Rev. 13:2 LEOPARD, BEAR, LION

"And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion;" (Rev. 13:2)

Father; before I begin writing anything down, I gotta say -- it is always so good to spend time with YOU.  Let me remember that. There are so many times my mind says, Let me skip my time with God, I can do that later, and get on with my blogging, or writing the book, or financing, or doing other practical stuff (surely God wants me to get that done, right?), and I could get back to devotional, to heart-time with Him later. The truth of the matter is that it is getting together with Jesus-God that my soul really needs, that my heart absolutely finds every time. I do spend with Him oh more than worth its rejuvenating, invigorating power!

How did Takeshi put it concerning coming out to MCC online prayer meetings: so often, he has felt too tired to attend before he goes and has considered skipping it. But almost every time he goes, he has heard something that makes him feel more encouraged, energized; he has left, deciding he would continue to go. I suppose it is a little like the person who feels too tired to walk to the drugstore to pick up medicine to give him PHYSICALLY a higher functioning level! Lord, would You lean down for me?

The leopard runs fast, too fast and leaves slow runners behind, doesn't have time for some of us older ones who can't speak cyber-talk, still use analog appliances plugged into the wall. The bear is strong, can take care of many things at once, would not value those that do not have flesh to bear weight and medicinal ability to function in summer temperatures, perhaps. The allusions to speaking like a lion...so many thoughts rush in all at once. Human leaders need to be careful; those under them feel they cannot speak out without being seen as rebellious thus leaders' authority can be abused to wreak cruelty on subjects.

The Beast: Fast, Strong, Unfeeling...Hm; yeah, I think I'd rather spend more time everyday with Jesus. Scripture says He slows down for us, He is strong for the weak, and that He speaks to the Father for us with groans too deep for words. That's my Jesus!

Rev. 13:1 GOTTA JOIN IN, ANOINTED WITH TEARS

GOTTA JOIN IN

"having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns," (Rev. 13:1)

Is this a repetition of the beast seen in 12:3, "having seven heads and ten horns," only the number of the crowns have increased from seven to ten? Several thoughts --

Seven Heads -- I said to myself, unregenerate man thinks to himself about life, he has it covered, he's okay, since part of his reasoning may say he can see things from EVERY PERSPECTIVE now. But what comes next is the CONFUSION since some of those opinions, without question, will contradict, collide with, each other! The compassionate, creative values will definitely war with factors valuing lasting strength, practicality etc... 

• ten horns - instead of looking to God, wouldn't man want to look to themselves and divide up into ten smaller units crowned to administer compromises?
• Hm. John saw the elders seated on their thrones in heaven casting their crowns at the feet of the Lamb who sat on HIS THRONE and worshipping, crying, WORTHY IS THE LAMB "TO RECEIVE GLORY AND HONOR AND POWER FOR THOU HAST CREATED ALL THINGS, AND FOR THY PLEASURE THEY ARE AND WERE CREATED." (Rev. 4:11)
• What a contrast from how the enemy bribes humans with crowns, thrones, to somehow set up rulers of the earth for the enemy...ultimately to crush it. 
• It seems to be the theme for much seen on earth: emphasis on increased numbers -- we have so many millions following, supporting, believing; you should join us! Tattoos (branding, actually) can be attained for a very low fee.

I know, I know. Present teaching of the text meaning speaks of actual political nations. I was just journaling the worldly thinking that "streamed" into my mind as I was reading this portion.

ANOINTED WITH TEARS

"and upon his heads the name of blasphemy." (Rev. 13:1)

Distill. I was just thinking Father, of how little Your children know how to do this. The majority seem to know how to turn up the volume and merely observe as things happen. This is the generation of people who don't want to get personally involved; who don't want to get their hands dirty.

Then there are folks who think they're better because they "get personally involved." To the extent that means listening to or reading about others and getting emotional about it. 

But a third group goes even a step farther and makes a volitional, active decision, "sits in the seat of the scornful" by doing something himself. While this should actually be commended as being the most mentally sound and courageous of the three, I have noticed: some leaders are spending an unbalanced amount of time tearing down opposition and decrying evil and not enough time loving Jesus and praising God.

Does the man in the pulpit find his HEART BREAKS when he speaks of another brother who has fallen in sin? Such servants of God are few today; if God has blessed your church with such a leader, thank God and pray much for him. It is not his merit yet rare raw material chosen for God's glory, and despite any other weakness and stumbling detected in his life, GOD WILL USE HIM -- PRAY HARD!

The dragon may arm himself with a person of impressive degrees and a blaspheming mind; God anoints His undershepherd with tears in the heart.

Rev. 13:1 STANDING ON SAND

"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea," (Rev. 13:1)

Not just one grain; that would appear ludicrous to even the most foolish. But it seems possible when multiple grains have gathered under the feet, giving the appearance of some form of foundation -- altho' after any amount of time, if there is weight and mass applied to it, all will prove to sinking quicksand and suck in the life of any who entrust sustenance there. After all, even scripture tells us the beast rises up out of the sea. It is something wet and horrible from a threatening deep. There is no beckoning to "Come up higher" as from a heavenly Father but a clawing, grappling, "Aha! Gotcha where I want ya!" Wet sand is heavy; it doesn't float up to heaven but tends to sink down to the bottom of the murky sea.

「そして、彼は、海べの砂の上に立った。」黙示録12:18？

Yes; I was confused when Saaya and Rana came Wed. and I tried to open to the last verse of Rev. chapter 12 in my Japanese Bible and couldn't find it. As it turns out, the 新改訳 is based on a different manuscript, so its 12:18 in my English KJV, was at 13:1 in the Shinkai Yaku!

At any rate, it made me really think of how important it is where our feet are and what they are doing:

1. WHERE THEY ARE - Altho' the sandy seashore may not be that far away from the "house the wise man built on the rock," we can see these undesirable threats lie very close to dwellings based on solid foundations...that they are set up by contractors that offer fast, easy gains but rob you blind and offer no guarantees. We need to abstain from the appearance of evil (I Thess. 5:22).
2. 
   WHAT THEY'RE DOING - "Standing on truth" isn't good enough. Even the devil knows how to do that. The foolish man is the one hearing truth and disobeying it. There are many who claim to be Bible-preaching or God-fearing Christians but live for their own agendas as if there was no Greater One to obey; that is the foolish man who built his house upon the sand, no matter how loudly he announces he stands on truth. That "truth" may be sand that'll crumble after it gets wet, and the beast rising up out of the sea may bring enough water (worldly allure) to make sure that happens. 

