#biblebriefly

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Day 360 / Merry Christmas, You Filthy Animals!

Rev. 1-3

1: This is the Revelation that God, by an angel, gave to John and it is the testimony of Jesus Christ Pretty soon now, the end will be upon us John writes this to the seven churches in Asia Minor, Grace and Peace to you in Jesus' name who died and came back and rules the world By his blood our sins were forgiven He will come in the clouds, and every eye will see Amen "I am the Alpha and the Omega... [I am] who is and who was and who is to come" says Jesus John was sent to/sent himself to Patmos because Rome didn't like his Christianity On Patmos, he heard a voice telling him to write down everything he sees and to send it to the following churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea John looked behind and saw seven lamps and in the middle was the son of man with his face bright like the son In his right hand were seven stars and in his mouth was a double-edged sword He says to not fear; he died, and lives forever and holds the key to Hades The seven stars are angels, he says, and the seven lamps the churches

2: To Ephesus, Jesus says: He likes their perseverance, and their rejection of false prophets They hate the Nicolaitians, and guess what, Jesus also hates them! What a coincidence! But he doesn't like how they've lost their faithfulness and love for one another They best shape up or their candlestick is going to get yeeted

To Smyrna, Jesus says: He knows of their poverty, and how they're branded as Romans by the Jews Be strong and faithful, and if they stand with him in death, he will give them a crown of life

To Pergamum, Jesus says: He knows of their works (he sees everything) and knows they're close by the throne of Satan But they held firm and didn't deny Christ in the face of persecution However, they did turn to the ways of Balaam and have accepted the Nicolatians How shameful Repent, or he will wage war with his mouth To him that overcomes, he will get manna and a big white rock

To Thyatira, Jesus says: He knows of their deeds, and they're good, but among them is a Jezebel She claims to be a prophetess, but leads her people astray with sexual immorality Jesus has given her a chance to repent, but she hasn't, so Jesus now has to kill her and her children for their sins That said, keep the faith and to those who overcome, they will get an iron rod with which to break the worldly nations

3: To Sardis, Jesus says: He knows their reputation for being alive, but they're kinda looking dead right now They better resurrect themselves or it's bad news, Jesus will come like a theif However, the few that walk with Jesus in Sardis will be arrayed in white beside him And he will confess their names and write them in the book of life

To Philadelphia, Jesus says: He's given them a door no one can shut, just maintain it They don't have a lot of power right now, but they've stayed faithful to Jesus through thick and thin The people telling lies about Philadelphian Christians have bad news in store Just keep the faith, and they will get God's name written on them

To Laodicea, Jesus says: They're just kind of bland and dissapointing Some of them are bragging about spiritual they are, but in reality their blind and fools He's knocking at the door, just let him in They might even get a chance to be sat beside his throne

Video Pt 1 and Video Pt 2 and Wiki and Apocalyptic Literature

Merry Christmas!!!!! That's it, that's all I have to say!

"For to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government shall be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6 WEB

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Day 142 / May 21

Ezra 4-7

4: When Judah's enemies hear they're rebuilding the Temple, they ask to join in, saying they've been worshipping Yahweh ever since Assyria planted them there The Jews would rather build it on their own After all, that's what Cyrus decreed The enemies strove against them and in the days of Artaxerxes, they wrote him a letter in Syrian, co-signed by literally every bad guy The letter said that if Jerusalem was allowed to be rebuilt, the Jews would rebel and not pay tribute or tax They said that this had happened in the past and it will happen again Artaxerxes bought this and immediately ordered construction to stop It would in Darius' second year that it would resume

5: Haggai and Zechariah prophesied to the people and Zerubbabel and Jeshua encouraged the construction When some across the river, namely Tattenai and Shethatbozenai, got word of this, they inquired about In the end, they sent a letter to Darius saying: That the Jews are rebuilding their city with diligence When we (Tattenai and co) asked who gave them permission and who they were, they told this story A long time ago, a great king of Israel had built a house to God, which Nebuchadnezzar later destroyed and he took the people to Babylon In the first year of Cyrus, he released the Jews and ordered the Temple be rebuilt He even took the goods Nebuchadnezzar had stolen and gave them to the governor, Sheshbazzar, who began laying the foundation of the building Now what Tattenai wants to know is if Cyrus really made such a decree

