Sun.’s Devo - The Beasts

Read: Zechariah 2:1-3:10; Revelation 12:18-13:18; Psalm 141:1-10; Proverbs 30:18-20 Zechariah then saw a man with a measuring tape. He was going to measure the width and length of Jerusalem. Another angel came forward and said that Jerusalem would one day be so full of people and livestock that there wouldn’t be room to hold them all. The Lord would be a protective wall of fire around the city and his glory would be on the inside of it. *** The Lord called his people to flee Babylon and come home. After the period of glory, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies would send his angels against the nations that were their enemies. He would crush them and make slaves of them. *** The Lord told them to rejoice because he was coming to live among them and many nations would also join with Israel and will be God’s people also. *** Then the high priest, Jeshua, and Satan came to stand before the Lord. Satan accused Jesus of lies and God rejected those lies. He changed Jeshua’s clothes and dressed him in the priestly clothes of the high priest. He told him that if he followed the Lord’s ways and served him he would be given authority over his Temple and courtyards. He would let him walk with the angels. God instructed that they were symbolic of the things to come when Jesus and Satan would stand before God Satan would be judged and Jesus would be made our High Priest forever. Then, the earth would then be filled with peace. *** In Revelation, the dragon stood by the shore while the beast rose out of the sea. The beast had seven heads and ten horns with ten crowns on the horns. Blasphemies against God were written on the heads. The beast looked like a leopard with feet like a bear and a lion’s mouth. This is the New World Order who rises out of the sea of humanity. It is the Club of Rome, the seven kingdoms of Babylon, etc. The ten horns are the 10 heads that have ruled the world like the ten toes in Daniel’s statute. Daniel said it would be smashed to bits without human hands. The beast has all the animal characteristics of the beast in Daniel 7. They get all their power from the dragon - Satan. *** One of the heads of the beast seemed fatally wounded but it was healed. The world was astounded and worshiped the beast. After World War II, we thought we had killed Natzism, but it resurrected. The evil scientists of Hitler were transferred to American through Operation Paperclip and their evil continued in underground tunnels. We have all fallen prey to their propaganda and deceit until we woke up beginning around 2016. We have endured enough of their persecution! *** In verse 11, another beast appeared out of the earth. (The first beast came out of the sea and imposed admiralty law - the Law of the Seas.) Now, this beast uses the government and religious institutions to lead the people to obey the rules. Through these laws, the beast steals and abuses us. This beast has lamb’s horns but is a deception. Who would have thought our government was trying to kill, steal and destroy us? Who knew, until now, that Baal worship was alive and well on Planet America? This beast did a great job of deceiving the people to worship the New World Order without realizing we were doing so. *** The mark was given so that no one could buy are sell with out it. So, what is this mark? Remember the angels who went through the city marking those of God in Ezekiel 9:4. Cain was given a mark in Genesis. These were not physical marks, and neither is this one in Revelation. It is a covenant made that affects man’s thoughts and actions. It is what the NWO does to those he sees as potential successes. They come to them and coerce them to sign their lives over to Satan who will in turn give them power, wealth and success. This is the mark. Those who don’t sign the papers are not promoted under their powerful networks. *** I have always looked at the number 666 as meaning “man” in body, soul and spirit and nothing of God. It means much more than that, but that is the simplest way I have found to define it. *** Lord, we are not afraid of Satan’s minions because we serve the King of kings and the Lord of lords! May your Kingdom come to earth!

Sat.’s Devo - God Remembers and God Delivers!

Read: Zechariah 1:1-21; Revelation 12:1-17; Psalm 140:1-13; Proverbs 30:17 Zechariah means “God Remembers.” He, like Haggai prophesied after the exile and strongly encouraged the people to finish the reconstruction of the temple. He was from the priestly tribe of Levi and was one of the most messianic of all the Old Testament prophets. *** He began prophesying two months after Haggai gave his word. About 50,000 Jews had returned under the edict of Cyrus and under the leadership of Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the priest. Because of the opposition, many had became apathetic about the temple and had stopped to build their own houses. His word begins with “Return to me and I will return to you.” *** Zechariah was given a vision of a man sitting on a red horse among the myrtle trees. Behind him were riders on red, brown and white horses. He asked the angel who was talking to him what the horses stood for. The angel told him that they were the ones the Lord sent out to patrol the earth. They all reported to the angel of the Lord who was the one sitting on the red horse. They reported that the earth was at peace. *** The angel of of the Lord prayed to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies for the people in Jerusalem who had been in captivity for 70 years. He asked him when he was going to show mercy to them. *** The response was shouted that his love for Jerusalem was strong and he was angry with other nations that were at peace and secure. They had been unmerciful to his people beyond his intentions. He was going to return and show mercy to Jerusalem and his Temple would be rebuilt and Jerusalem would be reconstructed. The towns in Israel would again be blessed and prosper. *** He was shown four horns that represented the nations that had scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. Then he was shown four blacksmiths that were coming to terrify, overthrow, and destroy those nations. *** This is what God is doing right now. He is taking down the powers of the New World Order all over the world. Prosperity and peace is coming to the people whose God is the Lord! *** In Revelation John saw an event. A woman in the sun with the moon under her feet and twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant. A large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns with seven crowns on his head had a tail. With it he swept away one-third of the stars in the sky and threw them to the earth. He stood waiting to devour the baby the woman was about to have. *** She gave birth to the son who would rule the nations with a rod of iron and her child was snatched away from the dragon and caught up to God. The woman fled into the wilderness where God kept her safe for 1,260 days. *** War erupted in heaven and Michael and his fires fought the dragon and his angels. The dragon lost and his angles were forced from heaven. This dragon was the devil or Satan who had tried to deceive the whole world. He was thrown down to earth. *** Heaven rejoiced but the dragon pursued the woman on earth. She was given wings like eagle wings to escape into the wilderness. She would be kept safe for 2 and a half times. The dragon tried to drown the woman with a flood from his mouth and declared war against her and all her children who kept God’s commandments and their testimony about Jesus. *** Here is my understanding about this great picture. When God was about to send Jesus to earth the first time, he sent a sign in the sky for the wise man to see. It was a star in the sky. Genesis 1:14 says that the sun, moon and stars were put in the heavens for signs, seasons, days, and years. Psalm 19 tells us that the heavens declare God’s glory and speak to the whole world in words not audible. It also tells us of a line that goes out through the earth. This line is called the ecliptic and it goes through major constellations. Wandering stars travel along this line and God speaks to us through what is happening there. This revelation John received included the sun, moon and stars. The woman is the constellation Virgo. The sun is shining on her shoulders and the moon is under her feet. The crown on her head is Leo with Venus, Mercury and Mars with it. *** Virgo represents the Church of Christ with the Christ, Leo the Lion, next to her. There is a dragon at her feet and Michael is wrestling it to keep him from the crown (the Corona Borealis). There is a great book called “The Glory of the Stars” by Raymond Caps that explains the story God gave us in the stars. It is fascinating. God’s whole story from start to finish is given to us in the sky. That is why God said, “Look up, your redemption draweth nigh.” *** On November 9, 2016 Jupiter entered Virgos’s womb to begin the sign of the Son of Man. On September 23, 2017, a sign appeared in the sky that happens once in 7,000 years! It describes what John said to a tee. Jupiter entered into the womb of Virgo and made a loop then 42 weeks later (the period of human gestation) it was “delivered.” This was also the first day of the Feast of Trumpets which is accompanied by the blowing of trumpets and celebrates God’s deliverance from bondage in Egypt. *** The New World Order, who knows the signs very well thought this was the sign of their victory, so Beyonce performed at the Grammy’s as the star in Virgo, as the Queen of Heaven. They thought they had won. Flip. Flop. It was the sign of the birth of the Millennial Kingdom and the Reign of Christ on the Earth! God won! We won! *** From this time, the Body of Christ has risen up in great numbers to fight the New World Order now that they have exposed themselves and God has taken the blinders off our eyes to see who they are. And, just like it says in Revelation, God has kept us safe during this time while Satan has unleashed a flood of lies and events to kill us and punish us for waking up. *** Our Psalm for today is our prayer. It is perfect for what we are experiencing at this time. God will rescue us and destroy all the plans our enemies had on us. All the plans they planned for us will fall on them. Hallelujah! *** Lord, we live to praise your holy name! We will live in your presence doing your will. You are our king!

Fri.’s Devo - Get to Work Building God’s Kingdom

Read: Haggai 1:1-2:23; Revelation 11:1-19; Psalm 139:1-24; Proverbs 30:15-16 Haggai means “festive”. Haggai along with Zechariah, which we will begin reading tomorrow, were prophets during the time of post exile. Darius was king in Persia and many Jews had returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. They started out well, building the altar and even sacrificing on it. Then they laid the foundation for the Temple. That is when the enemy came in and discouraged them so much, they stopped. They turned their attention to building their own houses and enjoying the prosperity they had missed while in exile. *** Haggai came to get them interested back in the Lord and his purposes. He reminded them that because they had made the Lord their last priority, their blessings had been stopped up. Their hard work in the fields produced much less than it should have. They did not have all they needed to survive because they had put themselves first and stopped building God’s house. *** Zerubbabel, the governor and Jeshua the high priest began to obey the message Haggai brought and began working on the Temple once again. God sent them the message that He was with them. *** A month into their project God sent another message to address their discouragement. Some of the older ones had remembered the greatness of Solomon’s Temple and were not impressed with the size of the new Temple. God sent them a message to be strong and get to work because God was in this. God was going to shake the heavens and the earth and all that is in it and the nations would bring its treasures to this place. God would then fill it with his glory and the future glory of this temple will be greater than the glory of Solomon’s Temple. *** Two months later, God explained to them through examples that sin was contagious but holiness was not, it was an act of God. Since man is defiled by their sin, they are robbed of their blessing but God was telling them that God was about to bless them from this day forward. He would destroy the power of foreign kingdoms and cause them to destroy themselves. When this happened God would honor Zerubbabel because he obeyed the Lord. *** In Revelation John is given a rod to measure the Temple of God because judgement begins in the house of the Lord. This is a picture of the Lord counting who is his. He is measuring the hearts of his people to see who is totally sold out to him. Luke asks “When the Lord returns will He find faith on the earth?” This is that. Those that aren’t found worthy are in the outer courtyard and they do everything they can to do to discourage and trample the Christians. They do it for 1,260 days or 3.5 years or like in Daniel 7:25 and 12:7 for”time, times, and half a time.” *** Two witnesses will appear during that time who are mourning the sin going on and are praying for God to intervene for the sake of humanity. These two witnesses are the religious world and the political world. The God-led religious institutions keep society in check and the God-led government brings justice. Without them there would be anarchy. The religious deals with our hearts and the government deals with our actions. They are suppose to bring healing and peace (the olive tree) and bring light. They are to shine the light on the evil that is going on and stop it. *** If any man tries to hurt them, fire will come out of their mouths. We have the power with our testimony to take them down. The government has the power to enforce law and order. Elijah went against the prophets of Baal and Moses went up against the government of Egypt and both won and we can too. *** In verse 7 the beast comes up out of the pit to make war against God’s people. He shut up the voice of the church with Johnsons’s 501C3. The church, though on every street corner became irrelevant to the world. The world put up their buildings of sin right beside the churches. In our day, the religious institutions and the Government has been overcome by tyranny, satanic rituals, sexual perversion and disregard for justice. All the while the New World Order laughs and celebrates. *** But, in the middle of the time, the Church begins to stand up all over the world! We woke up! We are standing up like the bones in Ezekiel who became a great army. *** Next, we see the earth quaking and the New World Order coming down. The worldly kingdoms become the Kingdoms of the Lord. Judgment comes to the wicked and rewards come to the righteous. *** In heaven the Temple is opened and the Ark of his covenant is seen inside the Temple. On earth there is lightning, thunder and an earthquake and a terrible hail storm. All of these happened when Christ was crucified. It is earth responding to God’s move. *** Lord, how exciting is all of this! All glory and power and dominion is yours. We extoll you higher than any other power in all heaven and earth. Thank you for your goodness to us!