THE BACKUP SQUAD DAVID FORMED FOR SAUL (I Sam. 22, 24)

"And every one who was in distress, and every one who was in debt, and every one who was discontented, gathered themselves unto him, and he became a captain over them; and there were with him about four hundred men." (I Sam. 22:2)

"I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the LORD's anointed." (I Sam. 24:10)

All the disgruntled, restless men that gathered around David expected him to lead them in revolt. But as far as David was concerned Saul was God's anointed, and as long as Saul was alive, David would be a loyal subject --because he was God's and not his own person. David's men were led to understand because the King was God's anointed, no matter what, they too would be his subjects!

What pastor would not want prayer support like that? 

Well, I suppose the proud leader would say, "What? I want people to think I am worthy of supporting!" It would be the difference between Peter before and after breaking. Anyone who realizes he is the "least of all saints" rejoices in backing, in unconditional backup, because he is so aware of his own weakness.

* In holding together this band and keeping them from an uprising, David may've helped steer their heart-eyes onto the lovingkindness and goodness of YAHWEH GOD. May we ever keep our hearts set on HIM.

Rev. 12:17b THEIR TESTIMONY IS SO MUCH MORE INTERESTING!

"the dragon...went to make war with...the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Rev. 12:17)

That is really it, isn't it? When Paul Washer's son asked his father what he did, he replied, "I fight dragons," THIS is what he was referring to. The dragon wouldn't be interested in us except for the Name of Christ. We are His, so He wants to crush us; we are at war. Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the Cross! Lift high His royal banner; we must not suffer loss!

The world's man speaks of making a name for yourself, of making a difference, of being good enough, etc...ALL ME.

They've got it wrong from the get-go, do not realize they've been duped by the dragon's foil. The thing he yanks our sights away from, because it would be his undoing if we held it there, is The Testimony of Jesus Christ. It's when they set their vision on Him and make Him their lives and their powers, the enemy will be licked.

In their puny created forms, they are nothing, but with Jesus Christ, the enemy does not stand a chance. So...he tries to have humans think about how important their feelings are, their aspirations, their rights, their offenses, their need to vindicate, their relationships, their rewards, and of course will accentuate their virtues, blessings, needs. He wants to keep their puny minds occupied with their lives until He can tumble them over the edge of eternity where there will be less to adore and worship the God he despises.

Incidentally -- the red dragon isn't so stupid he wouldn't think to DISGUISE himself. In today's world, he might camouflage himself in 3-piece suits, riding chauffered limousines heading powerful, successful corporations; or he could be an attractive youth owning depth of character and worthy values, driving an SUV.

But make no mistake about it, there will be NO ADMISSION of any agreement with the Creator or wrong in his enemy's rebellion against Him, no acknowledgement made of Jesus Christ's Redemption of Humankind.

Rev. 12:17 DRAGON DOESN'T WANT US FIGHTING BACK

"and went to make war with" (Rev. 12:17)

Yet somehow people think a peace treaty can be drawn up with the world. Seriously. For some reason, the Father of Lies deceives people with notions that it's the "Christian" thing, the "loving" thing, to be open and accepting towards the enemy.

After all, didn't Jesus say, "Forgive"? Didn't He say, "Bless those who persecute you"? And altho' the dragon's full intention is to annihilate and destroy, well, it's as they say: all is fair in love and war. And he is making war with his arch enemy, God, and His creation, the earth. We have been warned, earlier in the chapter (v. 12), that the devil, with his great wrath, was cast out of heaven, down to earth, and had only a little time to work out his vengeance.

I think we can see that when a fallen angel desires to have any kind of intercourse with man, it is not for repentance -- there is no record of an angel who has "come back to the Everlasting Father," decided to leave the ranks of the former arch angel of light to return to the service of Him Who is "Eternal Light and Life" -- there is NO RECORD of any dialogue beginning with "I have been wrong; I will amend my ways and return obeisance to my Creator."

Rather, any parrying is for the thought that he be given some sort of benefit in return. Any looking in the Bible can see how this has ended up, and NOT BE DUPED. The only problem is, the devil FIRST has people seeing the Bible as archaic so that people who base thinking on what it says are spoken of as "backward," "old school," "they don't know better." That way, he disarms folks from his biggest threat: truth, and it will be that much easier to fool them.

There was a movie about a man who wanted to get steer (cows) out to a ship in the deep. Well, he found he could manage them a lot more easily when they didn't have their feet on solid ground, tied their horns to crossbows of rowboats in a place just above their heads then took them out to the larger ship where they were hoisted on board by slings.

I know what I'm trying to say here. The attempt of the enemy was to get rid of the "solid ground" which made the opposition strongest, hardest to fight. Taking care of that was half the battle. Right. In this case, it's the Church who are in the place of the resisting animals, and the enemy in the place of the one who is trying to see the best way to handle them.  Christians want to think of themselves being on top all the time, with the world and opposing forces "beneath" them; so some might find this explanation-illustration offensive.

Well, this is not full truth: only an attempt to shed light on one aspect of it. And I do not claim to be Christ or enlightened in the way those who wrote the parables of scripture were.

But I still hold to the truth that the words of the Bible make very clear, very simply, with no need for complicated explanation. The words say plainly that the dragon MADE WAR.

The child of God may sit in his tent with his Father-God at his side and just marvel at the undeserved everlasting love, grace, life, protection we have, yes. But when we step out of the tent onto the battlefield, there is no call to be "chill" and "loving, caring, holding hands with everybody, looking up at the sky and being one." NO! Our Father is watching us from inside the tent, and He sees the dragon is out to make war. We should be ready to do battle when we step out into the fray.

BUT WE DO NOT FIGHT THE DRAGON'S WAY!!!

When the dragon strikes at our sense of self achievement, certain we will swing back outraged, we must counter with Christlike willingness to at times be demoted and lose paychecks if it means DOING THE RIGHT THING; when he swings at pride again, we must go down on our knees and up to be unlawfully sued when UPHOLDING RIGHTEOUSNESS; when he presses down with forces, he should be met with alarming endurance of discomfort/obscurity for the NAME OF CHRIST; and even when not for self but for another, the dragon should discover God's own able to forego self-vindication in love for COVERING A BROTHER'S WOUND. THE CHURCH OF GOD NEEDS TO FIGHT LIKE THIS, and to PRAY WITH FURY for ALL THE FORCES OF HEAVEN to fight for her -- they will, they really will, if we will pray. God's wisdom is on our side.

But I think most of the church aren't really aware we're in a real fight. And that's just the way the dragon would have it.

Rev. 12:16 GOD TOLD THE EARTH TO SAY AAAAH

"and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the flood" (Rev. 12:16)

The human instinct is to ask "how?" We forget the Creator designed it all to bring about His pleasure; why would He not "open its mouth" to take in any glitch in its functioning obstructing full completion of what it was meant to bring about?