6: It was found that in the archives of Ecbatana, there was Cyrus' edict that the Jews should rebuild So Darius makes his own decree He says that the Jews should be allowed to finish building without hinderance, and even to pay them to cover the costs of material and sacrifice If anyone breaks this law, they'll be impaled and their house will be filled with dung Darius asks God to overthrow any king who stops the Jews The Israelites eventually finish the construction in the sixth year of Darius Everybody celebrates, there's massive parties, lots of animals get killed for sacrifices Everyone eats the Passover lamb, and some purified foreigners even join in The hearts of the people are overjoyed and thankful for God

7: Back during the reign of Artaxerxes, an up-and-coming priest named Ezra sets out for Judea He's a direct descendant of Aaron, so you know he's legit Artaxerxes sends Ezra a letter dictating what he can do and what powers he has It permits any Israelite wanting to to Judea to go with Ezra He can bring Artaxerxes' gifts of gold and silver He's given plenty of money for food and drink offerings, and the rest for whatever Ezra gets more vessels for the Temple and he has the power to request anything from the king's treasury The letter makes the rulers of the neighboring provinces pay Ezra whatever he wants, to a limit Ezra can set up courts of law Ezra falls down and prays before God and thanks him for his favor

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Day 365 / Dec 30

Rev. 20-22

20: John saw an angel come out of heaven with a key He opened up the abyss and threw the dragon, the serpent, the devil (=Satan) and threw him in for a thousand years After the thousand years were over, he will be let out for a short while John saw thrones and they (?) sat on them, and were given judgement He saw the souls of the pure, those who had believed and worshipped Christ instead of the dragon Those souls lived and ruled next to Christ for a thousand years The rest of the dead died in that millenium This, this is the first resurrection and here the second death has no power

After the thousand years, Satan will come back, and with the nations of the earth, with God and Magog, will fight against the armies of heaven He will fight twice, and will be defeated twice The defeated horde was cast into the lake of fire John saw a great white throne and there was someone on said throne and the earth fled from his face John saw the dead before the throne, all of them since creation, and they were given final judgement Those whose names were in the book of life were spared and the rest were thrown, along with Satan, into the lake of fire This is the second death

21: John saw a new heaven and new earth, and the sea was no more Out of the sky descended New Jerusalem In this new creation, God will live with his people as their God, and he shall be their light Therefore, there will be no sun nor moon nor stars, and no day nor no night Death will be no more, neither pain nor mourning nor crying The enthroned one said He is making all things anew, for he is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end He will give to all the water of life And this creation is a good place, because the bad people were thrown into the lake of fire An angel came to John to show him the city It was bright, arrayed with precious gems and stones The city had twelve gates, with each of the tribes' names written on them The city walls had twelve foundations, one each for the twelve apostles The angel had a reed with him and he measured the city to be a cube "The city was pure gold, like pure glass" whatever that means Each foundation was adorned with a different precious stone The gates were pearl

One remarkable thing is that there was no temple in the New Jerusalem, for there was no need God was with them, they didn't need to contain him in a man-made house The very glory of God is this creation's light and the nations walk in it

22: The angel showed John a river of life coming out of the throne of God On either side was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit twelve times a year The light of God is enough, and the people have no need for lamps or candles Jesus comes out of nowhere and says Blessed is he who keeps the prophecy John falls down before the angel who's just showed him the new creation, but he won't have any of that He orders John to rise and spread what he saw, to spread his Revelation [I assume about here is when the drugs wear off and John is back on Patmos with Jesus in the sky next to him like in Chapter 1] Jesus says he will come quickly He is the Alpha and the Omega, and blessed are those who keep his commandments Outside there are evil people Jesus has sent his angel to give John his testimony He is "the offspring of David; the Bright and Morning Star" The Spirit and the bride say to come and drink the waters of life He also says whoever changes, edits, alters, adds to, removes from etc the words of this testimony will have a reserved spot in the lake of fire "Yes, come, Lord Jesus" Amen

it's been a wild year and this has been a wild ride, but at long last, it is done

"But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and unjust." Matthew 5:44-45 WEB