Thurs.’s Devo - No More Delay!

Read: Zephaniah 1:1-3:20; Revelation 10:1-11; Psalm 138:1-8; Proverbs 30:11-14 Zephaniah means “Jehovah has hidden or guarded”. He prophesied when Josiah was king of Judah. In the 12th year of his reign he did a massive cleansing of the land of Judah to rid it of Baal worship. Josiah could try to take it out of the land, but he could not take it out of their hearts. So, God was going to do his massive clean up. He even threatened to wipe humanity from the face of the earth to destroy every last trace of their Baal worship, since they wouldn’t do it willingly. *** Zephaniah tells of the day the Lord would pour out his vengeance on the land because of their sin. Their would be no where they could hide. Zephaniah begs the people to repent and seek the Lord while their was still time to seek him. *** The land of the Philistines would also be destroyed for their idolatry. The remnant of the tribe of Judah would find a place of refuge there. God would visit the remnant who didn’t bow to Baal and restore them to prosperity again. *** Moab and Ammon, who taunted Judah would be destroyed. The remnant of the Lord’s people would plunder them and also take their land. They will be terrified as God destroys all the gods in the land, and the nations of the world will worship the Lord each in their own land. *** The Ethiopians would also be destroyed along with the Assyrians. Nineveh will finally be destroyed like Jonah had prophesied. They repented in his day, but then returned back to their sins. Nineveh will become a total ruin. *** Jerusalem had become a city of violence and crime. They refused all correction and did not trust in the Lord or draw near to him. The leaders hunted for victims and their judges were ruthless. The prophets were arrogant liars who prophesied for money. The priests defiled the Temple by disobeying God’s instructions. But the Lord was still in the city handing down justice. *** God had thought that the people of Jerusalem would see how he had taken down other nations and repent, but they didn’t, so God would pour out his fiercest anger and fury on them. God will purify the language of the people so they can worship the Lord together. The people of God who had been scattered would return and humble themselves before God. They will do no wrong and live in safety. The Lord will remove all their enemies and their troubles will be over. They will never fear disaster again. God will take delight in his people and gather them for the appointed feasts. He will give his people glory and fame wherever they had been mocked and shamed. God would give Israel a good name and restore their fortunes to them. *** This is what God is doing for us in America right now. In the coming years we are going to see such a turn around in every area of society as God’s Kingdom comes to earth and he restores the fortunes of his people. Hallelujah! *** In Revelation 10 we see a mighty angel coming down from heaven surrounded by a cloud with a rainbow over his head. is face shone like the sun and his feet were like pillars of fire. He held a small scroll that had been opened. *** Mighty angels are stars that are planets. The planet Mercury sparkles like a rainbow and loops around the sun in 79 days like a whirlwind cloud. Psalm 20 says that the heavens declare the glory of God. In 2020, Mercury looped around the constellation Aquarius which is the age we are entering into. Aquarius is the man pouring water out of a watering can. This is the fulfillment of God pouring out his Spirit on all flesh. In 2020, the masses began to wake up to the evil we were enslaved under. We became aware of the World Economic Forum that intended to kill off most of us so they could rule the earth. *** In verse 2 it says that the angel had one foot on the sea and his left foot on the earth. Mercury is standing on the sea and on the land. He will reveal to the world how they were enslaved by the Law of the Seas (Admiralty Law) and the Law of the Land. He is going to tell the truth about satan-worshipers and how they do their wicked rituals with pleasure. *** The seven thunders shouted and John was instructed not to write what they thundered though the angel said there would be no more delay - God’s mysterious plan would be fulfilled just like the prophets said. The voice from heaven told John to take the open scroll out of the hand of the angel and eat it. It would be sweet like honey in his mouth, but would turn sour in his stomach. No wonder when John ate the book his stomach hurt. What they are doing in secret would make any sane person’s stomach nauseous. *** John was told he must prophecy about all of this to everyone. Today, Revelation has been read to many peoples, nations, languages, and kings. *** Lord, may we understand the day we are living in and be diligent to follow what you tell us to do and what you tell us to speak. We rejoice that there is no more delay!

Wed.’s Devo - We Win!!!

Read: Habakkuk 1:1-3:19; Revelation 9:1-21; Psalm 137:1-9; Proverbs 30:10 Habakkuk means “to embrace” being a favorite of God’s and a struggler for his country’s good. Habbakuk was believed to have been written in 610 B.C. during the fifth year of the reign of Jehoiakim when the Chaldean’s attacked Jerusalem. He cries out for God to help them. Everywhere he looked he saw violence, misery, contention, and injustice. *** The Lord responded that he was sending the Babylonians to conquer the world. They were coming with their chariots who were notorious for their cruelty. *** Habakkuk asked if he was going to wipe them out completely. He cried out for mercy for his nation. He reminded God of the idolatry of the Babylonians. Surely the Chaldeans are worse than them. *** God answered in Chapter 2 that in a future time, at the end, God would destroy the wicked Chaldeans but the righteous would live by their faithfulness to God. The proud and those who trusted in their wealth to take over many nations would have everything flip on them. Their captives will mock them and they will get what they deserve. They will become the ones who lose everything and stand trembling and helpless. Their money won’t be able to save them and their houses won’t be strong enough to keep their enemies out. All their wealth would be turned to ashes. They blackmailed others with crimes they forced them to commit and now their sins would be exposed so all could see. They will drink from the cup of the Lord’s judgment and their glory would be turned to shame. They trusted in idols who won’t be able to save them. *** Habakkuk sees the Lord coming. His glory fills the heavens and the earth is filled with praise. Everyone on earth is afraid of his judgment. He is coming to save the righteous ones and crush the heads of the wicked like he did in times past. *** Though Habakkuk doesn’t see the results of his vision on earth at the time, he rejoices in the Lord. He knows that God is his salvation no matter what he sees with his eyes. *** In Revelation, the fifth angel blew his trumpet and John saw locusts coming up from the pit of hell. They poured out on the earth but were not able to harm the people with the seal on God on their head. We see that as the media spews out fear and deception on the world. Those who listen to them are like those stung by a scorpion. They are paralyzed and confused which makes them open to deception. Those who turn off the main stream media and listen to the Lord are not affected by their lies. Five months into our lockdown, President Trump was saying we should open back our nation and get back to work. He has been one of the loudest trumpets of our time. *** The sixth woe is past and two more followed. A voice was heard from the four horns of the gold altar. This is the place of mercy. Since the time of Covid we have seen thousands of CEO’s of major companies step down, many in Congress saying they are retiring after their term is up and where are the actors and actresses? Many have gone! Their time of judgment has come. It is important to know that these trumpet blasts are to wake up the Church and are judgments against the world, not us! Their kingdom of corruption and child sex trafficking has been exposed and is no longer a secret. *** The army described in verses 13-19 were led by the four angels who came from the great Euphrates River. This is where the Garden of Eden was. They have been held there until this time to bring vengeance on the serpent and his army. The Body of Christ will join with the army of God to defeat this evil system that has been set up on the earth. We defeat them with the blood of the Lamb, the word of our testimony and the fact that we are willing to die for Christ. *** The evil people on the earth that have been entrenched in Satanic ritual killings and drinking of blood rituals will not be able to repent but will continue in their sins (Matthew 12:31, 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12). *** Our Psalm gives us some encouraging words, “O Babylon, you will be destroyed. Happy is the one who pays you back for what you have done to us.” Amen! *** Lord, may we stand strong against all evil in our land. We dedicate our hearts, our family and our nation to your plans and purposes. They will stand!