Any handy mechanic would know to channel excess fluid to a part of the motor that wasn't getting enough; expert electricians repeatedly cut and form connections enabling current overrides to stabilize weak ones; bypass surgery is performed regularly on erratic heart outputs coursing through the veins. 

Surely, if human beings could do this much, it would be nothing for Creator God to have "the earth open her mouth" and swallow excess water so that the woman would not be troubled by "the flood"?

In 2006, I remember a "flood" of financial debt came on Hubby when his folks passed away suddenly, and a huge corporation decided to move into Koriyama, build a hotel resort there so was buying out all the city's small businesses like my husband's family company. 

Another company that had bullied Taishokan (my husband's establishment) got taken over by this corporation. That is, I saw the owner (I should say "former owner") was made to run around like an errand boy for the CEO of this group, fetching coffee, lighting his cigarette, etc..., not daring to lift his eyes off the floor. Our company's debt was virtually impossible to repay in the time demanded, so it looked like we would be carried away next.

A concerned friend had asked me then, "June, what are you guys going to do?" I didn't know. But God did.

In 2011, He sent a Magnitude 9.1 earthquake and a tsunami. Literally, the earth opened her mouth, and all that water got sucked back in. The nuclear power plants nearby got damaged; and resulting radioactive radiation caused near panic and mass movement out of the Fukushima area. That large corporation changed its mind about building a hotel complex there; it would be a total financial loss to do so!

Walls Crumbled in Earthquake

The deadline for returning loans were relaxed too; they didn't need to buy out Taishokan anymore. We merely sold our apartment to complete repayment of the loan then moved out of Koriyama ourselves.

Why do I worry? I've seen when the dragon tries to send floodwaters against God's own, HE simply has the earth open her mouth to help. My Father CREATED this globe. Collisions of huge earthquakes and ensuing tsunamis with nuclear power plants? They're mere hiccups to HIM.

Rev. 12:16 FLOOD, HELP, BLESSING

"And the earth helped the woman" (Rev. 12:16)

In Genesis, when the dragon tries to wipe out the seed of the woman with worldwide famine, the earth helps her by producing plenty for years before that, enabling Joseph to store warehouses with plenty to ride out years of drought and make the nation rich and powerful. 

Even before that, at creation, a humiliated fallen archangel decided to break the seal of God's earth's "moisturizing bubble", the cooling mist protecting everything's temperature and humidity. But he'd sent eruptions of volcanic ash into the air and molten lava bubbling up from the ground, black tar oozing down through the mountain ravines. The creation of God, he must've felt with venomous mirth, would be destroyed.

But the earth STOPPED then too. Temperatures cooled, and nature still obeyed the Maker, resuming the quality of solidifying from gaseous-liquid-molten-to rock hard and no longer harmful form. Human creatures call this petrifaction.

When the Creator formed other tiny life forms to serve Him, the enemy smiled to see their hearts were turning only evil continually, and God repented making them too. The red dragon cast out water from his mouth to destroy them. But somehow, the earth sent out a call to its animals and sent out emissaries to enter a rescue ark.

Also, of the many creations populating the earth, a handful (eight, to be exact) of humans went on board this ark so were untouched by the drowning scheme of the enemy. The archangel's ploy of murder had been foiled and would never succeed, it was promised and sealed, a bow in the sky given as a sign.

Oh yes -- the enemy had attempted to drown the creation with water. A heavenly Father knew how to divide all that water into droplets surrounding dust particles, called rain, in such a way it does not harm but merely wets then merely falls to earth, and gives it the nourishment it needs. (Added note: God fashioned rain such that it can replenish man's need for water without once causing dismay that he is being exposed to an "attack of drowning"!)

The "earth helped the woman." How many times has it been seen that it is after rains that the prettiest flowers come out,

after floods and natural catastrophes that the ground will have been turned and enriched, made stronger and healthier than before? How many humans, because of earthly catastrophes, had their eyes opened to truer values, learned to work together more than they did before the floods came?

Joseph's Storehouses; the Acts 9 Basket for Paul; Schindler's List; every time there is attempt of the wicked one to destroy, we can see God snaps His fingers, and the earth sends help. Met needs, fulfilled promises, and unexpected blessings are given to us from God's Hand every time. You almost hope the dragon will keep dowsing Christians with his floods of tribulation, because you know earth will help and God's blessing are sure to follow.

I said ALMOST.

Rev. 12:15 HOW AM I CARRIED AWAY?

  "carried away by the flood" (Rev. 12:15)

God, I think You showed me to notice TWO things: the woman needed to be careful of being "carried away" period. I can get carried away, in that sense of the word, lose my sense of perspective and balance, get things out of proportion, lose control. THAT is not exactly what God wills, IF flesh and circumstances have taken control.

HOWEVER, the second thing I needed to notice was of the following: getting "carried away," when being "floated" by the Holy Spirit, is not always WRONG nor UNDESIRABLE! In fact, can it not sometimes lead to exhibiting the glory of God in ways we normally would not, "if our feet could touch bottom", and we weren't floating free? Isn't this why I've found myself praying to be, not the strong, attractive, charismatic, with-an-agenda trout cutting its way through the water "making a difference," "leaving a mark," but a spindless, mindless, "bag of goo" (a jellyfish) bobbing up and down in the current which determines its travel for him?

Rev. 12:14 FLY INTO HER PLACE

"And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness," (Rev. 12:14)

The great dragon was who Lucifer was demoted into being. The great eagle is the symbol, is it not, of Christ? Does He not give us power to fly, as we would not be able to do on our own? Those things sprouting on my back -- isn't it because of Him? "He hath put a new song in my mouth" to sing in the heavenlies even when circumstances say I must flee to the wilderness. Let me FLY there for Thee, O God!

"into her place" (Rev. 12:14)

So it took tribulation to chase the woman to the place she belonged! What will it take before we find ourselves in the state of saying, "This is where I fit, where it is right, where I am needed and wanted most, and my gifts and experience...'I can see it all led to this!'"

Mommy used to say it was a phenomenon that happened to those who wanted, truly wanted, to follow the Lord: they rather got pushed out to follow Him.

I guess we can see that when Moses decided, in his heart, to identify with the people of God; why, he found himself tasting the cold steel arrow spikes of Egyptian soldiers' spears pointed at him, accusing, "murderer!" and he had to flee to Midian and live in obscurity for 40 years until a burning bush ordered him back.

When a zealous-for-Yahweh gifted youth Paul felt scales drop from his eyes to see and serve a Living Yeshua, the Pharisees kicked him out of a religious organization that once praised him, and instead hunted his life with such ferocity Roman guards had to be placed on him to keep him safe for even house arrest.

