Read To Me Daily Semester 4Sample

ZECHARIAH 6-7:
There were so many correspondences to Revelation in the three chapters we read yesterday in Zechariah that I cannot even take time to list them. I single out this one from chapter 3 as especially interesting: 

Zec. 3:8 NLT “Listen to me, O [Joshua//Jeshua] the high priest, and all you other priests. You are symbols of things to come. Soon I am going to bring my servant, the Branch.
9 Now look at the jewel I have set before Jeshua, a single stone with seven facets. I will engrave an inscription on it, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, and I will remove the sins of this land in a single day.

Joshua was called the ‘Branch’, or ‘Rod’, or ‘Shoot’— and in this age we can clearly see that both he and Zerubbabel are pictures of the Messiah. The Branch is also referred to in Jeremiah and Isaiah.

Secondly, it is interesting that the stone has seven ‘facets’. The word for facets in Hebrew is literally ‘eyes’. And the Lamb in Revelation has seven eyes.

This insight given to Zerubbabel in chapter 4 is a principle for all of us to lay hold of:

Zec. 4:6 NLT It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. 

This next quote is one of Gale’s favorite verses. We have reminded ourselves of this so often.

Zec. 4:10 NLT Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin…”

ISAIAH 61:
Yesterday in Isaiah chapter 60, we heard many wonderful promises about the New Jerusalem— especially verses 1-3 and 19-21.

REVELATION 15:
Note that in Revelation chapter 14 the victory over Babylon is proclaimed as already won. God’s holy people are again warned against receiving the mark of the beast. At the end of the chapter are the two harvests, the wheat harvest of the righteous, and the grape harvest of those who will enter into eternal punishment. These are visions that give an overview, in a similar vein as the vision in chapter 12.

Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, we don’t know where to start to praise You and our heavenly Father! Because of You alone, we can be clothed in white. Your blood washes away the stains of our sins. You took away our sin in a single day. Thank you, Lord, that in all spiritual battle, we succeed— not by military might or by our own strength, but by your Spirit. Thank You that you have freed us from Babylon—the city of man, and this world’s system. And You have made us citizens of the New Jerusalem, which will be happy, prosperous, beautiful, and full of your glory. We will no longer need the sun and moon, because your light will be brighter and last longer. But what a great contrast for those who worship the beast and accept his mark on their bodies. There will be no relief from fiery torment for them forever. So may we have endurance in these last days, and never stop obeying God’s commands or stop being faithful to You, Lord Jesus. May we even consider it a blessing to be killed in your service. And may we take comfort that the results of our service will not be forgotten by God.