Tues.’s Devo - Consolation and Vengeance

Read: Nahum 1:1-3:19; Revelation 8:1-13; Psalm 136:1-26; Proverbs 30:7-9 Nahum means “consolation and vengeance”. His messages brought consolation for God’s people and a promise of vengeance on their enemies. Sennacherib from Assyria had come to Jerusalem and demanded its surrender. God’s message was that he was jealous over his people and filled with rage over Nineveh. God may be slow to get angry, but he never lets the guilty go unpunished. All the earth is subject to his anger. *** God warns Nineveh of their coming disaster. Their enemy was coming to crush them. Judah would be restored to honor and splendor. *** Nineveh had been a beautiful city filled with wealth, but underneath was corruption, murder and idolatry. God was going to expose all its filth so the world could see how vile they were so that no one would regret its destruction. *** In Revelation, the Lamb broke the seventh seal on the scroll and there was silence throughout heaven for about half an hour. The seven angels before the Lord were given seven trumpets. The angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. He was given a large amount of incense to mix with the prayers of God’s people. The incense rose to heaven. Then the angel filled the incense burner with fire and threw it down to earth. Thunder crashed and lightning flashed and there was a terrible earthquake which were made from the prayers of the righteous. *** The first angel blew his trumpet and hail and fire mixed with blood was thrown down on the earth. One-third of the earth was set on fire and it burned the trees and the grass. *** Trumpets were used to call the army to battle. These trumpets are blasts that are to wake up the Christian world and call them to war. HAARP is a weaponized weapon of war that can produce storms, hurricanes, cause floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, and with their laser technology can take out entire neighborhoods. When a hurricane hangs in the sky for 13 days over Houston… that is a wake up call. *** Who is to blame for all this destruction? We are given a clue…1/3rd. Think of 33 degree Masons. *** The second angel blew his trumpet and a great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea. One-third of the water in the sea became blood, killing one-third of all sea creatures. One-third of the ships were destroyed. The great mountain is the New World Order pyramid burning down. Look at our dollar bill and you will see it. The sea is humanity and the animals and fish. The sea becomes blood as we are killed through cancer and bad health stemming from our poisoned food, water and air. We can blame the 33’s for that also. The trumpet is blowing to wake us up! *** The third angel blows his trumpet and a great star falls from heaven like a torch, burning up the rivers and springs of water. Its name was Wormwood. This speaks of the toxins in our waters which cause cancer, depression, seizures, dizziness, migraines, Alzheimer’s, etc. The torch could be a picture of the chem-trails. The angel is telling us to wake up! *** The fourth angel sounded and a third of the sun, moon and stars were struck. Chem-trails affect the skies and can block out the sun. In the Chem-trails are a mixture of Barium (BA) and Aluminum (AL). Put the two together and it is BAAL. Once again we see 33 degree Masons at work. Heaven is calling for us to wake up! *** Then an eagle came to warn us that the storm is going to get worse with the next three trumpets. *** Lord, may we awaken to what is going on in our earth and cry out for justice and help. Our help comes from You. Show us what you want us to do. Our consolation is in You. You will avenge us against our enemies.

Mon.’s Devo - God’s Victory

Read: Micah 5:1-7:20; Revelation 7:1-17; Psalm 135:1-21; Proverbs 30:5-6 Micah warned Israel to get ready for an attack. Right in the middle of that he prophesied that a ruler would come to rule from Bethlehem, and that was Jesus. The people of Israel would be abandoned to their enemies until the woman in labor gives birth. This could mean until Mary conceived Jesus, but I believe it means the constellation Virgo gave birth to a star which happened in 2023. After this happens the people would return from exile to their own land and live undisturbed. This is the next thing that is going to happen. Then, Jesus will be greatly honored around the world and be the source of peace. *** This ruler, (Jesus), will rule over Assyria and rescue his people from them. The remnant of the Lord will take their place among the nations and it will be like dew sent from the Lord. They will lead their armies to devour their enemies until they are all wiped out. All of their defenses, their witchcraft and their idols will be destroyed. God’s vengeance will be poured out on all nations who refuse to obey him. *** The Lord asks Israel what he had done to make them so tired of him. Don’t they remember all he did for them when he rescued them out of Egypt. All he requires for them is to do what is right, to love mercy and to walk humbly with Him. *** God pointed out all their sins. They grew rich off of cheating others. They were dishonest in their business dealings and became rich through extortion and violence. They grew so used to lying they could no longer tell the truth. *** Because they wouldn’t repent, they would experience hunger and defeat. They continued to worship idols so they would be brought to complete ruin and they would be mocked by all who saw them. *** Micah was distraught because he looked throughout Israel and couldn’t find a godly person. All he found was people who were skilled at doing evil. Their officials and judges demanded bribes and their leaders schemed to twist justice to get what they wanted. (Sounds like our justice system.) Their judgement day was coming soon. *** They would find that their enemies were in their own household. *** Micah waited on the Lord to deliver him. He believed God would hear his prayers. God was his light and the light of his nation. He believed that one day God would bring them justice and his enemies would see that the Lord was on his side. *** Their cities will be rebuilt and he will extend their borders. They will be honored among the nations. God will lead them as their Shepherd and they will live in peace and safety. God will do mighty miracles for them and the nations of the world will stand amazed at what the Lord will do for them. *** God will have compassion on them and remove their sins from them and throw them into the sea, just like he promised Abraham and Jacob long ago. *** In Relation, John saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the destroying winds. Another angel came from the east carrying the seal of the living God. He shouted to the four angels who had been given power to harm land and sea. He told them to wait until they had placed God’s seal on their foreheads. They sealed 12,000 from every tribe each. *** Then John saw a crowd of people from all over the world before the throne wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They sang of the salvation of the Lamb and worshiped the Lord. One of the 24 elders asked John who he thought the people in white were and where he thought they came from. He told John that these were the ones who died during the great tribulation. Their sins had been washed away and now they wore white robes. They would never again experience pain or lack. The Lamb on the throne would be their Shepherd and lead them to life-giving water. God would wipe away all their tears. *** Lord, we look forward to the day when all our enemies would be under our feet and you will reign over us. May we be people who do what is right, love mercy and walk humbly with you.

Sun.’s Devo - Blessing for the Righteous

Read: Micah 1:1-4:13; Revelation 6:1-17; Psalm 134:1-3; Proverbs 30:1-4 Micah means “who is like Jehovah” and he prophesied 700 years before Christ during the time when Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah. He spoke to the people in Israel as well as the people in Judah. God was coming to judge the rulers and those who thought they were important on the earth. He blamed Samaria for what had happened to Israel, and Jerusalem for what had happened to Judah. God was going to expose her sins. Idolatry was being supported by the money made by prostitution. *** All the cities near by that would have offered help, couldn’t because they were also being destroyed. Power had gone to their heads and they lay awake at night plotting evil. They stole people’s inheritance just because they wanted it for themselves. God would reward their evil with evil and they would not be able to escape. *** Their enemies would rejoice in their downfall and mock them. What they planned for their own people, will be done to them. The people asked Micah not to prophecy such things. Micah told them that if they did what was right, he would be able to prophecy good things to them. One day, God would bring them back to their land and they will prosper. God would be their king and guide them. Right now they hated good and loved evil. But, they will beg the Lord for help in the times of trouble that were coming. *** God rebuked the false prophets for leading the people astray. They were motivated by bribes, not truth. They would be disgraced and put to shame. But, Micah was full of the Sprit of the Lord to boldly declare Israel’s sin and rebellion. Jerusalem had become a city of murder and corruption. The priest taught God’s laws only for money and the prophets only prophesied when they were paid and they didn’t prophecy the truth. *** Mount Zion would be plowed down and Jerusalem would be ruins. *** Hope comes in Chapter Four. In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house would be the most important place on earth. People would stream there to worship. The Lord would settle the deputes between nations and weapons of war would become instruments of harvest. Nation would no longer fight against nation and everyone would live together in peace and prosperity. Jerusalem would become mighty and powerful and its kingship over the earth will be restored. *** The nations were gathering to fight against Israel, but they didn’t understand that they are the ones who would be trampled and destroyed. God will raise Jerusalem up to trample many nations and they will give the spoils to the Lord. *** In Revelation, John watched as the angel broke the first seal. One of the four living beings called out, “Come!” and a white horse came with its rider carrying a bow. A crown was given it. The second seal was welcomed with the second beast yelling, “Come!” A red horse appeared with a rider who was given a sword and authority to take peace from the earth. War and slaughter was everywhere. *** The third seal was broken and the third living creature cried, “Come!” A black horse appeared with a rider holding a pair of scales. Famine came with this horse. *** The fourth seal was broken and the fourth creature cried out, “Come!” and a pale green horse appeared. Its rider was named Death and his companion was the Grave. The two were given authority over one fourth of the earth to kill with war, famine, disease, and wild animals. *** The fifth seal was broken and the shout came from the souls of all who had be martyred for the word of God and his testimony. They cried out for vengeance. A white robe was given them and they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters were martyred. *** The sixth seal was broken and the earth quaked. the sun became dark and the moon became red. The stars fell to the earth and the sky was rolled up like a scroll. All the mountains and islands were moved. The powerful leaders of the world, down to the slaves, all hid in the caves and among the rocks. They cried for the mountains to fall on them. The great day of God’s wrath had begun. Lord, thank you that all the scary things in Revelation were not written to us but to your enemies. Thank you that you will punish the evil but reward the faithful. May we remain faithful to the end.

Sat.’s Devo - Jonah

Read: Jonah 1:1-4:11; Revelation 5:1-14; Psalm 133:1-3; Proverbs 29:26-27 God gave Jonah the message to go to the city of Nineveh and announce that God’s judgment was coming to it because of its wickedness. Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrians who were the greatest kingdom in the world at the time. They were known for their blood-thirstiness and idolatry. Even though this prophecy had to do with a nation other than Israel, it would be quoted by Jesus as being a nation that repented when it heard of the judgement coming where Israel did not. *** Jonah didn’t want to go and preach this to them so he went the other way and took a ship to Tarshish. God caused a storm to stop him and when the men in the ship found out it was his fault for bringing the storm, they threw him overboard. Immediately the storm stopped, causing the sailors to fear the Lord. *** Jonah was swallowed by a big fish and is believed to have died in the belly of the fish. He awoke to pray for help. God heard his cry and he was thrown up on the shore near Nineveh. God told him again to go to Nineveh and deliver his message. He walked to the city and for three days he walked its length shouting that in forty days from then Nineveh would be destroyed. The people listened and put on burlap. The king of Nineveh declared a fast for the people and their animals. They prayed that God would relent on his promise to destroy them and he did. This made Jonah very upset. Jonah told God this was why he had run. He knew God would be merciful and not do it. God asked Jonah if he was right to be mad about this. *** Jonah responded by leaving the city and finding shelter under a great vine. It shielded him from the hot sun. God sent a worm to eat the plant to expose Jonah’s anger in his heart. Jonah was angry when the sun rose and at noon he had no shelter from it’s heat. He said that surely death was better than this. *** God asked him if he was right to be angered that the plant died. Jonah said, “angry enough to die!” *** God told Jonah that he was sorry the plant died but Nineveh had more than 120,000 people who were on their way to experiencing the heat of hell, was it wrong for God to feel sorry for them? *** This story is a litmus test for us. Do we want the ruthless cabal that is trying to take over the world to repent ,and for God to show them mercy and not destroy them? That is a soul-searching question. Thank God we have the grace of God in our hearts to help us process this rightly. God loves justice but he loves mercy even more. *** In Revelation, John saw a scroll in the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. The scroll was sealed with seven seals and an angel asked who was worthy to open the scroll and read it. No one was found worthy, which made John cry. One of the twenty-four elders told John to stop crying and look. The Lion of the tribe of Judah had won the victory and could open the scroll. *** Then he saw a Lamb who looked as if he had been slain who was standing between the throne and the four living creatures. He had seven horns and every eyes, which represented the severn fold Spirit of God. He stepped forward and took the scroll and when he did the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders bowed down before the Lamb. Each had a harp and held gold bowls filled with incense which are the prayers of God’s people. They sang a new song about the worthiness of the Lamb to break its seals and open the scroll. All the angels and creatures in heaven sang a song about the worthiness of the Lamb. Then all the creatures in heaven, on earth and under the earth sang of the greatness of God. The living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped the Lamb. *** Lord, may we live in praise and worship of you!