It just occurred to me: God's "place" for the apostle Paul may've been, from the very beginning, more the writing of the Pauline Epistles that would impact the work of God for centuries, not the actual moving around he did in his short lifetime on earth, pastoring, giving his testimony, encouraging other Christians by word of mouth, teaching and correcting doctrine at that time.

In church history, we see when Martin Luther decided to stay true to TRUTH and nailed his 99 confessions to the door, he found himself unwelcome at Rome. He found, in fact, the only reason his life continued was because he was whisked away, rescued, from this place to another he would learn to call his own people he would call his brethren.

Yes, sometimes--OFTEN--it's unpleasant, painful stuff that may be the way God shows us the way to take in our lives. Will we stomp away in the spirit of bitterness (I know I LOVE to lick my wounds for a LONG time and think about how I was wronged or how situations should've been different, or...) or knowing this is the place GOD HAS CHOSEN FOR ME?

Rev. 12:13 THE DRAGON TRIES TO DETHRONE THE MALE CHILD

"who brought forth the male child." (Rev. 12:13)

We've seen that the enemy's persecution is of the Bride of the One he hates, and now we see it is because SHE gives birth to the Child of the One he hates. The red dragon wants to devour the child (v. 4), but the Father will not allow this: the baby was caught up to God and his throne (v. 5), and we know God sent Joseph in the OT to save the Hebrews from being destroyed by famine; He sent dreams to wise men in the NT to warn them from Herod's attempt at massacring all the babies.

It is because of the woman's bringing forth the Seed of enemy's most hated One that she is persecuted, and his greatest wrath will be reserved for God's greatest treasure: His Only Child.

He is ready to spare no expense, effort, or time if it will achieve the aim of hurting God. He will sidle up to, butter up, spend billions of dollars and quite a few years on devious projects that may end up casting down this male child Jesus Christ from His rightful throne of honor and, hopefully, shame and dishonor Him as he had once been dishonored himself.

Maybe he can get men to blaspheme, to commit sacrilege, or even those who say they're Christians act as if there wasn't a law to obey, a God to love. But I figured it out: it doesn't really prove anything, to torture people to mouth things.

If you can deceive them into saying things of their own volition tho', YOU'VE WON. So...HA! Throw at them gold, respect, success, comfort, achievement, power, AND GET THEM TO SAY "God and religion don't work; they're archaic; we don't love them; we prefer THESE THINGS." Supposedly, "Jesus" died and was shamed for them, but they turn their backs on Him and kick Him off the thrones of their hearts!

"I've won in their hearts. Then I don't need them anymore and can discard them, right?" the dragon may think, and seek other unsuspecting prey with whom to shame the "male child" similarly.

He could not comprehend that the male child also becomes Merciful High Priest to intercede faithfully even for those who forsake Him. Oh God let us see what we do and repent more fully, but...Hallelujah What a Savior!

Rev. 12:13 THE DRAGON'S INTENTION

"he persecuted the woman" (Rev. 12:13)

It was really GOD the enemy hated, but in order to get back at Him, he decided to get at His bride. That has been a theme in human history (to hurt the man, hurt the woman he loves), and of course the enemy will employ it too. The funniest thing is that a lot of people don't see it for what it really is and therefore let themselves be string puppets of the enemy.

He gets human marionettes ("We are atheists and agnostics of our own thinking and choosing.", he gets them to say, and sends unseen underlings to fly around their ears and whisper into them), and he fills their minds with actions and thoughts to pressure, taunt, torment, oppress, and sometimes eliminate those the Creator loves.

Altho' you'd think it would be difficult for fallen angels to work because GOD's angels are twice as many, these "persecutors" have 3 things on their side:

1. Environment. They've fallen out of Heaven, do not need to work in a perfect, holy workplace where God rules. Earth is a broken world. Temptation, darkness, sin, sadness, confusion, violence, rebellion, betrayal, deceit...are THE STANDARD.
2. Experience. Ever since "darkness moved upon the face of the deep," they're free to practice ploys of rebellion and tactics of deception, and they are Masters of this "decoy and destroy" methodology.
3. Essence. They're trying to get created beings to sin, which is just a natural impulse for humans, the "default". "Living for God" and "shifting" into His Kingdom would be the more radical thing.

So, he tries to hurt the Beloved of the God he so hates. Often, stopping and realizing this helps, instead of just getting dismayed at the person or circumstance we see up front.

And then we can ask our Father for His desired response in it all.

Rev. 12:13 LIFESAVING ALARM vs. LETHAL ASSURANCE

 "And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth," (Rev. 12:13)

Is this just a "trick" of sin? I doubt it. I really think the Holy Spirit is opening some things to the eyes of my spirit concerning these passages as I read. I've heard people pooh-pooh humans who pick apart Bible passages and speak of "Bible interpretation" as if they are great, deep discoverers instead of simply accepting simple truths of the Word. I know where that kind of thinking comes from, and I agree. The human mind tends to want to take pride in explaining complicated truths of scripture to claim some kind of authority or secret wisdom when the actual reality may be a shrinking of a difficult duty or simple refusal to break, to humble oneself in some unpleasant way.

It seems much "biblical de-snarling" is merely disguise for stubborn spiritual insubordination...but it's a "tinkling cymbal," oftentimes sounded to highlight an act of service isn't it, because instead of making the child of God feel unease at the sin in his heart, it somehow makes him feel justified, more licensed to continue in it.

At least the dragon saw where he was going and why. He knew he was headed toward banishment from blessing. It seems a lot of us Christians don't get that far. (That is, the enemy's going to keep us in the fog to as long as he can, let us think we're all right. That way, we won't call on God for His Mercy. He's beat as soon as we do.)

Sounding an alarm can make others uncomfortable--who do you think you are, they may respond--but sometimes, that’s really the only loving thing to do.

Rev. 12:12 TIME OUT

"he hath but a short time..." (Rev. 12:12)

It could be God does not want me to proceed any farther...altho' the enemy does. He would not have me linger any longer than necessary on a portion of scripture dealing with the place of his defeat and humiliation, which is what the book of Revelation is, and chapter 12 shows his first effort and failure at reprisal to the Most High, his toppling from position as highest archangel in Heaven to vengeful dragon of bottomless pit. The end of the book will account for what will happen at his final uprising before the commencement of eternity; this just shows the beginning of earth's years. It speaks of them as a "short time."

Even our enemy realizes our l-o-n-g lifetime on this orb is but a period, a microscopic dot, in eternity. I wonder if he, a created being, has been given the capacity to understand time in reference to the Great I AM.

