FBC Daily Devotions

by Mako Kato

Revelation 10:4

Here we get a glimpse at something, but we don’t get to know what it was.  A voice from heaven told John to seal up what the seven thunders had said.

I can kind of relate to how John felt.  Writing for my college newspaper I’ve had times were people want to tell me something off the record.  They don’t want me to publish what they are going to tell me.  Usually it’s something really interesting that people would want to know, but the person being interviewed has a reason for not sharing.  It could be something very personal or something that could hurt someone else.

But whatever the reason, I learn something that the readers will never know.  I am entrusted with information that as a journalist I want to share, but am told not too.  Like John, I’m ready to write and have to stop… Unlike John, I don’t hear a voice from heaven telling me to not write anything down.

When people tell me not to write something, sometimes they have good reasons for it and sometimes they don’t.  Here I trust that God has a good reason for letting John know about something, but keeping it hidden from the rest of us.  This isn’t the only time that God has entrusted His messenger with information that He gave in strict confidence.  We read that God told Daniel to “shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end.” (Daniel 12:4a ESV)  And now, God has revealed some of those things to John and to us in Revelation.

There are things God doesn’t want to reveal to us.  In Matthew 24:36, Jesus tells us that no one knows the day and hour of his return except the Father.  So many people have tried to guess when Christ is coming back and been wrong.  God doesn’t want to guess, but He wants us to be ready “for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matthew 24:44 ESV).

God is revealing to us information in Revelation, but there are things we won’t know while we are on this earth.  We can try to understand Revelation knowing that there are things that God has revealed to us and there are things that we will not understand until a later time.

I’m reminded of God answering Job’s questions:

“Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth and the wicked be shaken out of it?..  Have you entered into the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?  Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?  Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?  Declare, if you know all this.”

Job 38:12-13, 16-18

I don’t know all this, but God does, and I can trust in His plan.  As Job learned, God has His own reasons for doing things, and they are beyond our understanding.

by Mako Kato

Revelation 10:1-3

This angel is mighty.  These images in verse 1 remind me of a couple different things in Israel’s history.  There are pictures of a cloud and a pillar of fire.  This reminds me of Exodus when God leads the Israelites by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.  A rainbow makes me think of Noah and God’s promise never to send a worldwide flood again.  A face that shines makes me think of Moses after coming down from the mountain and Jesus at the transfiguration.  These are all images of God’s power, judgment and care for his people.

Some have even taken these images and concluded that this angel is really Jesus.  I would disagree, because angels in the New Testament always refer to angels, as one commentary pointed out.  Thinking back on the beginning of Revelation it says that Jesus sent an angel to reveal these last things to John.  Also, Christ is reigning in Revelation and is worshiped.  This angel is not worshiped although he is powerful.

The angel had in his hand a little scroll (we’ll go into that later) and he had his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land and he called out like a lion.    This is one powerful being.  But even this mighty angel doesn’t deserve our worship.

Even a strong and beautiful angel pales in comparison to God.  God is the one who created the angels and reigns supreme over all.  These verses remind me of God’s holiness and righteousness.  His power goes out of him like when Moses came down from the mountain with his face shining, because he had been in the presence of God.  This angel, likewise, had been in the presence of God in heaven and so his face was like the sun.

This past Sunday, Pastor Mike shared about Christ-centeredness as opposed to just doing the “Christian” things.  John saw in the shining face of the angel the glory of God.  It wasn’t the angel, and it wasn’t Moses, it was Christ’s light shining.  What about us?  Can people see that our faces shine because of Christ?

I’d like to end with a reminder from Paul:

“For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true).”

Ephesians 5:8-9 (ESV)

by Mako Kato

Read Revelation 9:20-21.

After all these different ways God judges the world, it says that the rest of mankind dose not repent.

Here we see human stubbornness and God’s love.  Reading that humans will not repent is sad to see, but I appreciate that it shows that God is still giving mankind a chance to repent.  Those who are left still have an opportunity to believe.  In 2 Peter 3:9 we read that the Lord is patient with us, “not wishing that any should perish, but that all would reach repentance.” (ESV)  God wants everyone to believe in Him and have life.

But these people will keep to their old ways of life.  In these verses we see a rejection of what Jesus tells us is the greatest commandment – to love God and love our neighbor.

