Bible Study: Comfort Through Sorrows 12.25.10

King James Bible Study Devotional
Message Title: Comfort Through Sorrows
For: Friday December 25, 2010
Chapters: Revelation 6-8
Click Here to Read Them or Go to: http://www.imfollowingjesus.com/bible-december-25

Details of Today's Chapters: The seven seals, 144,000 Jews sealed, numberless multitudes thereafter sealed, four trumpets sounded, the great tribulation, and those who came out of the great tribulation.

Hello My Friend/Guest,
Merry Christmas! Today we may be enjoying time with family, opening gifts, eating til our hearts content, and making wonderful or unforgettable memories. Perhaps some of us are celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He truly is the reason for the season, so, Happy Birthday Jesus, may we all take a little time today to thank You for being a part of our lives. More often than celebrating today, many are sad, depressed, angry, or bitter at God or someone else, perhaps even themselves, and are wasting away their sorrows in whatever they can find to comfort them. The Bible says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” - Psalm 23:4.

There is no greater comfort than that of God, when life is not going the way you expect and it seems as though everyone is against you, God is with you. The amazing thing is that usually His comfort only comes through sorrow, that is after we have looked for it everywhere else. I will never forget the time I had one trial after another, so many that I would just sleep and dream about the life I would love to have, my comfort was in my dreams, I figured if I would dream it enough it would eventually happen. The truth is, as long as I was just laying there nothing I dreamt about would have ever had a chance to become a reality. It was through several trials that I realized it was God that I needed, in fact, the trials I was going through were God's hand upon me, correcting me. The Bible says, “Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul. Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. A servant will not be corrected by words: for though he understand he will not answer.” - Proverbs 29:17-19. How many times have you learned anything by having someone yell at you? I do not recall very often. How many times have you learned anything by punishment? Most of us learned a great deal. God does the same thing to us when we ignore His warnings and do what we want to do anyway, but when we repent He truly does give rest to our souls by removing all the guilt, shame, or whatever it is that keeps us sad, bitter, or angry.

One day Jesus will return and when He does, talk about a punishment, I am so glad that when that day does come I am heaven bound, whether I am resurrected from the dead or just taken away. Jesus revealed to John some amazing and frightful insight as to what is going to happen when He returns. John sees Jesus sitting upon a great throne surrounded by beasts, elders, and spirits. Jesus opens the Book of life, which contained several seals. “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;” - Revelation 5:6-9.

The Book of life contains every persons name who has been redeemed by the blood that was shed by Jesus Christ as He was slain for every sin. Those who are redeemed, that is only those whom have believed in and asked Jesus to save them, will escape the great tribulation that will take place when He returns. “Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.” - Isaiah 51:11.

Since Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice it was fitting that He would be the one holding the Book, the judge of all, containing the seven seals that would release the ultimate destruction of the world. Jesus begins to open the seals, the seals denote events of a religious character, and contain the history of the church from the opening of the Christian era to the coming of Christ. “And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” - Revelation 6:14-17.

There are seven groups of the unsaved mentioned hear, thus denoting all who are lost. There is no respect of persons with God, position, rank, title, and honor mean absolutely nothing to God, it will not bring salvation to any of them. When all heaven and the saints were interested in their salvation, they were not. When life was offered to them they were not interested, but now that they know they are going to reap what they have sown, they run to find safety, but can not find it. The wicked have rejected the call to stand for Christ, but now they are the ones who will cry, “Who shall be able to stand?” Those written in the Book of life will be able to stand. “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” - I John 5:12,13.

Jesus announces who will be saved from the great tribulation, “And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel...After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb...And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” - Revelation 7:4,9,10,14-17.

God loves you and because He loves you expect to be chastised once in a while if you have gotten away from Him. If you have gotten away from Him it is time to reconnect with the joy and comfort that only He can bring. He does not want you to suffer, He wants you to grow and prosper, but first, He wants you to just humble yourself before Him and ask Him back into your life. He will not force Himself upon anyone, but willing receives all who call Him. “The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.” - Psalm 145:18,19.

Be blessed, enjoy the rest of your day/night and Merry Christmas.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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