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Day 364 / Dec 29

Rev. 17-19

17: One of the seven angels spoke to John saying he will show him the judgement of the prostitute who sits on many waters With her the kings of the earth did wicked acts, she is the embodiement of sexual immorality He saw a woman arrayed in scarlet sitting on a scarlet animal with seven heads and ten horns The woman was decked with gems and stones and was drinking the blood of saints On her was written "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH" The angel explains the symbolism with more confusing verses The beast was and is not and is about to come out of the abyss but go into destruction Those with their names not in the book of life wil marvel at the beast who was, is not and will be The seven heads the woman sits on are seven hills (pretty clearly a reference to Rome) They are also seven kings, five of which have fallen, one is and one has yet to come The beast itself is the eighth The ten horns are ten kings who have no kingdom but have authority from the beast for one hour They will give power to the beast and will war against the Lamb, who will defeat them The waters are all the nations and peoples The ten horns, and the beasts, will hate the woman and will eat her The woman is the great city, who reigns over the kings

18: Another angel comes and says Babylon (=Rome) is fallen A voice came from heaven saying "Come out of her, my people" so that they would not participate in her sins Whatever cup she mixed, she will be repayed double She says she is a queen and mourning will not come to her; so all the plauges will come at once The kings and merchants of the earth will weep over the great city instead of rejoicing in its fall They made their fortunes, their livelyhoods of the wealth of the city and now the city is no more Sailors are bummed too, for all the money that was to be made The angels throw a giant rock into the ocean and end that Nothing will come out of Rome ever again, for the place is deserted Like Edom was to be in Isaiah's visions All of this simply because Rome just had to kill God's people

19: John heard a loud voice in heaven saying 'Hallelujah! Glory to God! He has judged the prostitute!' A second voice also said 'Hallelujah!' The elders and living creatures bowed down and worshipped God There were many voices saying this, and one said the marriage of the Lamb has come and his wife is ready He (?) said to John, write that Blessed are those invited to the wedding He fell down before the person who told him to, but the other person told him to get up, saying they are equals before Jesus Then, heaven opened and on a white horse came a great rider His eyes are fire and on his head are crowns and his garments are stained with blood He is the Word of God The armies of heaven followed behind while he drew a sword out of his mouth with which he will strike the nations He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords An angel was standing in (??) the sun and he told the birds to gather and eat the flesh of the defeated horde The flesh of all men The armies of earth and its kings gathered together to fight the rider, and with them the beast, but all were thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur And the birds dined royally

this is it, the penultimate day of this monsterous year-long endeavor

"As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day." Ezekiel 34:12 WEB

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Day 363 / Dec 28

Rev. 13-16

13: John sees a massive beast (probably inspired by Leviathan and the beast of Daniel's dream) rise out of the waters The beast had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns It was like a leopard and bear and lion The dragon gave him authority over the world and the beast spoke blasphemous things The whole earth worshipped the dragon and the beast Authority was given to him for 42 months He blasphemed against heaven and martyred the saints Everyone whose's names weren't in the book of life will worship him Then came a beast out of the earth (Behemoth?) with two horns like a lamb, and that spoke like a dragon He made the world worship the sea beast by deceiving them If anyone was to do anything in this world, they would need the mark of the beast (beast=/=Satan) on them This beast's number is stated to be obviously the number of a man: 666

14: He saw the Lamb on Mt Zion with his 144,000 elect behind him He hears a wonderous sound from heaven, and they were singing a new song with the lamb A song only the elect could learn These elect were the first fruits redeemed from men John saw three angels in midheaven The first one declared to the peoples of the world that God's judgement is upon and they should praise God The second one said great Babylon has fallen The third one said any and all who worshipped the dragon and the beast, they will be burned They will drink of God's wrath A voice from heaven said to write that those who die in the Lord are blessed And then the Spirit concurred John sees the Son of Man riding on a cloud, with a golden crown and carrying a sickle An angel told him to reap the earth Another angel with a sickle was told by yet another angel to reap the earth's grapes, for they are ripe He gathered the vintage of the earth and threw it into the wine press of God's wrath The wine press was trodden outside the city, blood came from it, blood flooded from it (And yes, this is where Steinbeck got the title "The Grapes of Wrath")

15: John saw a great sign in heave: that of seven angel carrying seven plauges Then, there was a sea of glass with fire and those who overcame the beast were there, standing on it with harps singing the Song of Moses [Insert not actually the song of Moses] Then, the temple of the tabernacle was opened and the seven angels came out One of the four living creatures gave to them bowls containing the wrath of God No one would be able to enter the temple until the angel's business was finished