God does not even need time to exist; He created time. Humans can't wrap our minds around that because the minds the Creator God built us with operates within the limits of time, space, reason; we cannot function outside of these parameters. No more than animals can understand negatives (we're finding out about that now).

They may respond to STAY LOYAL but not DON'T BETRAY; they understand KEEP DDRY but not DON'T GET WET; or BE QUIET but not DON'T MAKE NOISE; so TELL THE TRUTH but DON'T LIE!

Wouldn't it be humanly fathomable that an existence greater than the human being could be? Actually, it would be the height of folly and of pride for any individual to think there could be no existence great than himself! He cannot "turn one hair another color," exchange life, create universes, or invent parameters for various types of life forms if he were to be entered into a "Creator Competition"!

And if there were other life forms with such abilities, why would it be unreasonable to think they would possess parameters other than the ones of is/isn't, time/space, values, emotions, instincts, we possess? Apparently, the Creator allowed human creatures to get an inkling of the existence of an eternal life (Ecc. 3:11), to let them know there is more...

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end."

Rev. 12:12 AS INTELLIGENT AS A CHIMPANZEE

"because he knoweth" (Rev. 12:12)

Another short fragment it seems the Father wants me to consider. The enemy is neither omnipresent --tho' ubiquotous, nor is he omniopotent -- tho' very strong, nor as we'd look closely at here, is he omniscient -- tho' highly intelligent. Perhaps humans would do well to remind ourselves of those three qualities, how they're so far removed from God's characteristics perhaps, yet far, far above man's.

Am I trying to sound intelligent, like a Bible scholar? Not at all. Well, I remember once hearing how the enemy's intelligence was much higher than ours was above a chimpanzee's! THAT is how intelligent I am!

Some humans find that comparison insulting, but if you think about it, homo sapiens and chimpanzees are both life forms of the same species of mammals on planet earth so VERY CLOSELY RELATED, if you think of the rest of existence. Insects "compute" only within confines of "instinct", and some of us earthlings have guidelines of "logic"!

So actually, the difference between man and insects might be closer than the difference between man and the great dragon. Altho' our Heavenly Father may have thoughts in Heaven such we cannot know, and we call them lofty, we cannot kid ourselves. While we crawl around on earth hauling up mounds of dirt or constructing towers of babels and webs of interdestruction... There is an enemy who has, for centuries, commanded the skies -- once called the Prince of Light, now called Prince of the Power of the Air -- and leads a squadron a third the strength of the legion once under him, their potential far exceeding any worldly national force.

The nations that realize they have Heaven's forces at their disposal can rest at ease, but others risk much peril: the moment this former Prince of Light -- and present Prince of Power of Air feels a country will not benefit him, he can go in and squash it with his renegade troops...well, unless Heaven decides to mercifully interfere and help, that is. God didn't just close His eyes to what they did after casting them out of Heaven. He kept his eye on them, because He knew they'd be up to no good.

Yes, he (the great dragon) knoweth, in Rev. 12:12; but our Father God, from eternity past to eternity future, knoweth too. And I am His. Amen.

Rev. 12:12 GREAT WRATH? GREAT SALVATION!

"having great wrath, because" (Rev. 12:12) 

I have this feeling God told me to look to, take a good look. People don't realize how serious this is. Our enemy, who hates our owner, hates him with something awful. He has been humiliated, cast down from place of allaud and unquestioned headship among the angels to a state of being a large red reptile with, by the Creator's mercy, powerful tail and wings, granted an abode in a playpen called earth, given a key to a bottomless pit prepared for him and his minions who were dissatisfied with God and Heaven.

He was not a little bit angry. If there were any cruelty on earth to express the rage he felt, that would probably be a weak echo to what he felt, actually. His anger was so great, it did not matter that some of those creatures piped up, "Let me join you!"

He felt no joy, no fondness for them whatsoever; he would use them to achieve his end then discard them on the pile of ashes. His hate was too strong and overwhelming to see more than that they are GOD'S creations, and he hates them, wants to destroy them anyway. He may offer up smiles, prizes, comforts, seeming benefits and advantages; but that is only a strategy to get as much power to destroy as much as he can as efficiently as possible.

"Ooh those nasty little cockroaches," he must feel, "AND MY ENEMY REALLY CREATED THEM??? How could He...even the ones who sidle up to me and smirk, thinking He does not see or hear, and offer to side with me...how could He love THEM so much He would DIE for them?! Ridiculous!"

And he would shake his proverbial head trying to erase the foolish notion from his mind (but knows it is true nevertheless), and continues going about planning the squashing of anything that Creator might hold dear. His mind was filled with revenge for what happened (and will continue to happen) to him.

We puny human beings don't have an inkling of an idea of the anger of the dragon cast stalking the earth. We think of a red character with two horns and a little tail holding a spear, kind of like a mischievous Red Casper the Ghost.

Perhaps this is part of the reason we don't feel the need for the fear of God. The enemy cackles in the dark hearing many duped into parroting the whispered-into-their-ears-words: "It feels safe to know we're all brothers free from differences in our religious beliefs," not realizing they originate with, not just a red dragon, but a Great red dragon; not the owner of just wrath, but owner of Great wrath.

Maybe it would do well for us to fear God: to have Great fear for a Great God. What GREAT SALVATION.

Rev. 12:12 COOL HAVOC

July  21, 2026

"Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto you," (Rev. 12:12)

Well, it's as if the Father nodded, "That's the way it's gonna be, Honey." After the Father's archrival was cast out of Heaven and careened his way down to earth then said he was going to wreak havoc in the life of all of God's own as well as wreck God's creation, if a child of God felt absolutely cool about it, wouldn't you say something was wrong? In fact, wouldn't it be logical to assume it might not even be his child???

If, however, any individual felt uncomfortable with that archrival's seeming offers of comfort and power, of youth and fame in exchange for the values in the strongbox his Father had given him: values of humility, meekness, putting oneself down to lift another up, of mundane faithfulness...and his heart BREAKS when others claiming to love the Father seem to have no more need for these "old" values either...could it be the brokenhearted individual has been evidencing he IS regenerate?

"A stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him" (John 10:5), it was said.

"Flee" was the word used. The Holy Spirit may've chosen that word on purpose. Sometimes, it is not an act of cowardice, but a proof of sonship, a litmus test result, or what today might be called a result of a DNA test.

The magnet that was repulsed showed what charge it possessed. Maybe you were supposed to flee, not to stay put; did that ever cross your mind? The human mind thinks it's always the braver thing to remain stalwart, but the Bible, God's Word, says "to every thing there is a season." including a Time to Run.

Rev. 12:10 Our Tonokura House was CONDEMNED!