We see the rejection of God in verse 20 – Instead people worship demons and idols.  In verse 21 we see that people will not repent of the wrongs they commit against their neighbors, whether murders or sorceries or sexual immorality or thefts.

But as Christians, how should we look at these verses?  For me it is a reminder that it is important how we live our lives.  We should not be like the rest of mankind that does not follow God.  Christ empowers us to live differently.  Verse 20 mentions the “works of our hands” (ESV).

What have you done with your hands recently?  Have you built something, fixed something, driven somewhere or worked in the office?  The works of our hands should be bringing glory to God.  Like it says in Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

I know that’s easier said than done.

What about sins we commit against or with other humans?  I suspect that most of you haven’t murdered or committed sexually immoral acts with others, but I’m reminded of Christ’s words calling us to a higher standard.  Remember in the Sermon on the Mount how Jesus mentions murder, but he takes it farther and says whoever is angry with his brother will be judged.  And he says we know not to commit adultery, but he takes it farther and says whoever looks at a woman lustfully has committed adultery with her in his heart.

We are sinful, but we as Christians have repented and turned away from our sins.  And when we do mess up, as we all do, we can come to God and ask Him for forgiveness.  That’s the great thing. God wants us to come to Him.

He’s patient with humanity.  He’s patient with those who have not believed, giving them a chance to hear the message of His love.  He’s also patient with those who have believed in Him, even though we often stumble and don’t give Him glory in our words and actions.

By Mako Kato

Read Revelation 9:17-19.

Here we get a description of the horses and riders.  They are unified.  It is almost like they are one creature.  It says “they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were like lions’ heads and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths.” (Revelation 9:17 ESV)

It goes on in the next verse to call the fire, smoke and sulfur were three plagues.  These are things that would kill a third of mankind.  And not only that, but the tails of the horses were like serpents with heads… Scary.

It makes me think of fire-breathing dragons except these are fire-breathing horses.  It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, “Straight out of the horse’s mouth.”

When I think of fire, smoke and sulfur, I think of hell and evil supernatural forces.  One commentary pointed out a similarity between these verses in Revelation and Luke 10:19.  Jesus tells his followers, “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall hurt you.” (ESV)

In the first woe we read about scorpions.  Revelation 9:10 said that the locusts have tails and sting like scorpions.  Now in the second woe we read about serpents.  These horses have tails like serpents.

These creatures, the locusts and the horses, are under the power of the enemy.  But even though they are evil, powerful forces, they have no power over us.  God has the ultimate authority.  We can walk on the serpents and the scorpions and they cannot hurt us because we are children of God.  These terrible judgments are occurring to those who do not have the power of Christ to withstand the power of evil, supernatural forces.  But we can be encouraged even while reading about this destruction, because the one who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world.

by Mako Kato

Read Revelation 9:16.

“Two hundred thousand thousand” (KJV) translated from the Greek “Dyo myrias myrias.*

200 x 1,000 x 1,000 = 200,000,000

200 million.  That’s a lot of mounted troops.  To put it in perspective, basically the entire armed forces of the Allies and the Axis in World War II numbered about 70 million.

So who are these horsemen?  I’m not sure, but they could be demons.  The description of them in the next few verses aren’t that of normal horses. One possible explanation says that the demonic horsemen killed by deluding human armies into war.  This would explain the 200 million troops. But these troops, whoever they are, a part of the killing of a third of mankind…  That’s one big army, whether demonic or human.

But here’s another interesting thing – We know how big the army was because John “heard the number.”  He couldn’t estimate by looking that there were 200 million troops.  This was all part of God’s plan.  God can keep track of things too great for our human minds.  He can keep track of 200 million mounted troops. Even more than that, God can keep track of us.  Out of the several billion people in the planet he knows each of us.

One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 139.  It begins, “O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.  You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.” (Psalm 139:1-2). 

I’d encourage you to read the rest of the Psalm and think about how we fit in God’s plan.  God doesn’t need anyone to tell Him how many people are in a stadium or concert hall – He knows not only how many there are, but who each of them are. 

Psalm 139 ends by saying “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”

That is a great attitude for each of us to have.  That God would look at our heart, test our thoughts and lead us in the right path while we are here on this earth.

*I don’t know Greek, but if you’re curious about the Greek for a verse you can check out www.blueletterbible.org and click on the “c” button.