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DECEMBER 12
and hair were white like wool, as white as snow,
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and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were
like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and
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His voice as the sound of many waters; He had 1:17 fell at His feet. A common response to
in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth seeing the awesome glory of the Lord (Gen.
went a sharp two-edged sword, and His counte- 17:3; Num. 16:22; Ezek. 1:28; Is. 6:1–8; Acts 9:4).
nance was like the sun shining in its strength. First and the Last. Jesus Christ applies this
And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.
17 Old Testament name for Yahweh (22:13; Is.
But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, 41:4;44:6;48:12) to Himself,clearly claiming to
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“Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I be God. Idols will come and go. He was before
am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I them, and He will remain after them.
am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the
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keys of Hades and of Death. Write the things in My right hand, and the seven golden lamp-
which you have seen, and the things which are, stands: The seven stars are the angels of the
and the things which will take place after this. seven churches, and the seven lampstands
The mystery of the seven stars which you saw which you saw are the seven churches.
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DAY 11:What is the background for the Book of Revelation?
Revelation begins with John, the last surviving apostle and an old man, in exile on the small
barren island of Patmos, located in the Aegean Sea southwest of Ephesus. The Roman authorities
had banished him there because of his faithful preaching of the gospel (1:9).While on Patmos,John
received a series of visions that laid out the future history of the world.
When he was arrested, John was in Ephesus, ministering to the church there and in the sur-
rounding cities.Seeking to strengthen those congregations,he could no longer minister to them in
person and, following the divine command (1:11), John addressed Revelation to them (1:4). The
churches had begun to feel the effects of persecution; at least one man—probably a pastor—had
already been martyred (2:13), and John himself had been exiled. But the storm of persecution was
about to break in full fury upon the 7 churches so dear to the apostle’s heart (2:10).To those church-
es, Revelation provided a message of hope: God is in sovereign control of all the events of human
history; and though evil often seems pervasive and wicked men all-powerful, their ultimate doom
is certain. Christ will come in glory to judge and rule.
Unlike most books of the Bible, Revelation contains its own title: “The Revelation of Jesus
Christ”(1:1).“Revelation”(Greek,apokalupsis)means “an uncovering,”“an unveiling,”or “a disclosure.”
In all its uses,“revelation”refers to something or someone,once hidden,becoming visible.What this
book reveals or unveils is Jesus Christ in glory.Truths about Him and His final victory, that the rest
of Scripture merely allude to, become clearly visible through revelation about Jesus Christ.

December 12 4 What the chewing locust left, the
swarming locust has eaten;
What the swarming locust left, the
crawling locust has eaten;
Joel 1:1–3:21 And what the crawling locust left, the
The word of the LORD that came to Joel the consuming locust has eaten.
1 son of Pethuel. 5 Awake, you drunkards, and weep;
2 Hear this, you elders, And wail, all you drinkers of wine,
And give ear, all you inhabitants of the Because of the new wine,
land! For it has been cut off from your
Has anything like this happened in your mouth.
days, 6 For a nation has come up against My
Or even in the days of your fathers? land,
3 Tell your children about it, Strong, and without number;
Let your children tell their children, His teeth are the teeth of a lion,
And their children another generation. And he has the fangs of a fierce lion.

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