Fri.’s Devo - God’s Revenge

Read: Obadiah 1:1-21; Revelation 4:1-11; Psalm 132:1-18; Proverbs 29:24-25 Obadiah means “servant of Jehovah” and his book is the smallest in the Bible. His prophecy dates probably immediately after the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, 588 B.C. Five years afterwards (583 B.C.) Edom was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar. *** Obadiah saw an ambassador from heaven go to the nations and suggest that they attack Edom. God was ready to judge Edom because she rejoiced when she saw Jerusalem fall and instead of helping them, she gladly joined in killing them. Because she did this to Israel, her own kin, nothing in her land would be left standing. Even their hidden treasures will be dug up and taken. Her land will be left desolate. *** All the nations will be judged for how they treated Israel. Everything will be turned around. Jerusalem will become the place of refuge. The people of the Lord will return to Israel and prosper. They will occupy the lands of their enemies and the Lord himself will be their king. *** In Revelation, John was told to look up and when he did, he saw a door in heaven. He was told to come up there and was instantly in the Spirit before God’s throne. John saw the throne of God encircled with a rainbow. From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. He saw the crowned twenty-four elders, and the seven-fold Spirit of God. In the middle of the throne were four living creatures with the face of a lion, ox, human, and eagle. Each had six wings which were covered with eyes. Day and night they cried, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty - the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.” When they did this , the 24 elders fell down and worshipped the one on the throne. They laid their crowns before the throne and praised the Lord as worthy to receive all glory, honor and power. *** Lord, you are worthy of all our praise and worship. You are the one who sits and rules the cosmos. There is no one like you.

Thurs.’s Devo - Many Visions

Read: Amos 7-9:15; Revelation 3:7-22; Psalm 131:1-3; Proverbs 29:23 Amos was shown a vision of a swarm of locusts which would eat every green plant in sight. Amos cried out to the Lord that Israel would not survive it and the Lord relented. Next, Amos saw that God was planning to punish his people with a great fire which would devour the whole land. Amos prayed and God relented. Lastly, Amos was shown the Lord standing beside a wall that had been made using a plumb line. The Lord was using a plumb line to see if the wall was still straight. The Lord would use this plumb line to measure the sins of the people. He would measure their pagan shrines and temples. It would bring Jeroboam’s kingdom to an end since he was the one who had set up the golden calves and instituted his own way of worship in the land of Israel. *** God told Amos to go and tell the people of Israel who complained that he prophesied against them that their wives would become prostitutes in Israel, their sons and daughters would be killed and their land would be divided. They would be exiled to a foreign land. *** The Lord showed Amos another vision of a basket of ripe fruit. Israel was like this fruit - ripe for punishment. The day was coming when singing would be turned to wailing. Many would die in the streets and the living would be carried out of the city in silence. The reason why this was coming was that they robbed the poor, trampled the needed, cheated the helpless, cheated in the market place, and enslaved the poor for money. When the Lord was through with them, they would never forget the wicked things they had done. *** In that day, the Lord would make the sun go down at noon and turn their singing into weeping. they will live in a state of sorrow and sadness over all the death. The hearing of the Word of the Lord would become so scarce. People would search everywhere just to hear a word from God, but not able to find one. The young would thirst for the Lord. Those who trusted in idols will fall, never to rise again. *** Amos saw a vision of the Lord standing beside the altar. God called down the destruction of the Temple. Those who destroyed the fall would be killed by the sword. There would be no escape for anyone. God would destroy the sinful from the face of the earth but would not completely destroy the family of Israel. *** God will restore the fallen house of David. He would repair the walls and rebuild it and restore its former glory. God will bring his people back to Israel and they will rebuild their cities and living in them again. They will plant and reap and never be uprooted from the land again. *** In Revelation the angel spoke to the angel in Philadelphia. Philadelphia was the missionary age which spanned from 1517-1790. It was commended for its perseverance in the faith. God had no criticism for them. He instructed them to keep the faith and promised them a place in God’s presence, a new name and the New Jerusalem. *** Laodicea was known as the apostate church. It began in 1790 and has continued. It was not commended for anything but criticized for being indifferent and deceived. God advised them to desire truth, humility, and to see with spiritual eyes. *** Lord, may we have spiritual eyes to see and be a part of your rebuilding process. We put our hope in You, Lord.

Wed.’s Devo - Repent

Read: Amos 4:1-6:14; Revelation 2:18-3:6; Psalm 130:1-8; Proverbs 29:21-22 Amos spoke to Samaria, the capital of Israel calling them fat cows because the women oppressed the poor and ordered their husbands around. They would end up with hooks in their noses as they are led to exile. *** There was no repenting from them so they could keep sacrificing to idols at Bethel and Gilgal. They could keep bragging about all they gave to these false gods since they loved the attention. *** God had brought famine, drought, blight and mildew as well as other plagues. He had allowed their sons to die in battle to get their attention, but still they refused to turn back to the Lord. So, God was going to bring on them all the disasters he had promised to bring if they didn’t repent. *** God begged them not to return to their pagan altars at Bethel or the shrines at Gilgal. Those who continued to do this would be dragged off into exile. Their gods would not be able to save them. They had twisted justice and oppressed the righteous. They had stolen from the poor through taxes and unfair rent while they used the proceeds to build beautiful stone houses that they would never live in. They oppressed good people by taking bribes and deprived the poor of getting justice in the courts. God told them to hate these injustices and cry out for the oppressed. *** The day was coming when God would judge. It would be dark and hopeless for the oppressor. God would no longer tolerate their sins nor accept their forms of worship. They should go to Calneh and see what happened there and then to the city of Gath. They were destroyed and Israel was no better than them. An enemy nation was about to be sent against them by the Lord who would oppress the whole nation. *** In Revelation, a letter was given to the angel of the church in Thyatira. Thyatira represented the time of 590-1517 and was known as the papal church. It was commended for its faith, its service and its patient endurance. It was criticized for its tolerance of immorality and the spirit of Jezebel. They were told to keep the faith for they would be given the authority that Christ had on earth to rule the nations. *** The church at Sardis ruled from 1517-1790 and was the reformed church. It had a reputation of being alive but it was dead. It was told to go back to the basics of their beliefs and repent. Those that remained faithful would be given robes of white and their names would never be erased from the Book of Life. *** Lord, may we stay faithful to You and use the authority you have given us to rule the nations. May our hearts be cleansed and our spiritual eyes open to see what you want us to see. May we be quick to repent.

Tues.’s Devo - God’s Words Through His Prophets and Angels

Read: Amos 1:1-3:15; Revelation 2:1-17; Psalm 129:1-8; Proverbs 29:19-20 Amos was a sheep-herder from Tekoa which was 10 miles south of Jerusalem. He prophesied judgment on the nations and on Israel. Israel and Judah had enjoyed years of prosperity but the poor were oppressed and sin and immorality was widespread. The people thought their wealth was a sign of God’s blessing on them but Amos was sent to tell them that God was not pleased with them. He was going to punish them and the nations around them for their sins. *** God started with indictments against seven of their neighbors which included Judah. These nations are Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab, Judah, and then he indicts Israel. They are being judged for their treatment of God’s people in Israel. God judges nations even today in how they treat his people and the nation of Israel. Amos also shares that God never does anything that he doesn’t first tell his prophets. *** Amos said that God would destroy the pagan altars at Bethel and the horns of the altar would be cut off and fall to the ground. In the first verse of this book that it said that this was two years before the earthquake. Now we know what happened when the earth quaked. Their beautiful homes were also destroyed. *** In Revelation, we begin the messages to the angels in charge of the seven churches. I see them as the church ages represented by the churches in order of when they occurred. Ephesus represented the early Apostolic church. It began in 30 A.D. and continued till around 100 A.D. They were commended for rejecting evil, and for their perseverance and patience. They were criticized for losing their love of Christ and were instructed to do the works they did at first. They were promised the tree of life. *** Smyrna represented the persecuted church and began after the apostolic church of Ephesus and ran till around 313. This was a time of great persecution of the church. They were commended for gracefully bearing the suffering and there was no criticism for them. They were instructed to be faithful till death for they would be given the crown of life. *** Pergamos represented the state church because it became totally accepted by the religious and political leaders. It ran from 313 - 590 A.D. They were commented for keeping the faith in Christ but criticized for tolerating immorality, idolatry and heresies. They were told to repent using scripture to fight against the heresy of their day. If they overcame, they would be given hidden manna and a stone with a new name on it. *** Lord, may we be known in heaven as victorious overcomers in our day. Thank you for all the ones who have gone before us and preserved the faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you for all the people who have been instruments in our lives to bring us to the truth about You and your son.