My next journal entry requires explanation: Our first house was a wooden place in TONOKURA, Okinawa; and we moved to a concrete home in a place called OJANA from elementary years. The Tonokura house was torn down the very next day. We learned we'd been living in a condemned house.

"I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, now is come...kingdom" (Rev. 12:10)

It is true God's promises may be relevant, applicable, personal, etc...; but perhaps we need to remember God's footstool is in heaven. The verse speaks of "salvation, strength, kingdom, power," and those may be words Christians claim "in the blood;" but especially the third word: kingdom, I couldn't help but think much about when picturing what happened here with Lucifer.

In the Lord's Prayer, we are taught to pray: "Thy Kingdom come." The kingdom Lucifer and his minions were sent to, earth, when cast out of heaven, was thusly condemned. It is as if they were sent to Tonokura out of an Ojana abode. God's Home or Kingdom was full of light, love, truth, humility, goodness; One Day the earthly kingdom will be torn down and sent to an eternal furnace where all will be consumed.

How tragic it would be if inhabitants were not warned their dwellings were headed to the incinerator, slept through the flames! May God use us to sound a clarion call of alarm.

Rev. 12:8 RENEGADE WINGED BRIGADE

"And prevailed NOT, neither was their place found any more in heaven." (Rev. 12:8)

They fought and lost. I wonder if they had tried struggling against God Almighty? I mean, if He had really taken them seriously? The thought came to me, not concerning them per se, but concerning God's dealings with His creations -- with those like me.

How often have I wanted to "look Him in the face" and challenge His working in my life? How many times have human beings questioned providential wisdom, the outcomes of DUI's, terminal illnesses, wicked-violent guardians, Holocaust, natural disasters, totalitarian oppression, global warming, and TELL GOD He doesn't know what He's doing -- we know how to do it better?

God didn't think a cheeky rebellion (angels taking Lucifer's side) was worth His muscle -- they were only damselflies to Him -- so He sent Michael and his angels to take care of the problem, and since the impudent critters were unhappy with the Lord of the Manor, they were free to move out; He was not holding them to a lease. Staying in heaven rent-free in fact, had been a privilege, a blessing, it had been thought, of being one of the created beings of the God of the Ages; He was the Owner.

The "walls," the housing of residents, were mercy, grace, love, light, humility. Those who preferred "I WILL's" of competence, comfort, confidence need not stay, but were sent to make new "tent abodes" in a place called earth.

Whew. That is where we see this group of Renegade Winged Brigade, whispering wicked lies into ears of unsuspecting humans and wreaking all sorts of havoc....

Rev. 12:5 SOMETIMES JUST HANGING ON

"And she brought forth a male child" (Rev. 12:5)

There are so many thoughts that go swirling through my mind. The woman... the temptation in the Garden of Eden...most fingers point to the woman as the responsible party of the first sin, but the Bible points to her hope: in the very vessel that ushered in death for all mankind would be the seed to grant eternal life to all!

No, no, no -- of course it is not saying childbirth will be the means of salvation, the way females become Christians! "She shall be saved" of 1 Tim 2:15 refers to the relief the woman can claim in childbirth; rather like knowing I may've struck out once and feel awful about it but relief comes later on in the game by hitting a home run. Like feeling bad about staining a friend's notebook by spilling a glass of juice on it; but relief comes months later when able to sew that friend's wedding dress!

The woman in scripture was depressed that she, the woman, had been deceived and caused the condemnation and DEATH of her offspring. But she found relief in the hope that God would send LIFE through a manchild through her, the woman. She would hang onto this hope no matter what.

And reading back what I'd written of my growing-up years, I did my "holding on" in a different way. My junior high and high school years were my "Slough of Despond," so Mommy called it. I remember telling myself I'd take a little vacation from spiritual things.

The following is such a dangerous thing to do, and I don't advise anyone to do it -- but I was so tired. I can't go into it, but I was so weary of fighting, trying, thinking -- and thought I'd take a hiatus...but a strange part of me didn't want to "let go of the rope" completely...so I remember still looking at passages in the Bible, not really reading them from the heart, as I knew I used to do, and expecting to get anything out of them, but just reading the letters on the pages, as if they were merely words of text on a book.

THIS IS A HORRBLE THING TO DO WITH THE WORD OF ALMIGHTY GOD, AND I SHUDDER TO THINK I DID SO. GOD COULD HAVE STRUCK ME DOWN THEN--ISRAELITES IN THE OLD TESTAMENT WERE SLAIN FOR FAR LESS ACTS OF BLASPHEMY AND SACRILEGE! BUT GOD ACTS IN GRACE AFTER THE CROSS--I'VE BEEN DIPPED IN HIS SON'S BLOOD THERE--SO HE DIDN'T!

At any rate, despite the dishonor with which I treated the Bible, there was one thing I did: every time I read something that did seem to speak to me anyway, that did have a ring of truth to it -- altho' at the time I felt too tired to "live Christianity" for a while (just stayed out of real trouble) -- I underlined it, or marked that passage, to come back to later, telling myself maybe it'd help when I felt up to it, but it wasn't for me now.

I'm thinking: was that a way of hanging onto hope?

And I know years later, when things get confusing, and I seem to lose my way, I know I tell myself I may be wrong in doing this, but God will just have to bear with me, it's almost like I close my eyes to everything else and just determine to stay with scripture memory.

I've heard a lot of "Inspirational Speakers" and "Spiritual Secrets" come down the line in over 60 years of being a Christian, but I think what it's gotten back to is, and what people don't want to acknowledge because it seems something they'd rather not do, but it's actually something anybody and everybody would be free and happy if they did: read the Bible, pray, and trust and obey!

People don't want simple stuff because it's insulting that we don't do them, actually. We'd like to be handed new ideas and respond, "Yes, that's wonderful!" like we're excellent beings, when we're ridiculous sinful critters.

Rev. 12:4 DELIVER, DELIVERED, DELIVERANCE

Rev. 12:4 DELIVER, DELIVERED, DELIVERANCE

"who was ready to be delivered," (Rev. 12:4)

Childbirth is a strange and wondrous thing. I myself have experienced it, been a "participant" in three different ways: in mother giving birth, in baby being born, in second birth into a new life.

"Deliver"- people think giving birth is an active thing, something that the mother decides to do. Well, yes and no. It is her body, her muscles. But the contractions come completely independent of her decision of when she wants them to arrive. And they push out the child with a force of their own, utterly separate of her will, and they have, in fact -- tho' very rarely -- actually resulted in terminating a weak one!