16: Angel #1 poured his on the earth and the people with the mark of the beast broke out in sores The second poured his on the seas and everything died and the seas turned into blood The third angel poured the bowl on the rivers and they turned into blood as well The angel of the waters explains the blood: since all these people wanted the blood of Christians so bad, that's what they're forced to drink from The fourth poured his bowl on the sun, and it turned into a red supergiant and scorched the earth Still the people didn't give glory to God Number 5 pours his bowl on the Euphrates and it dries up Out of the mouth of the dragon, the beast and the false prophet came frogs "He (?) gathered them (?) together into... Megiddo" The seventh angel poured out his bowl and a voice came from heaven saying "It is done" There were still lightning and thunder and earthquakes And hailstones so big they crushed people Jerusalem was split in thirds and the cities of the nations fell Great Babylon was remembered, and was given the cup of God's wrath People still didn't give glory

hooray! more imagery from the prophets, psalms and Jesus' parables

"I sought Yahweh, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears." Psalms 34:4 WEB

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Day 362 / Dec 27

Rev. 9-12

9: When the fifth trumpet sounds, John sees a star fall out of the sky into the abyss, thereby releasing whatever was inside And what was inside were hell locusts with faces of face, scorpion-like bodies and bronze armor They were to torment the people without God's seal for 5 months without end The people tormented would not get any end, not even death Then the sixth angel blasted and the four angels bound at the river Euphrates were released and they, with their hideous hellspawn chimera horses, and fire and smoke and sulfur, killed a third of the people 200 million horses and their riders were they

10: Then came a mighty angel out of sky with a rainbow halo, holding a little scroll Some unwritten stuff happened in between The angel told him to eat the scroll, and John did He was commanded to "prophesy again over many peoples, nations, languages, and kings"

11: John got a reed-like rod and was told to measure the temple, but not the outer courtyard It's there that outsiders will tread on the holy city for 42 months An undefined? I will give his power to two candlestick witnesses, and they will prophesy for another 42 months They will have great power, but they will be trampled by the abyssal beast and will die And the great city, the successor of Sodom and Egypt, will rejoice But they will upset God and he will raise the candlesticks after 3 and a half days In that day, great judgement will fall on seven thousand, and they will die, but the rest will repent and turn to their Lord

Then cut back to the main story, the seventh angel sounds his trumpet and the voices of heaven proclaim God's kingdom will come on earth The 24 elders bow down before him and worship Now God will judge and rule the earth In the temple of God, the Ark was seen and from it shot forth lightning and thunder and earthquakes and hailstorms

12: There was a great sign in heaven: that of a woman clothed with sun and moon with a crown of twelve stars She was in labor There was another great sign: a red dragon in heaven, waiting to devour the woman's child She gave birth to the baby boy who will rule the nations (the Son of Man, perhaps? See also the Protoevangelion) The woman fled into the wilderness and was cared for by God's providence for 42 months There was war in heaven, and Michael and his angelic host defeated the dragon and sent him falling down to the earth

John hears a voice in heaven saying salvation is come upon them by Christ's authority The accuser of the people has been thrown down; they overcame through the Lamb's blood Woe to the earth, for the devil is on it

The dragon again tried to eat the woman's child, but she grew wings and flew away The dragon tried to flood the earth, but Earth held the waters and kept the woman safe The dragon, now angry, persecuted the woman's other children: the followers of Jesus Christ

so many references to the OT prophetic books in every verse, I can't keep up

"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." Ephesians 6:11 WEB

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Day 361 / Dec 26

Rev. 4-8

4: Then the sky opens and an angel takes John to heaven There he sees a magnificent throne, the throne of God presumably, surrounded by rainbows Beside him were 24 elders each sat on their throne, and from the thrones came fire and lighting and sound Before the thrones were 7 lamps and a sea of crystal Also there were the four living creatures: a lion, a calf, a man and an eagle Each had 6 wings and were full of eyes and they constantly flew around shouting that God is "holy, holy, holy" The 24 elders fell down before God and blessed him as the worthy Creator

5: John saw that God had a massive scroll bound by seven wax seals in his hands, and an angel proclaimed that no one in heaven, on the earth, or below it was worthy to open the scroll There was dismay, but an elder said the Lion of Judah, the Root of David, he will open the scroll John looked around and saw that in the midst of everyone was a slain lamb, alive, with seven eyes and seven horns Every being in heaven and earth, with harps in hand, bowed down and worshipped before the Lamb The Lamb whose blood saved them