Mon.’s Devo - God’s Revelatin Sent to Us

Read: Joel 1:1-3:21; Revelation 1:1-20; Psalm 128:1-6; Proverbs 29:18 Joel’s name means “Yahweh is God”. Joel is believed to be one of the earliest minor prophets who prophesied during the rule of Joash. A plague of locusts had come in and devoured their land and killed their animals causing famine and drought. Many people died as a result. The locusts even ate the seed for the next year’s planting. Joel prophecies that this was the hand of God and his judgment over the land. In Deuteronomy 28:38-46 it explains what will happen to the nation if they forget the Lord and don’t obey his laws. These scriptures describe what Joel and his fellow citizens were experiencing. *** Joel calls the people to repentance and fasting. He cries out for God to have mercy and help them. The people are in panic as they watch the locust sweep across the land. Joel sees that the Lord is leading the locusts and they are his army. The Lord knows that no one can stand against him and his army so he begs the people to turn to him and give him their hearts. He would have mercy and compassion on them. The Lord would have pity and guard his land. He would send them grain and everything they needed. He would drive his army of locust into the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. God would then restore life to their land. *** Then the Lord will pour out his Spirit upon all flesh and their old men will dream dreams and young men will see visions. Everyone will be on the same plain. God will send signs and wonders in the skies. The sun will become dark and the moon turn to blood red before the day of the Lord, but everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. The ones that God has called will survive. God will restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem and judge the armies of the world in the valley of Jehoshaphat. God will be a refuge for his people and they will receive blessing while the world is being judged. God’s people will receive life and blessing and pardon. They will dwell with the Lord and he will dwell in Jerusalem. *** Revelation was given to Jesus by God to show him what was going to happen shortly. Jesus sent his angel to give it to John who had been an eye-witness to his ministry on the earth. We are blessed if we read these words of Jesus because the time is near. *** God and his seven Spirits, and Jesus sends them grace and peace. Jesus is coming with clouds and every eye will see him, even the ones who are his enemies. *** God declared that he is the Alpha and Omega, beginning and the End. He is the one who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. *** John then tells his side of what happened. He was on the island of Patmos for preaching about Jesus. It was the Sabbath and John was in the Spirit. He heard a loud voice behind him that said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last.” Then the voice told him that he was to write in a book and send it to the seven churches which were in Asia: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. *** When John turned to see where the voice was coming from he saw a huge menorah lit up. In the midst of it was the Son of Man clothed in glory with a golden banner across his chest. His eyes were like a flame of fire and his feet shone like brass refined in the fire. He held seven stars in his right hand and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edge sword. His countenance was like the sun in brightness. John fell to the ground like a dead man. The voice told him not to be afraid. He was to write everything down because it was what was going to take place on the earth. *** Lord, may we walk in the fear of the Lord, remembering who you are and what your mission is. May we assist in bringing your Kingdom down to earth.

Sun.’s Devo - The Consequences of Idolatry

Read: Hosea 10:1-14:9; Jude 1:1-25; Psalm 127:1-5; Proverbs 29:15-17 God had prospered Israel but the richer she got, the more she spent on idols. The hearts of the people had to be punished for their sins. The Lord would smash down their sacred pillars. *** The people made promises to the Lord they had no intention on keeping. They blamed their sin on the fact that they didn’t have a king. Injustice was everywhere. They worshiped the golden calf at Bethel which he called “Beth-aven” sarcastically because it means “house of nothing”. It would be carted off to Assyria and not be able to save them. *** God would put a heavy yoke on their necks that would force their hard hearts to break. When the hard ground of their hearts broke, he encouraged them to plant good seeds in it of righteousness and love. *** They had sown wickedness and reaped sin. They had trusted in their military might for safety. Now they were terrorized by threats of war. Hosea reminded them of the slaughter of Beth-arbel in Naptali when Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked it. They would share the same fate because of the golden calf they worshipped in Bethel. *** God had called Israel out of Egypt and its idols and led them in love and kindness. But the more God called him, the more he ran. Since they refused to return to Him, they would return to Egypt and be forced to serve Assyria. There, most of them would be destroyed, but not all of them. One day the people would turn to follow him. When God roared, they would come out of Egypt and God would bring them home again. *** At the time, Israel was making alliances with Assyria and paying them with olive oil. *** Hosea spoke to Judah. He reminded them of how Jacob had struggled with his brother Esau even in the womb. As a man, he struggled with God. At Bethel, he struggled with his angel and won. He begged for a blessing and got one. So now, he plead with the people to return to the Lord. *** God rescued them from the slavery of Egypt but they returned to that bondage of idols. God sent his prophets to bring them back but they refused to listen. So, they would live in tents once again, like they do every year at the Feast of Tabernacles. *** Jacob had fled to the land of Aram where he worked for years for Rachael. The prophet Moses brought Jacob’s people out of Egypt and protected them, but now he was sentencing them to death to pay for their sins. *** Ephraim who was fruitful and lush would become dry and desertlike. The people of Samaria would bear the consequences of their sins. *** Hosea begged them to return to the Lord and confess their sins. Their gods are worthless and can’t help them. *** God would heal them of the faithlessness and love them once again. He would bless their land with fruitful crops and trees. If they walk in the Lord’s path they will find truth and righteousness. *** Jude is one chapter and is full of deep knowledge. James, Jesus brother wrote it. He urged them to defend the truth against the people who had infiltrated their churches and taught that they could live immoral lives. This was the teaching of the Nicolatians. *** He reminded them of the angels who left heaven to have sex with women on the earth. They are now chained in darkness, waiting for the day of judgment. Sodom an Gomorrah were like these teachers who were filled with immorality and every kind of sexual perversion. God destroyed them by fire. God would deal with these teachers of James’ day who deceived the people for money, like Balaam. *** Enoch had prophesied about these people who would come in the last days to deceive the elect of God. God is coming with countless of his holy ones to execute judgment on the people of the world. He will convict them of all the sins they had committed. *** Jude told them to build up one another’s faith and pray in the Holy Spirt as they wait for the mercy of Jesus to bring them eternal life. They would be kept safe in God’s love. *** All glory, majesty, power, and authority are yours before forever and ever!

Sat.’s Devo - Return to the Lord

Read: Hosea 6:2-9:17; 3 John 1:1-15; Psalm 126:1-6; Proverbs 29:12-14 Hosea calls the nation back to the Lord. God sent his prophets to tear them apart with words and threats of judgment. The people, in turn offered sacrifices to appease the Lord, thinking this would be all then needed to do. But, the Lord wanted them to love one another and to know him. Instead, they broke their covenant with the Lord and betrayed his trust. *** Gilead was the land east of the Jordan occupied by the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh. God called them a city of sinners and murderers. He called Ephraim and Israel prostitutes because they went after foreign gods. *** Judah was next. God had wanted to restore their fortunes but instead, would have to punish them for their sins. God wanted to heal Israel, but the crimes of Samaria were too great. They thought God wouldn’t see what they did, but he sees them all. *** Israel’s mingling with foreigners and worshipping their gods had made them weak and old. It had made them become silly and unwise. God had wanted to redeem them, but they told lies about him and turned on him. *** God hated the golden calf that Jeroboam set up. He asked them how long they would be incapable of being innocent. He would smash that calf to bits. *** Because of their sins, they will reap destruction, famine and judgment. They would be held accountable for their sins. Nothing they try will change God’s heart. *** The prophets God sent were to be watchmen over Israel but the people tried to trap them and they were not safe, even in the house of the Lord. *** The glory of the Lord would leave them. They would have difficulty in having children and the ones they did have would be taken from them. *** God declared that their sin began at Gilgal which was where Joshua had had the tribes put their stone to remind them that God had delivered them out of Egypt. Saul was crowned king there and it was the place Saul sinned by offering the sacrifice before Samuel arrived. The kings of Uzziah to Hezekiah worshiped the Lord there, but it had become the center of unspiritual worship. *** In Third John, John commended Gaius for being strong in spirit, faithful, hospitable and for following the truth. He spoke of the traveling teachers who John accepted, fed and housed when they were with him. The teachers depended only upon those in the faith for provisions. *** He rebuked Diotrephes who rejected them and not only refused to help the traveling teachers but put anyone who supported them out of the church. *** John told Gaius not to let his bad example influence him. Those who do good prove they are God’s children and those who do evil prove they do not know God. *** Lord, may we be good examples for others to follow. May we provoke others to good works and to know and love you more.

Fri.’s Devo - A Warning From Hosea

Read: Hosea 4:1-5:15; 2 John 1:1-13; Psalm 125:1-5; Proverbs 29:9-11 Hosea let the people know that he and God knew everything they were doing and then he named their sins. He could find no faithfulness, no kindness and no knowledge of God in the land. We know that there were others who were prophesying the same thing and they were not participating in the evil deeds he mentioned, but it was the leaders and most of the people who were. He told them that they couldn’t pass the blame to anyone else, but must examine their own life. *** God was charging the priests with drunkenness and having false prophets. God didn’t recognize them as priests since they were’t worshiping him. They had chosen to worship idols who could’t help them one bit, over the glory of God who was all-powerful and mighty. They had become foolish, causing their daughters and dauther-in-law’s to commit sexual sins. Their men sinned with the temple prostitutes, yet they refused to understand that this was sin. *** Israel was stubborn and since she was bent on idolatry, she would be destroyed. Hosea called out the royal family. They would be judged for leading their nation into idolatry. Their arrogance testified against them. Their false religion would devour them. On the day of judgment they would become ashes as nothing in them would be found worthy to stand. *** When Israel and Judah saw how sick they were, it was too late. God would tear them to pieces and they would not be rescued by anyone. God would wait for the day when they would admit their guilt and turn to him. *** In John, he wrote to Martha because deceivers had come into her home to lead her from the truth. He wanted to warn her not to listen to their doctrine and be influenced to believe their lies. John had met some of the followers from there who were a testimony of how they walked in truth. He reminded them again to walk in love for one another. He also reminded them of the ones who taught that Jesus didn’t appear in the flesh as God. That teaching is anti-christ material. *** The only way to have a relationship with God was to embrace the son, Jesus Christ who came in the flesh and died for our sins. *** Lord, may we stand strong in the truth. Thank you that you are truth and you give us discernment to walk with you. May our lives bless you today.

