received God’s love, know He is the God of love who said “it is finished”, and of wrath who will say “it is done”, live in a world that choses Babylon the Great over Jesus Christ?

April 9, 2023 – John’s Writings – God’s Power – On or In

 

God’s Power - On or In

Ezekiel 39:1-8 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Son of man, prophesy against Gog and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshek and Tubal. ² I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north and send you against the mountains of Israel. ³ Then I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand. ⁴ On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals. ⁵ You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. ⁶ I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in safety in the coastlands, and they will know that I am the Lord.

⁷ “‘I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the Lord am the Holy One in Israel. ⁸ It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord. This is the day I have spoken of.

Who is against “Gog, chief prince of Meshek and Tubal” (verse 1)?

What will happen to Gog (verse 2)?

Where will Gog be sent (verse 2)?

In your opinion, what does it mean when God says “I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand” (verse 3)?

Where will Gog, the troops, and nations fall (verse 4)?

What will happen “in the open field” (verse 5)?

When will “they know that I am the Lord” (verse 6)?

What will God make known among the people of Israel (verse 7)?

Who declares that “it will surely take place” (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about what God can do?

John 10:22-30 - New International Version (NIV)

²² Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³ and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. ²⁴ The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

²⁵ Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, ²⁶ but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

What came in the winter (verse 22)?

Where was Jesus walking (verse 23)?

What did the Jews want Jesus to plainly tell them (verse 24)?

How did they react to what Jesus told them (verse 25)?

What testified about Jesus (verse 25)?

Why don’t they believe (verse 26)?

Who listens to Jesus’s voice (verse 27)?

What does Jesus give to those who follow Him (verse 28)?

Who can snatch those who follow Jesus from the Father’s hand (verse 29)?

Who is one (verse 30)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about what God can do?

In your opinion, how does the power of the Sovereign Lord to lead and destroy Gog in Ezekiel 39:1-8 compare with the power of Jesus in John 10:22-30 to grant eternal life?

1 John 3:7-10 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. ⁸ The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. ⁹ No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. ¹⁰ This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

What warning does John give his children of the faith (verse 7)?

Who is righteous (verse 7)?

Who is “of the devil” (verse 8)?

Why did the Son of God appear (verse 8)?

Who cannot “continue to sin” (verse 9)?

Who is “not God’s child” (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about what God can do?

In your opinion, what is the difference between doing what God wants you to, like Gog in Ezekiel 39:1-8, and doing what is right, as is commanded in 1 John 3:7-10?

In your opinion, how does Jesus in John 10:22-30 help us understand what 1 John 3:7-10 means when it says that “anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child”?

Revelation 16:12-16 – New International Version (NIV)

¹² The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. ¹³ Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. ¹⁴ They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.

¹⁵ “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.”

¹⁶ Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

Where did the sixth angel pour out his bowl (verse 12)?

Who did that prepare the way for (verse 12)?

Where did the “three impure spirits that looked like frogs” come from (verse 13)?

What did the “three impure spirits” do (verse 14)?

How does Jesus come (verse 15)?

Who is blessed (verse 15)?

Where were the kings gathered together (verse 16)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about what God can do?

In your opinion, how is God turning Gog around and dragging him to his destruction on the mountains and fields of Israel in Ezekiel 39:1-8 similar to what is happening in Revelation 16:12-16?  Do you think the final outcome will be different?

In your opinion, how is the promise of Jesus in John 10:22-30 that no one will be able to snatch away from Him those who follow Him reassure all who witness the demonic spirits performing signs and gathering kings in Revelation 16:12-16?

In your opinion, what does 1 John 3:7-10’s statement “the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” give comfort to those who are born of God as they witness the signs and powers and gathering of the kings at Armageddon in Revelation 16:12-16? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ezekiel, John, 1 John and Revelation teach us about where true power resides?

In your opinion, how can we move from being people who feel the power of God, like Gog, to being people given life through the power of God?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

April 2, 2023 – John’s Writings – Love, Accepted or Refused

Love, Accepted or Refused

Isaiah 52:3-10 - New International Version (NIV)

³ For this is what the Lord says:

“You were sold for nothing,
    and without money you will be redeemed.”

⁴ For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“At first my people went down to Egypt to live;
    lately, Assyria has oppressed them.

⁵ “And now what do I have here?” declares the Lord.

“For my people have been taken away for nothing,
    and those who rule them mock,”
declares the Lord.
“And all day long
    my name is constantly blasphemed.
⁶ Therefore my people will know my name;
    therefore in that day they will know
that it is I who foretold it.
    Yes, it is I.”