6: The Lamb opened the first seal, and behold, a white horse and rider sprang forth And he went conquering The Lamb opened the second, and a red horse came out, and the rider was given power to destory peace and was given a mighty sword The Lamb opened the third one, and out came a black horse and the rider had scales in his hands Finally, the Lamb broke the fourth seal and sprang forth Death and his horse, and he was given authority to kill the world With the fifth seal, John heard the cries of the martyrs They cry out to God, asking how long, how long must they suffer? God said a while more, but gives them white robes in compensation With the opening of the sixth seal, the Day of the Lord descended on the world The sky went dark, the stars fell down on earth, the firament was shaken up, every piece of land was shuffled around All the rich, the powerful, every man on earth hid himself, and begged of the mountains to spare them from the Lamb's wrath For no one can stand before the Lamb

7: John saw four angels at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds The eastern one said that they must not harm the earth or its people before they have sealed the Elect with a mark on their forehead John heard that there were 144,000 chosen people, 12 thousand from each of the Twelve Tribes But what John saw was a massive entourage of massive multi-culturalism All the people were before the Lamb, dressed in white and holding palm An elder tells John these are the martyrs who died for their faith, they suffered in life and now they will suffer no more They will sit with God and will be led to the waters of life

8: When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, nothing happened for about half an hour Then, seven angels were gathered before God, each with trumpets, and an eight angel stood over an altar with a censer When the smoke of the incense and the prayers went up to God, the angel took the fire in the altar and threw it upon the earth There was thunder and lightnings and earthquakes The first trumpet sounded and hail and fire and blood rained upon the earth, and a third of the trees and all the grass was burned up The second angel sounded and a great burning mountain fell into the sea and killed a third of the fish and a third of the oceans turned into blood The third angel's trumpet brought a star called Wormwood out of the sky Wormwood fell on a third of the rivers, and so a third of the waters became wormwood and many died (Wormwood is a real-life incredibly bitter herb) The fourth angel trumpet sounded and a third of the sun, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars were struck So a third of the day went dark and the night as well An eagle in the sky summed this up pretty well: "Woe! Woe! Woe for those who dwell on the earth,"

I want whatever John of Patmos was smoking

"Haven't I commanded you? Be courageous. Don't be afraid. Don't be dismayed, for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 WEB

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Day 359 / Dec 24

2-3 John, Jude

2 John: John the Elder writes this to the "chosen lady and her children" Grace and mercy in the name of Jesus Christ John's happy that her children are walking in the right path of Jesus' teachings, and he just has a few things to say Love one another Believe that Jesus is the Christ, for there are many deceivers around who deny that, and they are the Antichrists Whoever transgresses the teachings doesn't have God If anyone denies Jesus, don't welcome them into the church John hopes to visit in person and speak at length, instead of writing more letters Amen

3 John: John the Elder to Gaius He's so happy that the people in the church are doing well He's also happy that Gaius has accepted some of John's friends, who will be coming over shortly He says to welcome the missionaires, and to stick it to Diotrephes, who doesn't want anything to do with John Dio walks in sin and is not Godly Be good and not evil John has many more things to say, but he'll come in person instead of writing letters Greet the friends, Amen

Jude: Jude, the brother of James, writes this Jude was working on a big work about salvation through Jesus Christ, but when he heard what was going on in the church, he had to write this short letter See, there are false prophets and teachers going around, polluting the minds and ways of Christians But these men were foretold Does Jude need to remind them what happens to rebellion? When God saved Israel out of Egypt and they rebelled, he destroyed them When the angels rebelled and slept with the daughters of men, he locked them up in hell When Sodom and Gomorrah rebelled against the angels, they got fire and brimstone When Michael the Archangel was arguing over the body of Moses with Satan, he didn't bring wrongful condemnation, but left it to God Bad influences are bad because they corrupt others Like Cain, who built a city of sin; like Balaam, who led Israel to idolatry; like Korah, who rebelled against Moses and made the earth open up These evil people are like rocky reefs, like selfish shepherds, like waterless clouds, like choppy waves Enoch prophesied this when he said "the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones to execute judgement on all..." Remember the message of all the apostles, and the word of Jesus himself, when he said there would be mockers in the last times The Christian community is like God's temple, so they should act like it To God our savior, Amen

Video and Wiki and Assumption of Moses

Merry Christmas Eve!

"When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy." Matthew 2:10 WEB