Faith & Love: A One Year Bible Reading Plan - Part 12Sample

In today’s reading, we delve into Revelation chapter 9.

It contains the description of the fifth and sixth trumpet judgments, also known as the first and second woe.

Looking at verses 1-2 in the Amplified translation:

Revelation 9:1-2 "Then the fifth angel sounded [his trumpet], and I saw a star (angelic being) that had fallen from heaven to the earth, and the key of the bottomless pit (abyss) was given to him (the star-angel). He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke like the smoke of a great furnace flowed out of the pit, and the sun and the atmosphere were darkened by the smoke from the pit."

This portrayal serves as a stark reminder of the severe consequences of sin and the fall of Satan. However, as believers, we find solace in the profound truth that Jesus Christ has already dealt with the consequences of sin through His sacrificial death and triumphant resurrection.

But the good news for us as believers is that Jesus Christ dealt with the consequences of sin for us - by His sacrificial death and triumphant resurrection. God made us alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. Colossians 2:14-15 beautifully articulates this, stating that Christ cancelled the record of charges against us, nailing it to the cross. In this act, He disarmed spiritual rulers and authorities, publicly shaming them through His victory.

As recipients of His grace – we no longer have to live constantly conscious of the weight of sin à but have the joy of living with our eyes fixed on Jesus!

May I invite you today?

1. To consider the great gift of grace we receive through Jesus Christ – that our sins are not held against us.
2. Secondly, to remember that we have the privilege of living free from the slavery of sin. We have this calling to live in the Kingdom of Light. Let us not use our freedom to continue to sin – but to live as children of the light, in the power of the Holy Spirit.