Daily Inspirations

  Good morning. If anyone is destined (it is in italics, meaning that it is not literally in the Greek) for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints. This is a quote from Jeremiah, which does not have the italics. Then I saw another beast (later called the false prophet) coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. He tries to appear harmless, but instead is extremely wicked. Remember Jesus warned of those in sheep’s clothing that inside were ravenous wolves. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. Father help us to continue to look to You for guidance and our salvation.

  Good morning. There was given to him (the beast) a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for 42 months (there’s that 3 1/2 years again) was given to him. He had no power or authority on his own. It was also given to him to make war with the saints (there are believers on earth at this point in the tribulation)  and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. There are two ways to translate the following verse. All who dwell on earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. This way of translating it says that their name was never written in the book. The other way says that it was the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world. In chapter 17, only the first circumstance is mentioned. Father thank You that our names have been written from the foundation of the world in the book of ...

  Good morning. I saw one of his (the beast’s) heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast. Of course a person doesn’t have seven heads; so is the beast not a person, but an entity having seven individuals, or perhaps countries? Whether it was an individual or even a country that had a “fatal wound“, and then came back, it would garner great attention from the world. They worshipped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshipped the beast saying, “who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him”? The beast takes away the attention of the world from the dragon so that he can create havoc without being villainized. Father help us to follow You and Your Word so that we will not be deceived by the world or the enemy.

  Good morning. And the dragon stood on the sand of the sea shore (remember he was cast out of heaven). I saw a beast (he is going to kill the two witnesses we read about earlier; so in that sense it is going back over some of the same timeframe.) coming up out of the sea, having 10 horns and seven heads, and on his horns were 10 diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. [My Bible says that some speculated that the beast represents the Roman empire.] And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion (these animal characteristics are reminiscent of Daniel’s four beasts). And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. Father help Your people to stay united no matter what may come against Your kingdom.

  Good morning. And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. (Is this literal?) But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth (like in the days of Moses) and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth. And just like we would be if someone thwarted our revenge: so the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children (since he is no longer in heaven), who keep the Commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus (so they are believers on earth at or near the end of the tribulation). Perhaps these are the 144,000 we read about earlier. Next time we will meet the beast mentioned in chapter 11. Father direct our paths to follow after You and Your word.

  Good morning. For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time. Taking this strictly at face value: The devil is no longer in heaven, so those that are there are no longer harassed by him. Those on earth, however, are in for big trouble. It has to be right at the end because he only has a short time. And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman (Israel) who gave birth to the male child. But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time (symbolizing 3 1/2 years), from the presence of the serpent. Speculation has arisen about the two wings of the great eagle. Since the bald eagle is one of the symbols of the United States, it has been speculated that this represents the Unite...

  Good morning. A loud voice in heaven: now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses [My Bible says that Satan in Hebrew means accuser] them before our God day and night. This would seem to confirm that it is at or near the end of the tribulation; since today we are constantly being accused by him. He has been doing something like this since at least the time of Job. And they (who are “they“? Apparently it is the brethren who are being accused by the devil) overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. It is a lot easier to stay faithful when there is no penalty for doing it. It is a lot harder when death is your “reward“. Father help us to remain faithful to You even if it means our death.

  Good morning. And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. When does this war take place? It appears right after the 1260 days; so is it during or at the end of the tribulation? There is a lot more discussion about this situation that follows. [My Bible says that Michael was an archangel who defeats Satan in heavenly warfare. In Daniel he is the protector of Israel who will deliver her from tribulation in the last days.] If that part is true, it gives us an idea of when it will happen. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth and his angels were thrown down with him. There is a lot more that follows. Father thank You that You protect us from all the power of the enemy.

  Good morning. And the woman gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron (mentioned more than once in revelation); and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. This sounds like Jesus. So it would seem that this is not a continuation of where we were before, but rather going back to the cross. Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for 1260 days. There is no timeframe given between the child being caught up to God and the woman fleeing into the wilderness. So it could even have been 1000 years or more. Again, the 1260 days is 3 1/2 years. So is this half of the “seven years of the tribulation?“ The next part is lengthy, so we will wait till tomorrow. Father just like You prepared a place for the woman, so You also prepare a place of refuge for us in time of need.

  Good morning. As we said last time: Is the following a rehash of things that happened before, or something brand new? After all, last time it seemed like the end was at hand. A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars (could represent the 12 tribes of Israel); and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: a great red dragon (who will be identified shortly)  having seven heads and 10 horns (the beast will also have seven heads and 10 horns), and on his heads were seven diadems (usually reserved for royalty). And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth (again not literal stars). And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. Father keep us safe in Your arms.