"Delivered"- Altho' the vocabulary term used is simply "delivery", because of the period of extreme pressure, consternation, and quite often anxiety, preceding a release, if you think about it, the pre-birth 9 months was in a state where its nutrition was fully provided for by the mother's body; its comfort: warmth, hazard safety, predator-free environment was guaranteed; birth would be considered traumatic to every developing baby if ease were the expected norm.

"Come up higher"

Born from death to life, darkness to light, hopelessness to comfort! I suppose "Deliverance" has the sweetest ring here. The realities of being completely out of control but knowing God has taken mercy to draw me out, not to cast me to earth with a third of the stars as the dragon would do, but to say "Come up higher" and make me His child -- can it get any better?

Rev. 12:4 NOT NOW DRAGON, GOD'S LOVE AFTERWARDS

 NOT NOW, DRAGON

"and the dragon stood before the woman" (Rev. 12:4)

Hm. That is scary. She's giving birth, and that crazy, "great" creature threatens to take what is the most precious thing to her? I know most strong men feel a horrible anger at anyone harming helpless little children -- their fury is way worse than when they discover an enemy has captured, tortured, and even killed a comrade.

I can't imagine anything lower than to think a grown man who would bully: someone of the fairer sex; a mother who ought instead to be honored; but to "push" it even farther by intimidating her when she is giving birth! Is it just me, or would I be right in thinking red-blooded men would want "his teeth kicked in"?!

Only, a great dragon, in reality, like a powerful godfather mafia man, is too scary to look at cross-eyed, so nobody will say anything against him. They might think it in the shadows, but it'll remain unspoken, until the Day All Things are brought out into the Light.

GOD'S LOVE EVEN AFTERWARDS

"to devour her child as soon as it was born" (Rev. 12:4)

The dragon, crouching before the mother, would be ready to wreak its mischief the moment of birth. But then the dragon might be shoved aside by modern artificial abortion methods reaching into the womb to snuff out life before birth, with claims for women's rights (Reasoning/Justification for this is that babies are not such until they leave the womb--other life forms would laugh at humans, asking if we really believe this). The woman saw the dragon's malicious eyes and flaring nostrils and ran; but then she'd been left childless, injured and scarred by the very things which were supposed to protect her.

Something in me asked if the natural world doesn't do this to every female looking at unwanted childbirth. "Facing life with baby will be a scary thing, they threaten. Your body is your own; protect yourself!" All sorts of things are shouted at her.

This post is not to deal with the issue itself. It is what could happen afterwards.

If a young woman who had an abortion found herself in church (unlikely scenario, I know), how would she be treated? "YOU MURDERER!"? Would everyone try to persuade her how foolish and wrong she was and how she must repent? Would that ever be the way to lead ANYBODY to salvation?

I am wondering if a merciful God in Heaven, purer than the godliest saint on earth, would see the unchaste girl, and of course know the standards of holiness had not been attained; yet because He Is Infinite Love, He would know too, of the void in her lonely heart that had caused the predicament. SHE'D WANTED TO BE LOVED! He would see she had stared that dragon in the face and trembled, and was confused and afraid when hearing secular advice to end the pregnancy, and without really knowing what was right, she was pushed along at the clinic....

If Jesus were living today, would He insult such a visitor at church? He didn't scorn the woman at Sychar who'd been through four husbands looking for fulfillment and security; He didn't shun the woman who anointed his feet with tears and wiped it with her hair; Jesus didn't shame the desperate faith of the woman who reached out for hope in the hem of his garment. He merely loved and taught them such they chose to bow the head and walk with God in joy.

Isn't it likely that many on the fringe of the church's standards can't seek its help today because they won't find love there, thus the Father sheds tears as He watches souls continue fending for themselves in their fear and confusion while bombarded by the enemy's words and lethal methods?

The Church must not stray from truth, granted. But we need to maintain such a safe,  "easy to be entreated" (James 3:17) appeal that it would be the first place a woman would turn to after being threatened by a red dragon.

(*As I mentioned when uploading these entries from Revelation, this is NOT meant to be a book study. By no means are the parallels being asserted to be what the text intended to convey originally. These are just separate truths the Holy Spirit happened to communicate to me while reading here in personal devotions and doing memory work, so please do not misconstrue them to be anything more than that. -June)

Rev. 12:4 CANCELLED CLASS, GREAT GECKO

CANCELLED CLASS

"And the tail drew the third part of the stars of the heaven" (Rev. 12:4)

I woke up from a dream in which I'd spent about 4 hrs. a day writing, researching, then hearing, "They cancelled that class." This morning, when I went to do my Quiet Time, that dream seemed so strong and relevant, scripture seemed rather faded, insipid; I almost didn't write it in and wondered if God wanted me to put it off another day.

But when I put pen to paper, it was as if lightning struck through my mind down to this journal's page. All the ambitions, the "I WILL'S" and "mind-honing" of man can lead, at very best, to what the Prince of Light one day found himself doing: hearing the words of the God of the Ages: "I have no room here for you."

That once-great prince suddenly was called an ugly red dragon. His "tail" now drew down to earth, no longer commanded and inspired up to heaven, where he wanted to reign as God. And now it was only a third of the celestial beings.

Would I follow the voice of one who offers me "irresistible bargains" that may be "attractive lies," spend time listening to them? To this day, there are many scams on the Internet offering rock-bottom bargains available for a "limited time only" that scientists and researchers have only recently discovered and is sure to turn the world upside down, yet they'll steal your personal data as well as sell it to other companies; profit ludicrously from any income possible; and use the law's power to strip the poor and weak of property-security-health for personal gain.

Or, harder to recognize as disguises to pride would be the great evangelistic outreaches and global organizations that will put its leaders' names in lights at the head of millions--what burning witness wouldn't want to make a difference?

OR will I follow the voice of One Who says "Come Up Higher"? It is not shiny, glittery; does NOT offer instant gratification and fun trinkets. But resulting from this way will be a genuine, powerful walk, a satisfying love-relationship that nothing can take away and can see things in a perspective no one else in the world gets.

In the Old Testament, they were called prophets, who heard the voice of God in ways the world just didn't get; and they were always a little out of step, a little unusual. John the Baptist was called the last Old Testament prophet -- he was, I guess you could say, more than a little unusual: he wore animal skins and ate locust, lived in the wilderness, baptized people, and preached the repentance of sins, proclaiming, "Behold the Lamb of God!"

GREAT GECKO?

"and did cast them to earth;" (Rev. 12:4) 

...that was the action of the tail of the great red dragon, wasn't it? It seems, as I have been working on this writing in Japanese, he is wrapping his tail around it and trying to cast it to earth and saying it is of naught -- go onto something else. Father, what would YOU have me to do? If it is the same -- if the red dragon is mimicking those actions to deceive me because he knows I will not do what I detect he wants me to do, altho' he knows it is actually also what You desire --well, THAT too, I will do, NOT because he desires it, but because YOU do -- his tail-flipping means about as much as a gecko's twitching (God, protect me; He Is Angry!)