⁷ How beautiful on the mountains
    are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
    who bring good tidings,
    who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
    “Your God reigns!”
⁸ Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;
    together they shout for joy.
When the Lord returns to Zion,
    they will see it with their own eyes.
⁹ Burst into songs of joy together,
    you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people,
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰ The Lord will lay bare his holy arm
    in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth will see
    the salvation of our God.

What were the people of Israel and Judah sold for (verse 3)?

What will they be redeemed for (verse 3)?

In your opinion, how are Egypt and Assyria similar (verse 4)?

When is God’s name blasphemed (verse 5)?

Who will know God’s name (verse 6)?

Whose feet are “beautiful on the mountains” (verse 7)?

What will the watchmen see “with their own eyes” (verse 8)?

Why are the ruins of Jerusalem to “burst into songs of joy” (verse 6)?

Where will the “salvation of our God” be seen (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about listening to God’s voice?

John 10:11-18 - New International Version (NIV)

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.”

What is Jesus (verse 11)?

What does the good shepherd do (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why does this not say “lays down his life for his sheep” (verse 11)?

What does the wolf do (verse 12)?

Why does the hired man run away (verse 13)?

Who knows the shepherd (verse 14)?

What does the good shepherd do for the sheep (verse 15)?

How many flocks will there be (verse 16)?

What will Jesus do with His life (verse 17)?

Who takes Jesus life from Him (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about listening to God’s voice?

In your opinion, how is the salvation of God that Isaiah 52:3-10 talks about related to the laying down of His life Jesus is telling about in John 10:11-18?

1 John 3:1-6 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³ All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

⁴ Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. ⁵ But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. ⁶ No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

What is the result of the “great love the Father has lavished on us” (verse 1)?

Why does the world “not know us” (verse 1)?

What are we (verse 2)?

When will we be like Christ (verse 2)?

What do people who have “this hope in him” do (verse 3)?

Who “breaks the law” (verse 4)?

What is sin (verse 4)?

Why did Jesus appear (verse 5)?

How do people who live in Jesus change (verse 6)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about listening to God’s voice?

In your opinion, what does 1 John 3:1-6 help us understand about the redemption that Isaiah 52:3-10 says will happen “without money”?

In your opinion, how does John 10:11-18 help us understand about how amazingly great the love that 1 John 3:1-6 says that God has “lavished on us” is?

Revelation 16:8-11 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. ⁹ They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.

¹⁰ The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in agony ¹¹ and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.

What was the sun allowed to do when the fourth angel poured out his bowl (verse 8)?

How did the people who were “seared by the intense heat” respond to God (verse 9)?

What did the people refuse to do (verse 9)?

Where did the fifth angel pour out his bowl (verse 10)?

What happened when he poured out his bowl (verse 10)?

Why did people gnaw their tongues (verse 10)?

How did people respond to God (verse 11)?

What did people refuse to do (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about listening to God’s voice?

In your opinion, how are the people who were “sold for nothing” in Isaiah 52:3-10 similar to the people who “cursed the God of heaven” in Revelation 16:8-11?  How are the people who are redeemed in Isaiah 52:3-10 different from the people in Revelation?

In your opinion, how can the God who is the Shepherd and who lays down His life in John 10:11-18 be the same God who brings the plagues in Revelation 16:8-11?

In your opinion, why do those who are receiving the force of the plagues in Revelation 16:8-11 refuse to “see” and know the one that 1 John 3:1-6 says came to “take away our sins”? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, John, 1 John and Revelation help us understand about who Jesus loves enough to lay down His life for?

In your opinion, what is the difference between those who respond to Jesus’s voice by coming to Him and those who refuse to repent?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

March 26, 2023 – John’s Writings – I Am with You

I Am with You

Jeremiah 30:11-17 - New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ I am with you and will save you,’
    declares the Lord.
‘Though I completely destroy all the nations
    among which I scatter you,
    I will not completely destroy you.
I will discipline you but only in due measure;
    I will not let you go entirely unpunished.’

¹² “This is what the Lord says:

“‘Your wound is incurable,
    your injury beyond healing.
¹³ There is no one to plead your cause,
    no remedy for your sore,
    no healing for you.
¹⁴ All your allies have forgotten you;
    they care nothing for you.
I have struck you as an enemy would
    and punished you as would the cruel,
because your guilt is so great
    and your sins so many.
¹⁵ Why do you cry out over your wound,
    your pain that has no cure?
Because of your great guilt and many sins
    I have done these things to you.