Thurs.’s Devo - Isreal’s Return from Idolatry

Read: Hosea 1:1-3:5; 1 John 5:1-21; Psalm 124:1-8; Proverbs 29:5-8 Hosea was a prophet who lived during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah and Jehoash of Israel. *** At the beginning of his ministry, the Lord told him to go and marry a prostitute. Some of her children would be conceived in prostitution. This was to be a picture of what Israel had done to the Lord by worshipping other gods. *** Hosea married Gomer and she became pregnant with a son. The Lord named him Jezreel which means “it shall be sown of God” to represent what he was going to do to punish King Jehu’s dynasty. Jehu had murdered Jezebel at Jezreel. God would also end Israel’s independence by defeating their military in the Jezreel Valley. *** Gomer then had a daughter and God said to name her Lo-ruhamah, which means “Not loved”. God would no longer show love to the people of Israel or forgive them. But, he would show love to the people of Judah. He would free them from the power of their enemies with his power. *** Gomer became pregnant again and had a son. The Lord named him Lo-ammi which means “Not my people”. God was proclaiming that Israel was not his people and he was not their God. *** God said that the day would come when Israel would be so many they would be uncountable. At the same place that God had declared they were not his people, God would say they were children of the living God. Judah and Israel would unite and come together. They would come together like his son and daughter. *** God described Israel as a prostitute that ran after other lovers but could’t catch them. She would become so destitute that she would return to her husband, the Lord, who gave her everything. She had given all God had given her to Baal. *** God would take back all her gifts and provision he had given her and leave her stripped and naked. Everything she depended on would be taken from her. God would then speak to her and woe her back and give her hope. She would call the Lord her husband once again and he would give her peace and safety. He would make her his wife forever and show her his righteousness and justice and unfailing love and compassion. She would be faithful to him and he would make them his own people. They would come to know him as the Lord. *** God told Hosea to go and find his wife and love her again even though she had left him for another lover. Hosea bought her back for fifteen pieces of silver and five bushels of barley and a measure of wine. He told her she had to live in his house and stop her prostitution. She would not have sexual relations with anyone, not even Hosea. This would represent the time when Israel would nave no king or any way to sacrifices or worship the Lord. They would return and devote themselves to the Lord. “In the last days, they will tremble in awe of the Lord and of his goodness.” *** John tells us that loving God means loving each other and keeping God’s commands and they are not suppose to be a burden to us. We defeat evil with our faith. God gave us three witnesses to who Jesus was. The first was his baptism when God called out from heaven to say this was his son. The second was his death on the cross and the third was the Holy Spirit who God gave on Pentecost. He reminds us what Jesus says and leads us. God chose to give us eternal life through his Son. He hears us when we ask for things and will give us what we need. *** John speaks of a sin that leads to death and sins that can be repented of. God’s children do not practice sinning because God holds them in his hand and the evil one can’t get to them. The whole world is under the control of the evil one, but we aren’t! We live in fellowship with Christ. *** Thank you for calling us your children and fellowshipping with us. Thank you for the love and security we have in You. May our light shine today in the earth.

Wed.’s Devo - Confidence in God

Read: Daniel 11:36-12:13; 1 John 4:1-21; Psalm 123:1-4; Proverbs 29:2-4 The angel continues his explanation of the end. The king, Antiocus will exalt himself and claim to be the highest God. This is the Antichrist or the 7th head of the 10-horned beast in Revelation 13:1-8. He will not have any respect for other gods. Instead, he will worship the “god of fortresses”. Antiochus built a temple to the Roman god Mahazzim who was a protector god. Antiochus would promote only the men who worshipped this god with him. *** The king of the south (vs. 40) was king of the Saracean Arabs who came from the south and attacked Antiochus. They took Egypt and Syria and were headed to Israel but many came to help Antiochus. Two of his vassals from the north and the east rebelled against him so he went bring them back under his control and died when he returned. *** The archangel Michael stood up and there will be anguish like at no other time in history. At that time, everyone whose name is written in the book will be rescued and rise to meet the Lord in the air. It will be the time of judgment and the books will be opened. Some will be rewarded and some shamed according to how they lived their lives. *** Daniel asked the angels how long until these shocking events will be over. One of them asked the Lord who was standing above the water. He said, “It will be for a time, times, and half a time. When the shattering of the holy people has finally come to an end, all these things will have happened.” *** Daniel didn’t understand and he asked how it would finally end. He was told to go for now and keep secret and sealed what he had seen until the end. Many would be cleansed by these trials, but the wicked would continue in their wickedness. Only the wise would know what it means. *** From the time that the daily sacrifice is stopped and the sacrilegious object is set up to be worshiped there will be 1,290 days. And blessed are those who endure till the end of the 1,335 days. At the end, all the ones who were in the cloud of witnesses will be rewarded. *** From the time that Antiochus offered the pig on the Lord’s altar to the day Judas Maccaeus restored the worship of God was 1,290 days. Forty-five days later, Antiochus died making it 1,335 days. *** In John, he tells us how to tell if a New Testament prophet is from God. If he acknowledges that Jesus came in the flesh. If he doesn’t then he has the spirit of the Antichrist. *** The way to tell if a person is a child of God is if he has love. Only God’s children can love. God has given us his spirit as proof that we are his. *** Since God is love, we who live in him, grow in our love. Love is the opposite of fear so we are not afraid of the judgment that is coming upon all mankind. With confidence, we can live like Jesus did here on earth. *** Lord, thank you for freedom over fear and death. May we with confidence stand for you in this world of craziness. The world may be uncertain, but we know with confidence where we are going and whose we are.

Tues.’s Devo - Daniel’s Vision Explained

Read: Daniel 11:2-35; 1 John 3:7-24; Psalm 122:1-9; Proverbs 29:1 The angel began explaining to Daniel what his vision meant. He went into great detail to describe the four kingdoms he saw. *** Persia ruled at the time and four more Persian kings would come to power: Ahaserus, Artaxerxes, Darius, and Esther’s Xerxes. Then a ruler from Greece (Alexander the Great) rose up and invade Persia and became the next great power. *** The northern kingdoms of Syria and the southern kingdoms of Egypt had years of fighting. Their last rulers, Ptolemy of Egypt and Antiochus of Syria met for the last time, but not before Antiochus went through Jerusalem and entered into the Holy of Holies. *** Amazingly, many Jews joined with Antiochus against Ptolemy and provided him provisions when he came back through Jerusalem to get rid of the Egyptian garrison in Jerusalem. Their hope was to make Judah independent, but it didn’t work. *** Antiochus came up with a plan to conquer Egypt by giving Ptolemy his daughter, Cleopatra hoping that through her, he would gain Egypt. It didn’t work as Cleopatra sided with her husband against her father. Antiochus was finally killed in battle and was succeeded by his son, Seleucus Philopater. *** Meanwhile, Simon a Benjamite who had a vendetta against the high priest, gave information of the treasures in the Jewish temple. Seleucus sent Heliodorus to Jerusalem to plunder the temple. Seleucus' only son and heir, Demetrius, poisoned Seleucus to gain the throne. But Antiochus Epiphanes, Seleucus' brother, by the help of Eumenes, king of Pergamos, succeeded him to the throne in 175 B.C. *** Antiochus was nicknamed Epiphanies, which sounds like the word “Epimanes” which means"the madman," for his insane actions which were beneath the dignity of a king. He would carouse with the lowest of the people, bathe with them in the public baths, and foolishly jest and throw stones at passerbys. Also for his crafty supplanting of Demetrius, the rightful heir, from the throne, he was termed “vile." He had gotten the kingdom by flattering people of importance to help him. *** Antiochus Epiphanes invaded Egypt with overwhelming forces and took it in 171 B.C. He gained everything except Alexandria, which successfully resisted him. He retired to Judea, where, in revenge for the joy shown by the Jews at the report of his death, which led them to a revolt, he subdued Jerusalem. *** Antiochus invaded Egypt three times (Da 11:29). In his first invasion of Egypt, he entered Egypt with an overwhelming multitude, with chariots, elephants, and cavalry" (1 Maccabees 1:17). Antiochus left Ptolemy Philometer at Memphis as king. On his way back to Syria, he attacked Jerusalem, slew eighty thousand, took forty thousand prisoners, and sold forty thousand as slaves (2 Maccabees 5:5-14). Led by Menelaus, the high priest, he entered the sanctuary with blasphemies, took away the gold and silver vessels, sacrificed swine on the altar, and sprinkled broth of the flesh through the temple (2 Maccabees 5:15-21). *** On his second open invasion of Egypt. Ptolemy hired mercenaries from Greece. Antiochus advanced with a fleet and an army, demanding him to stop and he retired to Egypt and withdrew his fleets from Cyprus. *** On his third invasion, Ptolemy sent Grecian vessels to Cyprus. He was humbled and discouraged through the fear of Rome and the fact that God's worship had been restored at Jerusalem. He turns his wrath on the Jews. Many of the Jews had forsook their religion for Greek philosophy. Antiochus, on his way home, sent Apollonius (167 B.C.) with twenty-two thousand to destroy Jerusalem, two years after its capture by himself. Apollonius slew multitudes, dismantled and pillaged the city. They built a fortress and from it they fell on and slew the worshippers; so that the temple service was discontinued. Also, Antiochus decreed that all, on threat of death, should conform to the Greek religion, and the temple was consecrated to Jupiter Olympius. Identifying himself with that god, and he wished to make his own worship universal (1 Maccabees 1:41; 2 Maccabees 6:7). *** This was the the greatest threat to their worship they had ever faced. This was why the angel was giving them a warning it would happen. It was to comfort the faithful of a Messiah who would come and confirm their covenant with God. *** The third beast was the Romans, who conquered Macedon when Antiochus left Egypt. Rome whose standard was the eagle, the bird of Jupiter, was sacrificed to by Titus' soldiers within the sacred precincts, at the destruction of Jerusalem. The Roman emperor, Adrian erected a temple to Jupiter Capitolinus where the temple of God had stood, A.D. 132. *** Much persecution of the righteous happened then and through it God’s people were be purified, cleansed until the time of the end. *** John gives us a test to tell who are God’s children and whose are the devil’s. Those who do what is right are God’s children and those who keep on sinning are the devil’s. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. God’s children do not make a practice of sinning and they love one another. *** Cain was an example of the devil’s child who killed his own brother. Satan’s children kill and do not love one another, but God’s children love and help one another. *** Lord, may our love be obvious to others and give you glory.