  Good morning. After all that has happened, did the nations change their ways? “And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth”. Again, we are only halfway through and yet it says it’s time for judgment and reward. So does that mean what will follow shortly is just looking at everything that has happened already in a different way; or is it entirely new? And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm. So is that what happened to the ark of the covenant - that it is in heaven and has been for millennia? Or perhaps it was hidden somewhere and at that particular moment appeared in heaven. Tomorrow it will lo...

  Good morning. After the seven peals of thunder… Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth, and the sea, that there will be delay no longer, but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God [My Bible says that in apocalyptic thought mysteries were secrets preserved in heaven and revealed to the apocalyptist] is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets. It sounds like the end has come, but there’s a lot more to the book of Revelation. As we said yesterday, perhaps what the seven peals of thunder said would reveal when this would happen. There is a lot of speculation and debate today about when all these things will take place. It is not for us to know. Even the Son did not know; only the Father. If people knew, they might relax their guard and not be diligent unti...

Good morning. I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire; and he had in his hand a little book (scroll) which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land; and he cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars; and when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices. When the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven saying, “seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken and do not write them“. Why was John told to not write what they said? It is possible that it would have revealed something about the timing of what the angel was about to say, which we will see tomorrow. Father thank You that You love the reader and his/her family. Continue to go with them and bless them.

  Good morning. How about the 200 million person army? The horses and those who sat on them: the riders had breastplates the color of fire and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths proceed fire and smoke and brimstone. A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues. For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads, and with them they do harm. The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and ..., which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries [My Bible says this involved the mixing of various ingredients for magical purposes] nor of their immorality nor of their thefts. That’s pretty bad when after all of this, they still did not repent. For some people the more “punishment“ they receive, the more adamant they...

  Good morning. The sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “release the four angels who are bound at the great River Euphrates“ [My Bible says that it marked the boundary between Israel and her historic enemies to the east.]. And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year (this was not some haphazard timing. God knew from the beginning exactly when this would happen), were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind. The number of the armies of the Horsemen was 200 million; I heard the number of them. There has been a lot of speculation about from where these Horsemen came. People look at the nations of the world today, and try to figure out which ones would have an army that large. It may or may not have been exact. It could have just expressed an extremely large number like we would say today “a gazillion“. I “googled“ it, ...

  Good morning. The appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle; and on their heads appeared to be crowns like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions. They had breastplates like of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses running to battle. They have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is the power to hurt men for five months. These may seem strange, but we’ve already had the four living creatures full of eyes, having six wings. They have over them, the angel of the abyss; his name is Abaddon/Apollyon. The first woe is past; two woes are still coming after these things. Thanks for the warning, huh? By this time people will be singing the old song from the show Heehaw: “gloom despair and agony on me. If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all“. Father help us to keep our eyes off of the darkness around us, ...

  Good morning. Out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. (Kind of like Egypt with the grasshoppers). They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, not any green thing, nor any tree (normally these are the things that the locusts would be interested in), but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads (most likely the 144,000 - possibly the only believers left on earth). They were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months [My Bible says it is a limited period of time suggested by the lifecycle of the locust.]; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man. Add in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them. I guess the stings were so painful that they got to the point where they wished they were dead. We will see what the locusts looked like tomorrow. Father just like You will pro...

  Good morning. Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, “woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!“ The four that have sounded so far have been bad enough, and now we get a warning of the three that remain. They must be horrendous! Fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star (The seven stars at the beginning of revelation were the seven angels of the seven churches) from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him. [My Bible says that the bottomless pit was conceived of as the subterranean abode of demonic hordes.] He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit. Next time we will see what comes out of the pit. Father thank You that the bottomless pit is not for us, rather a glorious home in heaven.

  Good morning. Then the angel took the censer (The one that had the incense which was mixed with the prayers of the saints) and filled it with the fire of the altar, and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake. There’s a lot of this going on in revelation. And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them. The first sounded, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. The fraction 1/3 shows that it was significant, but not over the entire earth. The second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood, and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed. Again, a significant amount...

  Good morning. Looks like the half hour of silence was the calm before the storm. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God (are these the seven spirits/Spirits we heard about earlier?), and seven trumpets were given to them [My Bible says that in old testament times the trumpet served to announce important events and give signals in time of war. The seven trumpets of revelation announce a series of plagues more severe than the seven seals but not as completely devastating as the bowls that will come]. Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand. Father we ask that You add incense to our prayers that go up before You continually.

  Good morning. For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat. In today’s world, there are only a few places where that is true of believers, that they experience these things. Most have food and shelter. However, in the times to come, that might not be the case anymore. For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd (the Lamb will be their Shepherd), and will guide them to springs of the water of life (will be mentioned again at the end of Revelation); and God will wipe every tear from their eyes. After this interlude the Lamb is ready to break the seventh seal. When He broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour (not necessarily literally, but long enough to be obvious). Father thank You that whatever hardships we suf...