¹⁶ “‘But all who devour you will be devoured;
    all your enemies will go into exile.
Those who plunder you will be plundered;
    all who make spoil of you I will despoil.
¹⁷ But I will restore you to health
    and heal your wounds,’
declares the Lord,
‘because you are called an outcast,
    Zion for whom no one cares.’

Where does the Lord declare that He is (verse 11)?

How will the Lord discipline Israel and Judah (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why does the Lord say “Your wound is incurable, your injury beyond healing” (verse 12)?

How many are there to plead for Israel and Judah (verse 13)?

Why has the Lord struck and punished Israel and Judah (verse 14)?

Why has the Lord done these things to Israel and Judah (verse 15)?

Who will be devoured (verse 16)?

Who will restore Israel and Judah (verse 17)?

Why will the Lord heal the wounds of Israel and Judah (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the compatibility of God’s people with the world?

John 10:1-5 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. ² The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”

Who is Jesus giving this message to (verse 1)?

What is “anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way” (verse 1)?

Who is the “shepherd of the sheep” (verse 2)?

What does the gatekeeper do for the “shepherd of the sheep” (verse 3)?

What do the sheep do for the “shepherd of the sheep” (verse 3)?

What does the “shepherd of the sheep” do (verse 3)?

Where does the “shepherd of the sheep go” (verse 4)?

Why do “his sheep” follow Him (verse 4)?

How will “his sheep” react to a stranger (verse 5)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the compatibility of God’s people with the world?

In your opinion, how does Jeremiah 30:11-17 help us understand the sheep pen that the shepherd in John 10:1-5 calls the sheep out of?

1 John 2:24-29 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁴ As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵ And this is what he promised us—eternal life.

²⁶ I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. ²⁷ As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

²⁸ And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.

²⁹ If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.

What are the “dear children” who John is writing to make sure remains in them (verse 24)?

If it remains in them, where will they remain (verse 24)?

What has God “promised us” (verse 25)?

What are people trying to do to the “dear children” (verse 26)?

Where does “the anointing you received from him” remain (verse 27)?

What does “his anointing” teach (verse 27)?

Since the anointing is real, where are the “dear children” to remain (verse 27)?

If we remain in Him what will we be like when He appears (verse 28)?

Who does what is right (verse 29)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the compatibility of God’s people with the world?

In your opinion, how is God’s promise to the scattered remnant of Israel and Judah that “I am with you and will save you” in Jeremiah 30:11-17 related to the instruction to believers in 1 John 2:24-29 to “see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father”?

In your opinion, how are the sheep recognizing the Shepherd’s voice and following Him in John 10:1-5 and the anointing believers have 1 John 2:24-29 similar?

Revelation 16:1-7 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.”

² The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly, festering sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

³ The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.

⁴ The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. ⁵ Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say:

“You are just in these judgments, O Holy One,
    you who are and who were;
⁶ for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets,
    and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”

⁷ And I heard the altar respond:

“Yes, Lord God Almighty,
    true and just are your judgments.”

What did “a loud voice from the temple” say to the seven angels (verse 1)?

Who did the “ugly, festering sores” break out on when the first angel poured out his bowl (verse 2)?

What died when the second angel poured out his bowl (verse 3)?

What turned to blood when the third angel poured out his bowl (verse 4)?

Who did the angel in charge of the waters say was “just in these judgments” (verse 5)?

What have the people being punished done to “your holy people and your prophets” (verse 6)?

How did the altar view God’s judgments (verse 7)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the compatibility of God’s people with the world?

In your opinion, how is the promise to the remnants of Israel and Judah that “all who devour you will be devoured” in Jeremiah 30:11-17 related to the pouring out of the bowls of wrath on the earth in Revelation 16:1-7?

In your opinion, what is the difference between the people who hear the voice of the Shepherd and are led out of the sheep pen in John 10:1-5 and the people who “ugly, festering sores broke out on” in Revelation 16:1-7?

In your opinion, how do the passages of 1 John 2:24-29 and Revelation 16:1-7 demonstrate the drastic differences between those holy people whose blood the world would shed and those of the world who would shed the blood of holy people? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Jeremiah, John, 1 John and Revelation help us understand about the dangers of the world for God’s people?

In your opinion, how is God’s promise that “I am with you and will save you” carried through each of these very different passages?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)