Mon.’s Devo - Daniel’s Vision of the Future

Read: Daniel 9:1-11:1; 1 John 2:18-3:6; Psalm 121:1-8; Proverbs 28:27-28 During the first year of Darius’ reign Daniel read in the scroll of Jeremiah that Jerusalem was the lie desolate for 70 years. This disturbed Daniel so much he fasted and dressed in burlap. He prayed for his nation and repented of all the sins the kings, princes and people had done against the Lord. The deserved curses in the law of Moses had been poured out on them. He asked the Lord to please turn his anger away from Jerusalem and forgive them. *** While he was praying, Gabriel came to him at the evening sacrifice. He explained that the moment Daniel began praying, a command from heaven was given for him to come and explain to him his vision. *** Seventy years were given for the people to complete their rebellion and put an end to their sin and atone for their guilt. When this is over, they will return to rebuild Jerusalem. Then, there would be 49 years plus another 434 years, then another 7 years. The seven sevens were from 445 to 396 BC (from Artexerxes to the arrival of Nehemiah and the covenant renewal celebration at Jerusalem). The sixty-two sevens were from 396 BC to AD 32 (from the dedication of the second temple to the crucifixion of Jesus). The last seven years are yet to be fulfilled. *** Christ would be killed and appear to have accomplished nothing. A ruler would arise and destroy the city and the Temple. Jerusalem would enter into a covenant with this ruler but he would break it half way through the seven years. He will bring an end to their sacrifices and be one who makes desolate. *** This was fulfilled when Antiochus Epiphanes set up a heathen altar in the Temple and cut off God’s anointed high priest at that time. He would do this until his fate was decided by the Maccabees. *** In the third year of the reign of King Cyrus of Persia, Daniel had another vision. He was standing by the Tigris River and saw a man dressed in linen dressed in glory and majesty. The men with Daniel didn’t see it but were so afraid, they left him alone. *** Daniel was so weak, the angel had to stand him up and give him strength. He told Daniel, that from the first day he prayed for understanding, his request had been heard in heaven. It took him 21 days to get through the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia. Michael had to come and help him pass. Michael stayed there to fight while the angle came to give him the message. He came to tell him that his vision had to do with a time yet to come. *** The angel told Daniel again that he was very precious to the Lord. He told Daniel that he had come but would soon have to return to fight against the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia, and after that the spirit prince of the kingdom of Greece would come. He told Daniel that Michael was Israel’s spirit prince and he had been helping Michael since the first year of Darius’ reign. We will read what he told Daniel about his vision tomorrow. *** In First John, John reminds them that many antichrist have risen, but the Antichrist is coming in the end. Many people had left the church who were not really a part of them. The Holy Spirit gives God’s children his Spirit so they will know good from evil and truth from lies. The Holy Spirit will lead us into truth and we will not be distracted by lies. We know that Christ was righteous, so we are to be righteous. *** We know God loves us and that we are his children, but the world doesn’t know this because they don’t know God. Sin is against God’s law so if we continue in sin, we don’t know him or understand who he is. *** Lord, help us to walk in truth and righteousness. Help us to discern the signs of the times we are in. May we comprehend the greatness of who you are.

Sun.’s Devo - The Rise of Evil

Read: Daniel 8:1-27; 1 John 2:1-17; Psalm 120:1-7; Proverbs 28:25-26 God transported Daniel to the fortress of Susa, the Persian capital. He was shown a ram with two horns which represented the Persians and the Medes. The Persians were the longer horn led by Cyrus, and the Medes were the shorter horn led by Darius. Cyrus was much more powerful. *** Then Alexander, from Greece came to power and expanded his territory in all directions. He overcame the Medes and the Persians, but in the prime of his rule, he got a fever and died. Antiochus Epiphanes came from the Greeks and over took the kingdoms to the south and east which included Jerusalem. He wanted to replace Jehovah’s worship in Jerusalem with the worship of Zeus Olympius. The warfare in heaven was great, but Michael and his army could’t prevail against him and was restrained from stopping him. The daily sacrifice was stopped in the Temple and evil prevailed. *** Daniel overheard two of the angels talking. One asked how long this would be allowed to continue and he answered 2,300 days. This was the exact time to the day until Christ appeared on the scene. *** When Daniel came to his senses he was overcome. *** John wrote that once we mature in Christ, we don’t have to sin. And, if we do, we have a lawyer in heaven, Jesus, who advocates for our sins and the sins of the world. *** If we know God, we will obey his commandments. That is how we show we love him. We also show God we love him by loving our fellow believers. *** John warns us not to love this world because what we can’t see is more important than what we see. But, we are moving into the time when the intangible is going to become tangible. We are are going to lay our hands on sick and see them immediately recover and do all the things Jesus did and more! *** Lord, I thank you that you are so much better than silver and gold. You are the essence of who we are because You are in us. We look forward to the times when our faith will be made sight.

Sat.’s Devo - The Kingdoms of the Earth

Read: Daniel 7:1-28; 1 John 1:1-10; Psalm 119:153-176; Proverbs 28:23-24 During Belshazzar’s reign in Babylon, Daniel had a dream and wrote it down. In the dream, he saw a great storm over the sea. Four beasts came out of the sea and they all looked different from the other. *** The first beast was like a lion which stood for the kingdom of Babylon. It was like a lion with eagle’s wings. Its wings were pulled off and it was left standing one its hind feel on the ground like a human with a human mind. *** The second beast stood for Media-Persia and it looked like a bear. One side reared up (Persia) and it had three ribs in its mouth, as it devoured its people. *** The third beast stood for Greece and looked like a leopard. It had four bird’s wings on its back and four heads to stand for its kings. *** The fourth beast that stood for the Romans and Alexander the Great was the most terrifying. He crusted his victims with huge iron teeth and trampled their remains under his feet. It had ten horns which stood for its ten rulers. Another horn came up and three of the ten horns were torn out to make room for it. This horn boasted arrogantly. *** God set up his judgment seat on earth to judge the rulers of the earth. Court began and the books were opened. The first three beasts were allowed to live but, with little authority, but the fourth beast was killed and destroyed by fire. *** Jesus arrived at the courtroom on earth and was given authority, honor and sovereignty over all the nations of the worlds so that every race and nation and language would obey him. *** Daniel asked one of the angels standing beside the throne what it all meant and he explained these were the kingdoms that would arise on earth. But in the end, the holy people would be given the kingdom, and they would rule forever an ever. *** We are living in this last kingdom which has taken over all the mountains of society. We are watching as we, God’s people, take back the mountain of government. Once we have that, the other mountains will fall to God’s authority. God has judged the kingdom of Rome which stands for Babylon in Revelation, and it is falling. Hallelujah! *** John explained that if we want to have fellowship with God, we have to walk in his light of righteousness. That is where we will find God. We have all sinned, but if we confess our sins, he will faithfully cleanse us and forgive us. *** Lord, may we walk in your light, following your steps. Thank you that we are living to see your Kingdom come to earth.

Fri.’s Devo - The Lion’s Den

Read: Daniel 6:1-28; 2 Peter 3:1-18; Psalm 119:129-152; Proverbs 28:21-22 The enemy has the same strategy always. Darius, the Mede was the ruler and he chose Daniel and two others to be his administrators to supervise the high officers and protect the king’s interests. When Daniel proved to be the wisest and most capable, he was up for a promotion over all of the administrators. They knew about this and looked for a way to discredit Daniel, but couldn’t find any dirt on him. The only chance they had was to find something, had to do with his religion. *** They cooked up a plan and had the king sign an order that said for the next 30 days, no one could pray to anyone except the king. They appealed to Darius’ pride. It worked, and Darius signed it. The penalty for disobeying the order was to be thrown into the lion’s den. *** When the king signed it, Daniel went home and immediately prayed as he had always done. The men went straight to the king and told him. They reminded him that Daniel was not their race - a captive from Judah - to separate him even more from them, even though he had been in Babylon now for over 50 years. *** By the end of the day, the king had no recourse but to obey his own order which made him very upset. When the king was pressured to arrest Daniel, he finally did and told Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve so faithfully rescue you.” *** Darius fasted that night and couldn’t sleep. Early the next morning, Darius ran to the lion’s den and called out to Daniel asking if his god was able to rescue him from the lions. Daniel replied that God’s angel shut the mouth of the lion and found him innocent. He assured the king that he had not wronged the king. *** The king was so overjoyed, he had him taken from the den immediately and had the men who had maliciously accused Daniel to be thrown into the den. The lion’s leaped on them and tore them apart before they even hit the floor of the den. *** The king sent out a ruling, praising Daniel’s God whose kingdom would never end and who rescues his people and performs miracles and signs and wonders. *** Daniel prospered during Darius’ reign and the reign of Cyrus. *** In Peter’s second letter, he told them not to give up when Jesus didn’t come when they thought he should. God created the world out of water and would destroy it with fire. *** God’s timing is not our timing. A day to the Lord, is a thousand to us and a day to us is like a thousand to the Lord. God isn’t slow, like we think, but is patient for our sakes, wanting everyone to repent. That day will come and it will come unexpectedly. The heavens will pass away and disappear in fire and the earth will be judged. God has promised us new heavens and a new earth filled with God’s righteousness. *** While we are waiting for that to happen, we are to live peaceful lives full of purity and righteousness. We are to remind us that God’s patience to return is so that people will repent. There were those who twisted Paul’s letters to mean something they didn’t mean. We are to have discernment and not be distracted by heresy or enticed by error. *** Lord, may we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Writing on the Wall