  Good morning. … Saying, “salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb”. And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God. “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever.“ Then one of the elders said to me, “these who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from“? “My Lord, you know“. In other words, I ain’t got a clue. These are the ones who came out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Note: you can’t come out of something unless you were in it. So, are these people who became Christians during the great tribulation, or were they already Christians when the great tribulation came? If the first, it would fit with the rapture. We’ll see more about them next time. Father thank You th...

  Good morning. And I heard the number of those who were sealed 144,000 sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel - 12,000 each but with a slight aberration. First, the tribe of Dan is missing. Remember at the end of the book of Genesis that Jacob took the two sons of Joseph to replace him. Joseph‘s son Manasseh is mentioned, but not Ephraim. So, were these the only believers alive at that time? If so, that could give credence to the rapture. Since they are from the tribes of Israel, they are Jewish believers. After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands. In other words, there were a bunch of people in heaven. Next time we will see what they were saying. Father thank You that no matter what happens, You are still in charge.

  Good morning. We have a pause in the breaking of the seals. After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth (North, south, east, west), holding back the four winds of the earth (Matthew 24:31 adds to “ four winds of the earth“ – from one end of the sky to the other. Mark 13 adds - from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven) so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads“. Next time we will find out more about these bond-servants. Father help this to be a turning point in the lives of the readers and their families.

  Good morning. Now He breaks the sixth seal: there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood (reminds you of the book of Joel); and the stars of the sky fell to the earth (of course it wasn’t really stars), as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. As the old song made famous by Jerry Lee Lewis says, “there’s a whole Lotta Shakin’ goin’ on“. Then all the great and small hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?“ All this, and we haven’t even come to the end of Judgement Day! (where is Arnold Schwarzenegger when you need him? H...

 Good morning. underneath the altar… there was given to each of them a white robe (symbol of blessedness and purity); and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number (the word “number“ is not in the Greek) of their fellow servants and the brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also. [My Bible says that Jewish thought held that God rules the world according to a predetermined time schedule, and that the end awaits the death of a certain number of the righteous.] If at this time the church has been “Raptured” as some say, this would mean that there were believers on the earth who had not been “raptured” and were yet to be killed. Would that mean they became believers during the tribulation? Remember we said yesterday that a lot of bad stuff has already happened, and if this is not the tribulation but merely “birth pangs“, then the tribulation was going to be unbelievably bad. Father help us to be patient until the...

  Good morning. Now we have the fourth seal and the fourth living creature: an ashen (describes the ashen appearance of the dead) horse and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth (is it geographical or number of people?), to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth. If it is number of people, does that mean that a fourth of the people still living were killed, or just affected by these things? When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar (the altar was where the old testament sacrifices were made) the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “how long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth“? This does not sound like they were all the people wh...

  Good morning. When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “come“. I looked, and a black (symbolizing famine) horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “a quart of wheat for a denarius, and 3 quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine“. After the war and bloodshed of the first two horses, it would seem reasonable that there would be famine in the world. [My Bible says that 1 quart of wheat would be enough for only one person. 3 quarts of the less nutritious barley would be barely enough for a small family.] A denarius was basically how much a common laborer made in an entire day. In other words, you would work all day and barely make enough to feed your family for that day. Father thank You that no matter what happens in the world whether it’s a war or famine, You will continually take care of us

  Good morning. Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a loud voice of thunder, “come“. I looked, and behold a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. [My Bible says the imagery of the four horsemen comes from Zechariah. The colors in Revelation correspond to the character of the rider; white symbolizes conquest.] The fact that he is carrying a bow seems to agree with that interpretation. When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “come“. And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him. [My Bible says that red symbolizes bloodshed and war]. Father help us to remember that no matter what happens we are safe in Your hands.

    Good morning. Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads and thousands, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing“. And every created thing (we are born not created) which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever”. Can I get an amen? And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen“. And the elders fell down and worshiped. All of this was because the Lamb was found worthy to open the book! Next time we will see what happens when the Lamb starts breaking the seals that sealed up the book. Father we agree with all of these that the Lamb is worthy! Help us to live our lives so that we are worthy of Him.

  Good morning. And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints (The book of Revelation is full of metaphors and things that have double meanings). Incense was used a lot in the worship of God. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests (KJV says kings and priests) to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.“ It cost a lot for Jesus to be found worthy to open the book. Father thank You that Jesus was/is worthy to open the book. Help us to also be found worthy as Your children.