For They Conspire - Psalm 83:1-8

Psalms 83:1-8 ESV 

Psalm 83

O God, Do Not Keep Silence

A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.

 O God, do not keep silence;

 do not hold your peace or be still, O God!

 For behold, your enemies make an uproar;

those who hate you have raised their heads.

 They lay crafty plans against your people;

they consult together against your treasured ones.

 They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;

let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”

 For they conspire with one accord;

against you they make a covenant—

 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,

 Moab and the Hagrites,

 Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,

 Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;

 Asshur also has joined them;

they are the strong arm of the children of Lot.

Selah

The nations make a covenant against the covenant people of God. 

A similar list of those nations appear in Ezekiel that will face the wrath of God. 

This is as current as today's headlines. 

For Ten Days - Revelation 2:10

Revelation 2:10 ESV 

Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

The 10 days between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur are known as the Days of Repentance. Yom Kippur is the day of judgment when God judges the people.

During Rosh HaShanah and the “Ten Days of Repentance,” people can repent of their sins and do good deeds to increase their chances of being inscribed in the book of life.  (Rose Guide To The Tabernacle)

The days of repentance between these two events on the Jewish calendar may shed light on this reference of "ten days" here in Revelation. This is a time of reflection on the commandments of God. Jesus may be telling the church at Smyrna to remain in a state of repentance, to persevere in the truth of the Gospel and remain faithful to the end. 

His Name - Isaiah 9:6-7

Isaiah 9:6-7 NASB 

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;

And the government will rest on His shoulders;

And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,

On the throne of David and over his kingdom,

To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness

From then on and forevermore.

 The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

There is a name by which we must be saved. 

What is that name?

It is through and by God that we are saved. We call Him different things, and relate to Him through the Trinity. He has revealed Himself this way. Here this child Jesus is called by several names which point us to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three relate to our God who is one. 

There is one way to God and that is by obeying God. Jesus said if you have known Him, you have known the Father. The Holy Spirit brings us into that truth. 

Believing in the Son means believing the Father. The name by which we must be saved is the authority and truth of God. When we believe in Jesus, we believe God. We enter His house of grace and become children of God. We receive His name. 

In The Wheels - Ezekiel 1:16

Ezekiel 1:16 NASB 

As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction:their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl. And the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel.

Ezekiel 1:20

Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

The Holy Spirit gives life and direction to Ezekiel's living creatures. He resides with and in the spirit of those who obey God. Our path is straight wherever it leads. 

We are living creatures through the power of that same Holy Spirit. 

Stand On Your Feet - Ezekiel 2:1-2

Ezekiel 2:1-2 NASB 

 Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!” As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me.

Ezekiel is called Son of man by the one who would refer to Himself as the Son of Man. Later we will see this person sitting on the throne in the form of a man. 

Notice the progression of the events. 

 

  Ezekiel is called from a prostrate position and told to stand. 

  The Holy Spirit enters and sets Ezekiel on his feet in the presence of God. 

  It is then Ezekiel is able to hear what The Lord has to say. 

This same action takes place with each believer. It is the Holy Spirit that raises us from the chains of death into the new life of the kingdom of God. It is there we come into the presence of God and are able to hear His words. 

  

Against The Holy Spirit - Luke 12:10

Luke 12:10 NASB 

And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him.

Why is ok to speak a word against the Son of Man but speaking a word against the Holy Spirit is blasphemous and will not be forgiven?

Maybe it has to do with the fact that Jesus took on the form of our humanity in order to be rejected and die for our sins. Jesus came to save, not to judge. He would become the very sin that was incompatible with God. Resurrecting to new life through the power of the Holy Spirit, grace is made available through that new life. 

The Holy Spirit is the pure Spirit of God. To blaspheme the Spirit is to blaspheme God. Attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to the darkness of Satan and his demons when He is part of the light will not be tolerated. 

It is darkness that rejects the light.  The light will prevail. 

If You Knew Me - John 8:19

John 8:19 NASB 

So they were saying to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.”

The Greek (οιδα) word for know or knew appears four times in this verse. The Pharisees did not know the God they claimed to serve, so there was little chance they would recognize His Son. 