Read: Daniel 5:1-31; 2 Peter 2:1-22; Psalm 119:113-128; Proverbs 28:19-20 King Belshazzar was having a feast which we would call a wild party where the concubines were present and men were calling out praises to their gods while getting drunk. Belshazzar had had the gold cups taken from the Temple in Jerusalem brought in to drink from. *** As they partied, the fingers of a human hand wrote on the plaster wall of the kings’ palace, near the lamp stand so they could all see it. The kings face paled as he watched it and he almost fainted. *** He shouted for all his enchanters and astrologers and fortune-tellers to come and tell him what it meant but none could read the writing on the wall. The queen mother heard the ruckus and came to see what was happening. She told the king about Daniel who had given Nebuchadnezzar understanding with his dreams. (Nebuchadnezzar was Belshazzar’s grandfather.) *** Daniel came in and read the words on the wall and gave him the interpretation, but first he gave him a rebuke. He reminded him that he knew the story of his grandfather and how he went crazy for a while until he grasped that God was the Lord of heaven and ruled the kingdoms of the world and appoints who he desires to rule over them. *** Then Daniel explained the words on the wall. The first was “Mene” which means that God had numbered his days and his reign had come to an end. “Tekel” means ‘weighed’ because he had been weighed on God’s scale and had not measured up. “Parsin” his kingdom had been divided and given to the Medes and Persians. *** Daniel was rewarded, and that very night, Darius the Mede, killed Belshazzar and took the kingdom. *** In Peter, he warned us to beware of false prophets and false teachers who will cleverly teach destructive heresies and deny Christ who bought them with his blood. Many will fall to their immorality who slander the truth. They will try to scam people of their money, but God condemned them long ago. *** God did not spare even the angels who sinned in Genesis 6 who came down and mated with women on the earth and produced genetically modified humans who were half-demon/ half-human. God destroyed the earth to get rid of them and later condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for the same thing. But God rescued Noah and his family and Lot out of them because of their righteousness. So God can rescue us out of our trials. *** God is especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desires and those who despise authority. In their arrogance they scoff at the highest order in heaven that even the angels wouldn’t bring a charge against. (I wonder if he isn’t talking about Lucifer, Michael, and Gabriel.) *** These false teachers scoff at things they don’t understand. They delight in deception and their lust is never satisfied. They are trained in greed. They love to earn money doing evil. *** These people are doomed for blackest darkness. They hold people as slaves and live a lifestyle of deception. They promise freedom but are slaves themselves. Some have known the truth and turned away from it and will not be able to be set free. *** Lord, I thank you for your discipline that leads us to repentance, but I also thank you for your justice that leads to life or death. You are a good, and full of wisdom and love. We trust you.

Wed.’s Devo - God Rules the Kingdoms of the Earth

Read: Daniel 4:1-37; 2 Peter 1:1-21; Psalm 119:97-112; Proverbs 28:17-18 Nebuchadnezzar sent a message to his kingdom proclaiming the Lord’s power and his Kingdom that would last forever. Then he relates the story that lead up to his revelation about God. *** He had had a dream that none of his wise men could tell him the interpretation. He then went to Daniel and Daniel was able to interpret it. *** Daniel told him that the dream was about Nebuchadnezzar’s future. He dreamed about a huge tree that provided for many animals. A holy one from heaven came and chopped off its branches to the stump. The stump was left to live with the wild animals for seven periods of time with the mind of a wild animal. *** Daniel explained that he was the tree and he would be driven from human society to live with the wild animals. He would eat grass like a cow and live like an animal for seven years, until he learned that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to whoever he chooses. His stump was left in the ground meaning that he would return to his kingdom and rule again, under God. *** One year later, Nebuchadnezzar was walking on the roof of his palace and looked out across the city and proclaimed, “Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor.” While the words were still in his mouth, he heard a voice from heaven telling him that he was no longer the ruler of this kingdom. He would now be driven from society and live with and like the wild animals until he learned that the Most High rules over kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses. 
 *** That very hour, he was taken to the wilderness. He lived there until his hair grew long and his nails grew like claws. *** At the end of the seven years, his sanity returned and he praised and worshiped the Most High and King of heaven. His advisors sought him out and restored him as the head of his kingdom with even greater honor than before. *** Peter reminds us that by God’s power, He has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We are to make every effort to respond to God’s promises. It begins with faith. Then we add moral excellence. To that we add knowledge, then self-control, then patient endurance, then godliness and brotherly affection. Brotherly affection should spread into love for everyone. If we mature through all these areas and end in love we will never fall away. We will be given a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. *** Peter reminds us of the day he stood with Jesus and heard God speak on the mountain. He saw Jesus transfigure into glory and heard God speak from heaven declaring his love for his Son. Jesus was prophesied by the prophets that he would return and they spoke from God. *** Lord, may we grow and mature into the image of Jesus. We patiently look for your return. May we be about your business as we wait.

Tues.’s Devo - The King’s Dream

Read: Daniel 2:24-3:30; 1 Peter 4:7-5:14; Psalm 119:81-96; Proverbs 28:15-16 Daniel woke up from his dream and went immediately to see Arioch, the man who had been ordered to execute all the wise men of Babylon. He told him not to kill them because he had the meaning of the king’s dream. Arioch quickly took Daniel to see the king. *** Before Daniel would tell him the dream and its meaning he made it perfectly clear that there was a God in heaven that revealed to him the king’s dream and was revealing to the king the future. *** Then he told him the dream. He saw a huge frightening statue that had its head of gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze and its legs were iron. Its feet were a combination of iron and baked clay. As he watched a rock was cut from a mountain, but not with human hands. It struck the feet smashing them to bits. The whole statue fell and broke into pieces but the rock became a great mountain that covered the whole earth. *** This dream is being fulfilled in our day before our very eyes as we see the Kingdom of God crush the power of Satan’s kingdom of deep state, Luciferian corrupt powers on earth and in heaven. It is glorious to watch! *** Daniel explained that he was the head of gold and the other metals were kingdoms that would arise after him throughout history. The last kingdom of iron and clay would represent a kingdom that would try to mix man with machine. It would be crushed by the Kingdom cut from the Rock of Christ. That is us! We are a part of the Kingdom cut from the Rock. God’s Kingdom will never be destroyed or conquered. *** When Nebuchadnezzar heard the dream, he bowed before Daniel and praised his God. He exalted Daniel to a high position and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon as well as chief over all his wise men. Daniel requested Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be in charge of all the affairs of the province of Babylon and it was granted. *** Then, Nebuchadnezzar had a huge gold statue made and set up in the plain of Dura. He brought all his officials to its dedication and ordered that when they heard the sound of the musical instruments, they were to bow to the ground to worship his gold statue. Anyone who refused would be thrown into the fire. *** Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow so they were brought before Nebuchadnezzar and given one more chance to bow. Nebuchadnezzar said that no god would be able to save them. They explained that they would never bow, and if they were thrown into the blazing furnace, the God who they served was able to save them. But if he didn’t, they would still never bow to his gods. Needless to say, this made Nebuchadnezzar so mad, he had the furnace turned up seven times hotter than usual and had his strongest men throw them into the fire, bound and with their clothes still on. The fire was so hot, it killed the men who threw them in. *** As the king watched he saw the three men and another that looked like one of the gods walking around in the furnace. He called them out and they came out alive with not so much as the smell of smoke on them. Nebuchadnezzar was so amazed he made a decree that whoever spoke a word against their God, they would die and have their house burned to the ground. He proclaimed that there was no god who could rescue like this. They were promoted to an even higher position in his kingdom. *** Peter explained that the end of this world was coming, so love was most important. We have all been given gifts to use for his kingdom. We will face fiery trials that make us partners with Christ in his suffering. We look forward to the great revealing of Christ to the world. If we suffer, let it be for Christ’s sake. We are blessed to be called by his name. Judgment is coming and it will begin in God’s household. We want to be found suffering for Him, not for our sins. *** Peter gave a special appeal to the elders in the churches to care for the flock that God has entrusted them with. They are to lead by example so that in the end, they will receive a crown of glory and honor. *** To the ones who are younger, they are to respect the authority of the elders and be humble. God raises the humble, but he resists the proud. *** Everyone must be aware of our enemy, the devil who seeks to devour us. We must stand firm against this and be strong in our faith. Suffering lasts for a season and then comes restoration and strength. God will place us on his firm foundation. All glory to God! *** Lord, thank you that you chose us to live in this great time in history to see your Kingdom coming to earth in such a powerful way. May we remember to be led by love and Holy Spirit. May we not be given to fear or hopelessness, but with joy and power.

Mon.’s Devo - Daniel’s First Test

Read: Daniel 1:1-2:23; 1 Peter 3:8-4:6; Psalm 119:65-80; Proverbs 28:14 During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s rule over Judah, Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. He took some of the holy articles from the Temple and put them in his treasure house. *** He ordered that some of the strong and exceptional young men from the noble’s families be brought back to Babylon and put in his service. He had them put in his schools to learn their language and their customs. He ordered them to eat his food. *** Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were chosen from the tribe of Judah. They were renamed Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Daniel asked their attendant if they could not eat the king’s food since it was not koshier, and eat only vegetables and water. The attendant was afraid for his life if he didn’t obey the king’s orders, but Daniel asked him to give them a test for 10 days and see if at the end of the ten days, they didn’t look healthier than the others who ate the king’s diet. He agreed and at the end of the 10 days, they looked healthier than the other boys, so they were able to stay on their diet of veggies and water. *** Daniel was given the gift of interpreting the meanings of visions and dreams. At the end of their training, Daniel, Hannah, Mishael and Azariah impressed the king. They were wiser and had more balanced judgment and ten times more capable than any of the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom. Daniel served him until Cyrus came to reign. *** One night the king had a dream and was so frightened by it, he called for all his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers and demanded that they tell him his dream and what it meant. If they didn’t tell him both, they would be killed as imposters. None could tell him, so when the soldiers came to kill Daniel and his friends, Daniel asked why they were being killed. When he found out he went to the king to ask for an extension so he could inquire of God. He told his friends to pray that God would give them the dream and its interpretation. The king gave him the extension and God gave Daniel the dream and its interpretation that night. Daniel praised the Lord who controls the course of world events and removes kings and sets up other kings. He praised God for revealing to him the secret and mysterious things that are hidden and giving him what the king had demanded. *** Peter gives us practical advice in having right attitudes towards each other. He reminds us that the eyes of the Lord are watching what people do and his ears are listening to our prayers. But, he turns his face against those who do evil. *** Our testimony is only as good as our actions that prove what we say is true. If we suffer, it is better to suffer for doing good. Jesus suffered doing good and was raise to life. He then went and preached to those in prison who had disobeyed God when Noah was building the ark. Only eight people were saved while the whole earth was being cleansed. God saves us and cleanses our conscience. *** Christ went to heaven and is now seated at the right hand of God and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority. When we suffer, we must have the same attitude that Christ had when he suffered. When we turn from our past sinful lifestyle and begin to live for Christ, others won’t understand and will slander us. We must keep in mind we will all have to face God who will judge our deeds. Those who accepted the Good News will live forever with God in the Spirit. Lord, help us to have the same attitude that Jesus did when he was being persecuted and misunderstood. May we stand in your presence with a clean conscience and a pure heart.