Thursday, October 17, 2013

The Bible Challenge: Day 290

The scriptures read are Ezekiel 39-40, Psalm 88 and Revelation 11.

Ezekiel 39. Gog (apparently the king of Magog) instead of conquering Israel will end up providing a lot of wood for burning, a lot of food for birds and scavengers and a lot of employment for gravediggers.

Ezekiel 40. The temple to be. If, like me, you have a hard time visualizing all of this, here is a video that will help.

Psalm 88. This song perfectly captures the mournful pleading of the psalm.

Revelation 11. Lots going on here. As in Ezekiel, temple measuring is started. Two powerful witnesses preach. They are killed by the Beast from the Abyss and left to rot in the streets but after 3 1/2 days they rise again. The 7th angel finally blows the 7th trumpet and all worship breaks out. And the door of the heavenly temple flies open revealing that the missing Ark of the Covenant is there.

The measuring of the temple is (H) about determining the true extent of God's people, (P) about protecting what is good and true about Jerusalem, (F) the literal temple built in Jerusalem in the end times, or (S) the heavenly temple.

The two witnesses are (H) any of the historical witnesses to the true (read: Protestant) church over against the false (read: Roman) church, (P) personifications of religion and government (via Zechariah 4:11-14), or Moses and Elijah, or James and Peter, (F) Elijah and either Moses or Enoch (Elijah and Enoch never tasted death so this ties that up neatly) or possibly 2 converts among those left behind, or (S) the church militant.

This is the first of 36 references to the Beast.

BTW notice that, in the song of the 24 elders, this judgment is to "destroy those who destroy the earth." In other words, this is not God's action to destroy the world but to execute justice on those who would destroy it.

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