Jesus answers in a way that confirms He and the Father are one. At the foundation of this statement lies the mystery of the Trinity. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have one name. 

Matthew 28:19-20

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

οιδα oida; perf. of 1491a; to have seen or perceived, hence to know:-- Strong's

Unoccupied - Matthew 12:43-45

Matthew 12:43-45 NASB 

“ Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came ’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

Jesus is speaking to and of the Jews. However, this applies to every believer as well. When we begin to marginalize or exclude Jesus from our hearts and lives, there is something that will fill that empty space.  

Jesus will judge the state of our hearts. It up to you to determine what that is. 

One Name - Matthew 28:19-20

John 8:19 NASB 

So they were saying to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.”

The Greek (οιδα) word for know or knew appears four times in this verse. The Pharisees did not know the God they claimed to serve, so there was little chance they would recognize His Son. 

Jesus answers in a way that confirms He and the Father are one. At the foundation of this statement lies the mystery of the Trinity. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have one name. 

Matthew 28:19-20

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

οιδα oida; perf. of 1491a; to have seen or perceived, hence to know:-- Strong's

The Love Of Christ - Ephesians 3:14-19

Ephesians 3:14-19 NASB 

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

The Spirit of truth roots and grounds in the love of Christ. Through faith we are given  in love the ability and strength to comprehend the love of Christ. It is only in love we are able to receive love. 

 

  His and ours. 

It is the gift of the Spirit which brings us into the life of the Father.  

It is love that surpasses knowledge, is beyond our conception, and opens the door to that which is beyond ourselves. 

The Cross

There is but one way to cross the great divide between God and man. 

It is the cross of Jesus Christ. 

The Last Seed - Mark 4:26-29

Mark 4:26-29 NASB 

Parable of the Seed

 And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows —how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The light of the word enters the soil of our earth. It takes root in good soil and begins to grow, maturing into the image of Jesus. 

Seeing the seed to maturity involves the sower and the soil, a giving and receiving. Over time a good work begun comes to fruition. The kingdom dynamic operates on and in each individual, which is part of the body of Christ. This person becomes part of the crop of believers which is the harvest sought by God.

Who will be the last seed that permits the crop to be harvested?  Apparently it's not me. You maybe?

Until He Is Taken - 2Thessalonians 2:6-7

2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 NASB 

And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.

Who is the restrainer but the Holy Spirit?

Who is the author of lawlessness but Satan?

When was Satan bound or restrained?

When he was defeated by Christ. 

The Holy Spirit will be taken out of the way before Christ returns. The Holy Spirit could not come until Jesus ascended into heaven. Jesus will not return until He is removed. 

Jesus Christ assumed His reign at that time. He will return to sit on David's throne when He returns. We will share in His reign. 

Both To Sprout - Isaiah 45:7-8

Isaiah 45:7-8 ESV 

I form light and create darkness,

I make well- being and create calamity,

I am the Lord, who does all these things.

 “Shower, O heavens, from above,

and let the clouds rain down righteousness;

let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;

let the earth cause them both to sprout;

I the Lord have created it.

All of creation issues forth from the hand of God. All that happens is made possible by and for Him. Good and bad are the result of our choices and our reactions to them. This is the earth to which the seed of the word of creation falls to produce the fruit sought by The Lord. 

May the rain from heaven mix with our earth to form a new creation pleasing to God.     

Not Any - Isaiah 44:8

Isaiah 44:8 ESV 

Fear not, nor be afraid;

have I not told you from of old and declared it?

 And you are my witnesses!

 Is there a God besides me?

There is no Rock; I know not any.”

This is the rock, The Lord Himself, which is the foundation and cornerstone of the church. It is the mountain of God, His power and strength, upon which we find rest and peace. 

It is this rock Jesus referred to when He spoke with Peter. The apostles would become the foundation of the New Jerusalem, but they would find steady and sure footing only on the Rock who is Christ. 

Whose Likeness - Matthew 22:18-22

Matthew 22:18-22 NASB 

But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the coin used for the poll- tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. And He *said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They *said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He *said to them, “ Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” And hearing this, they were amazed, and leaving Him, they went away.

We are made in the image of God. We belong to Him. He has made it possible for you and I to give ourselves to Him and transform into the image of the Son.