Read the Bible in a Year (31JUL19)`

DAILY REMINDER – Today, July 31’s Bible reading is Isaiah 13-17.

NEXT DAY REMINDER – Tomorrow, August 1’s Bible reading is Isaiah 18-22. May God bless you with the reading of His WORD.

ISAIAH MOMENT – (31JUL19) “Isaiah son of Amoz received this message concerning the destruction of Babylon: ‘Raise a signal flag on a bare hilltop. Call up an army against Babylon. Wave your hand to encourage them as they march into the palaces of the high and mighty. I, the Lord, have dedicated these soldiers for this task. Yes, I have called mighty warriors to express my anger, and they will rejoice when I am exalted’ ”  (Isaiah 13:1-3). Babylon was a nation that was feared amongst the other nations of the world. They were powerful and for a long time, they submitted to no one. Yet, God was going to bring them down as a nation because of their pride and arrogance. They had been a tool that He used to punish the nation of Israel because of their disobedience, but Babylon was about to suffer a judgment themselves as the Medes and Persians would be used as a tool by God to overthrow the Babylonian Empire, and free His people from their captivity.

Similarly, Babylon, of the modern day (America) will fall and suffer a similar fate as the Babylon of old. The Bible says, “After all this I saw another angel come down from heaven with great authority, and the earth grew bright with his splendor. He gave a mighty shout: ‘Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen! She has become a home for demons. She is a hideout for every foul spirit, a hideout for every foul vulture and every foul and dreadful animal. For all the nations have fallen because of the wine of her passionate immorality. The kings of the world have committed adultery with her. Because of her desires for extravagant luxury, the merchants of the world have grown rich’ ” (Revelation 18:1-3). Many people have wondered where America is represented in Bible prophecy. Well, she is spoken of as Mystery Babylon in the book of Revelation. We will be revisiting this in later chapters and books in the Bible as we go along. For now, the Babylon that Isaiah foretold of was concerning both the physical Babylon of that time and the judgments of Mystery Babylon during the last days.

Babylon was prideful, haughty, sinful and wicked. She had no respect for God nor honored Him as her maker. In addition to giving Babylon’s prophecy, Isaiah prophesied of the day of the Lord where His wrath would come down in fierce anger against the wicked. The stars would not shine, the sun will be darkened, and the moon would not give its light on the day of the Lord. God is going to judge the entire world for its wickedness. The Bible says, “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:12,15). One day, those who defy God and have not repented of their ways will have a fiery end. It will not be because God did not love them, but it will be by their own choosing. Babylon had been given a chance to turn to God, but they rejected Him. Therefore, the Babylon of old was destroyed. Similarly, America has been given time to repent, but she continues in her idolatrous ways. There is no political solution for a sin problem, and America definitely has a sin problem. We must submit to God fully or we too will suffer for the choices that we have made. Something to ponder….

QUESTION OF THE DAY - (31JUL19) Have you ever had the privilege of being in the company of a boastful person? For most, it leaves a nasty taste in your mouth. You may have wanted to invite them to have a slice of Humble Pie. Well, Lucifer became prideful and boastful in Heaven. He said, “I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:13b). He thought that he could do a better job at running things than his Creator. He plotted to place his throne above God and to make himself like the Creator. How dumb was he to think that he was a match for the One who made him? He found out, however, that his plan was not going to work and was kicked out of his once heavenly position. Now, he is no longer Lucifer, but Satan who seeks to kill, steal and destroy.

Satan has caused all the chaos that we see being displayed today, and what we have read about in the past. This earth is nothing like what God intended it to be, and never will be again until He creates it all anew. The Bible says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea” (Revelation 21:1). Isn’t it going to be great that we will one day have everything new? Pride will no longer pop out its ugly head, for it will be a thing of the past. Satan will no longer be able to destroy us through sickness, sadness, disease, heartache, grief, and death. There will be no more hunger, homelessness, loneliness, murder, hatred, racism, and anger. All that he encompasses, along with his demonic host, will be done away with. Praise God for that day when it finally comes. Something to ponder….

ISAIAH MOMENT – (31JUL19) “See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins” (Isaiah 17:1b). The Prophet Isaiah not only told prophecies for the time of his era, but he also foretold things that we are seeing take place today. Some scholars believe that this prophecy took place during the 8^th century when Assyria came up against Syria and cripple the city. Yet, the prophecy is clear that Damascus will no longer exist once this prophecy is actually fulfilled. As we know, Damascus still exists as a city that exists today, but we are often hearing on the news where it is being bombed. One day, the city will be completely wiped off the map in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy over 2,000 years ago.

Many prophecies took years, decades and even centuries to be fulfilled. This caused some of the Israelites, who did not want to believe them anyway, to consider such prophets as Isaiah to be false. Yet, they did not have the spiritual discernment to understand that prophecies are fulfilled in God’s timing and not our own. The Bible says, “For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay” (Habakkuk 2:3). It is the same way when we are waiting for God to fulfill His promises in our lives. Days, weeks, months, and years may pass by, but God is not a God who will not keep His word. Rather it is a prophecy of warning or a promise He made for our lives, God will do everything that He has promised He will do. His checks to us never bounce, for what He deposits into our lives, is guaranteed to be good. Something to ponder….