Before the seals

“Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.” Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!” And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!” Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬-‭14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Before the seals

It’s cold this morning. The coming season of winter is beginning to alert us to its soon arrival, and we are being given an alert to prepare. In the coming months, we know that the air will be cold and brisk, we know that there will be snow and ice, and many of us are about getting together our sand and ice melt. We are preparing our vehicles for the winter driving.

While all this is going on, there is another alert, one of supernatural significance, that is informing those who walk in the Spirit. They sense that the seasons are changing, but instead of the promise of colder weather, it is the promise of a holy paradigm shift, as the temporal gives way to the eternal.

Reading through Revelation chapter five, this morning, I was alerted to the coming change of the seasons. The picture is the throne room of God. We see the twenty four elders, we see the throne and in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne, the scroll.

“Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.””
Revelation 5:2-5 NKJV

These are the things that will soon be.

Even as I write this, there are events unfolding in our world that are like the cold wind whipping through the bare trees. These are evidences of coming change, of the unfurling of the scroll upon the breaking of the seals.

In the coming months, there will be moments events as the Lord further prepares the earth for the coming of the Lord Jesus.

“Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.”
Revelation 6:1-2 NKJV

“Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.”
Matthew 24:3-5 NKJV

Even now, there are those who express the desire to be the conquerer of the world, desiring to hold sway and power over all of humanity. We are seeing the decline of the West and the rise of the kings of the East, as our world is quickly changing. Soon there will be one who stands out from the rest who make a play for supremacy of the whole world.

Now is a time of preparation, a time for those who call upon the name of Jesus, who are born again, to be about the building up of holy strongholds. It is time to become filled with the word of God, to deal with personal sin, and prepare for the the cold spiritual winter, where there will be little light.

“When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.”
Revelation 6:3-4 NKJV

“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”
Matthew 24:6-8 NKJV

We are even now experiencing the rumblings of these coming times, as war upon war takes away any sense of peace from the world. We are on the cusp of world war, and words unspeakable for decades, have become common place: nuclear war.

The rumblings are a warning to us, that we must be getting ready. This is not the time to think that things will get back to normal, for normal is no more.

“When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.””
Revelation 6:5-6 NKJV

This past year, the world has been rocked by many troubles with droughts, floods, storms and a multitude of other events causing great interruptions in the food distribution system. Since our supply chain is routinely a year by year cycle, the struggles of this year will result in drastic food shortages in the year to come.

Those with great wealth will have no trouble feeding themselves, hence the mention of not harming the oil and the wine, the food stuffs of the rich. But those on bottom, whose needs are more basic, this will be a time of great trouble for the basic such as wheat and barley will be outrageously expensive.

I wonder if John knew about the war in Ukraine. God did.

Brothers and sisters, we know the seasons are changing. The Lord Jesus told us that they would. In the light of this, let us be about the Father’s business, preparing ourselves, both through provision of our physical needs and spiritually, making sure that we have girded ourselves with the Gospel, making time to go and tell the world about Jesus.

We are in the time before the breaking of the seals, for the Lord has shown us His mercy. May we not ignore what we have been shown, and may we be ready. It is not a time for fear, but a time for faith, for we know that the Lord is faithful.

““And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.” And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.”
Revelation 22:12-17 NKJV

Have a Fantastic Friday!

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#prayforthegospeltospreadeverywhere

https://www.allaboutgod.com/the-roman-road.htm