I suppose -- do I "see a story" here -- a great red godzilla in one's eyes is no bigger than a gecko sentenced to a bottomless pit in the eyes of his Maker, albeit he may've once been the prince of all the angels, called at one time a Star of Light.

If he is now just a gecko in God's eyes, what...on earth...am I? Yes, we humans are no more than mere mites at best. 

How comical that these tiny things would raise faces to God and dare demand audience with Him! Commoners don't do that in the courts of the Queen, lest her guards escort them from the premises at best, have them shot at worst. We think we can expect God to give us explanation for His dealings with us.

(Incidentally, altho' the fallen dragon may be a gecko in God's eyes, even the gecko is a terrible deathly foe to the mite.)

Rev. 12:1,3 LOOKING INTO HEAVEN, MARVELS TODAY

Rev. 12:1 LOOKING INTO HEAVEN

"And there appeared a great wonder in heaven" (Rev. 12:1) 

When people say positive things about something I've written in Japanese, there's always a part of me that holds back, says they're just being nice. Especially because I haven't been to Japanese school to know what good writing is, haven't had any instruction or seen examples of poor writing. I suppose in one sense you might say that's a good thing: the only "standard" I've actually known of writing in Japanese is from reading books; and if you think about it, people that write well, since these are the professional authors I would be reading, wouldn't be the students in the classroom who'd be getting D's and C's...even the B students. The regular Japanese writing practice for me has been in the company of, if you think about it in this way, the A- to A+ students! 

Scripture tells us to set our minds in the heavenlies, on things that are good, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report," to study and practice what we want to be instead of thinking about what we need to avoid, (altho' that may be handy to know)!

After all, painters do this thing called masters' study in which they simply devour works of great artists and try to get their thought processes in their minds. I know writers have awed at the way classic authors folded together words to evoke clear images. Composers analyze geniuses' symphonies in which stirring techniques achieve exact intents and can only marvel.

All men look UP for great wonder in heaven; something in us lets us know we will not find it here on earth. We look HIGHer, do not say let us find the BEST among the AVERAGE.

Rev. 12:3 MARVELS TODAY

"And there appeared another wonder in heaven;" (Rev. 12:3)

...Ron Sisco sounded a note of caution about the Hero Comics. People don't realize how slowly and gradually those values seep into the unconscious mind. Be careful, he said. Those characters champion Satanic, unbiblical qualities, and Christians, unaware of this, are adopting them.

So true. To want to be strong, fast, first, on top. God never told us to aspire those "I WILL" things Isaiah 14 shows were the downfall of the archangel Lucifer, another "Superhero" who flew to his own demise and took a third of the angels with him. And don't most of those characters don body suits -- at least the female ones do -- unconsciously emphasizing the physical over the spiritual, methinks.

And do tell me, which superhero encourages us to seek after humility? meekness? self-sacrifice? purity? joy in suffering? gratitude? powerful prayer? giving? Without realizing it, we have a whole slough of "Superheroes", and none of them point towards those things we need to be working towards! At best, they hint at it as a license to parade the rest.

I am so glad Ron Sisco said what he did...and it applies to not just Superheroes, but "idols" all across the board.

I personally think it would gladden God's heart to see a man that would quietly tend his garden but be quick to give a lift to the airport over an hour away or to help at a moment's notice in a friend's move or an emergency visit to the hospital or nursing home (or the mission field, for that matter); to sound a rallying cry for the love of God. We need more heroes like THAT, I think, today!

*       *       *

Okay, so no one reads those comics anymore. But keep reading. The principle is similar in that even those who claim to be born again are battered down by watching worldly values over and over that they begin to think they are normal.

*       *       *

I remember a movie about a young writer, struggling in his work, who befriends an elderly widow. They succeed in having all her friends believe he is her grandson. I realized, after the movie was over, it had been framed to have the viewer hoping they would not be found out; siding against the true grandson who is lied to his face and kicked out of the room. The writer's good looks, sharp mind, and loving ways are valued; dismissing immorality (his sleeping with his girlfriend is portrayed as virtue of a balanced person, of course) or lying (truth, after all, is relative, is it not?)

When, at the end of the movie, he leaves the scene of his now-deceased "grandmother's" bedside; the intended aim was to have the viewer feeling it had been a "beautiful movie of watching someone make another person's last few years of life full of joy and full of warmth".

The great red dragon does not tell you it had been a deceptive illusion of a handsome young smooth talker getting a grandson turned away from his grandmother and letting her sit in a lie, no matter how good it felt, until she died, then walked away without telling her friends what he'd done. It helped him (side story) do his writing, after all -- she'd given him ideas so he could write a work, which he left on her headstand, which would no doubt, be discovered later, and his real name was on those papers, not the grandson's name.)

I've had to think long and hard about this one, but isn't it saying, in the long run, if you're going to be happy, you gotta take matters into your own hands (sin if you must) -- that is, again, it's an "I WILL" approach to life instead of taking what God hands me, isn't it?

ARMORBEARER THOUGHTS (from I Samuel)

Actually, the entire below post was deleted once and then rewritten...I guess God would've let me forget whatever He knew was unnecessary and let me recall that which was okay to be communicated, so... here 'tis. My three "armor-bearer friends" below thought the article was worth transmitting.

1. GOLIATH's Armor Bearer "one bearing a shield went before him" (I Sam. 17:7) What stays with me about this story is not Goliath or even David, who felled him, but his father. The king, impressed with the shepherd boy's bravery, asked, "Whose stripling is this lad?" I'd love it if people's first reaction to incredible encounters in my life were to wonder about My Heavenly Father.

2. JONATHAN's Armor Bearer "Now it came to pass upon a day, that Jonathan, the son of Saul, said unto the young man that bore his armor, Come, let us go over to the Philistines' garrison, that is on the other side...for there is no restraint for the LORD to save...the LORD saved Israel that day" (I Sam. 14:1,6,23) It's not so much the battle as what happened afterwards. The people should've been thanking God for the victory but barely saved Jonathan's life from King Saul's misplaced judgement.

3. SAUL's Armor Bearer "Then said Saul unto his armorbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through with it...his armor bearer would not" (I Sam. 31:4) We see when this record of Saul's death (even his closest soldier could not bear to kill him) reached David, he mourned for him. Christians often think they are unblameworthy if they do not retaliate when wronged, if they do not get angry or take matters into their own hands. But do they ask God to cleanse their hearts such that when misfortune strikes offenders, the reaction would be to grieve for them?