25 Dec (Revelation 15 & 16)

Revelation 15 & 16

Revelation 15

v.1 I remind my kids that God is loving, and He doesn't like to bring His wrath upon His creation. However, He gave us free will, to choose to love Him or not. He made everything, and all He asks of us is to accept Him.

"Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways," says the Lord GOD. "Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. Ezekiel 18:30

The Lord is not slack concerning [His] promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9

v.7 I like to remind my kids that in the Bible, numbers have meaning. The number seven means completion. This book completes everything before it!

Revelation 16

The Bowls of Wrath:

1. Sores ~ When we have sores on our bodies, it is a sign of something wrong internally. The people who experience this, may look OK on the outside, but these sores display that they are wrong inside...they don't know Jesus!

2. Seas turn to Blood ~ God had Moses do this in Exodus 4:9, 7:19-21.

3. Waters turn to Blood ~ water is essential to life...Jesus' blood is essential to our eternal life!

4. Men are scorched ~ Even when God is bringing His wrath, there are those who won't come to repentance...very sad.

5. Darkness ~ This is a prelude to hell...the absence of God's light.

6. Euphrates Dried Up ~ The Euphrates is mentioned in the Bible 25 times! In fact, the Euphrates is the boundry of the land that God promised Israel.

On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates. Genesis 15:18

Isn't it odd that the world won't even let Israel border the Jordan River, when they were promised all the way to the Euphrates River?

7. Earth Shaken ~ The bowl was thrust into the air...the last place of dominion of Satan. The earth will experience an earthquake of immense power...we fear an 8.0 earthquake, but this will be like a 15.0!

31 Aug (Matt 15)

The Gospels: Feeding 4,000

Matthew 15

(v.7) Jesus points out the hypocrisy and coldness of the hearts of the Pharisees. He quotes Isaiah to illustrate His point. Isa 29:13

We need to be sure that we aren't just talking a good game, and not living what we are saying. It all starts with each one of us looking in the mirror, and choosing to live more like Christ.

(v.11) Most of what we regret in life, is what we said to someone, and wish we didn't. I teach my kids that God gave us two ears, and one mouth, so we should listen twice as much as we speak!

(v.14) This is where the phrase, "The blind leading the blind" comes from! We can avoid this if we read the Word, and go to a church where the pastor reads the Word in it's entirety...not one verse and tell a story.

(v.22) This was a Gentile woman who knew that Jesus was the descendant from David that was promised! She is like Christians today who learn the Jewish ways, so we can better know Jesus!

(v.24) Jesus came to save Israel, but He also came to save the world. Jesus knew before He created the universe, that the Jews would reject Him, and the whole world would hear of Him.

(v.37) Jesus feeds 4,000 Gentiles and has seven baskets of food left over...He fed 5,000 Jews earlier and had 12 baskets. Remember, numbers mean things in the Bible, and seven represents completion (The Church) and the number twelve represents Israel (12 Sons of Jacob).

20 May (Jonah 3)

Jonah 3

Now, this is the part that everyone has a hard time believing...that Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, and survived! Here is a story of a sailor in the 19th century that survived being in a whale's belly for over half a day!

www.ycaol.com/swallowed.htm

This man was in the belly of a whale for 15 hours, so that isn't the same as 72 hours, but what if Jonah did die in the belly of the great fish? As I noted last post, it may be that Jonah died and was resurrected after three days to be a sign when Jesus did the same. After all, if I went into a whale or great fish's belly...I wouldn't wait three days to pray! I wouldn't have waited even three seconds! This is why I believe Jonah died, and when he was brought back to life, he gave praise to God and was spit out on the beach.

Whether Jonah died or not, his appearance MUST have been altered. Anyone who understands anatomy knows that the stomach has gastric juices to break down food. As we see in the link, the man who was in the whale's belly for only 15 hours had a profound affect on him:

~ All body hair was burned off!

~ His skin was white like an albino...he looked like he was bleached!

~ The gastric juices made him blind and delirious

So here is Jonah...probably close to blind, white as a ghost and without any hair walking into the dreaded city of Nineveh!!! It really doesn't matter if Jonah lived or died in the belly of the great fish, but Jesus confirms that it happened, and Jonah did preach to Nineveh! So let's not let the skeptics shut us off with dwelling on whether Jonah lived or died, and offer the idea that he may not have lived in the belly, and explain why that points to Jesus!

(v.4) Jonah predicts that Nineveh will burn in 40 days...remember that numbers mean things in Hebrew culture and the Bible...the number 40 represents judgement and testing.

(v.5) I remind my kids that the people of Nineveh worshipped the fish god, Dagon, and here was a man who came out of a fish...looking creepy telling them to repent...I would listen as well!

(v.6) The king led by example and told the city to repent...we can all learn from this king, and desire to have our leaders be as godly as he acted.

(v.10) The key to this was the whole city repented from their wicked ways and cried out to God. They weren't faking, and God knew it...that is why God blessed them and gave them mercy.

19 May (Jonah 2)

Jonah 2

(v.1) As we concluded chapter 1, we see that God had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah, and he was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights? Does this sound familiar? Jesus refers to this in Matt 12:40

For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Also, in Luke 11:29 Jesus calls Jonah a prophet, thus giving Jonah an importance and status that most people don't realize. Whether Jonah was in a whale, a shark or some kind of serpent, it doesn't matter...it was big enough to swallow him whole! The Hebrew word used for fish is Dag and can mean fish or serpent. Most often, it was used to reference a fish, but that may be because people discussed fish more than serpents!

(v.2) What a prayer from Jonah! Like most of us, it takes extreme measures for us to get serious and really cry out to the LORD!

I also take time to remind my kids that Jonah mentions the Hebrew word Sheol (it is called Hades in Greek), which is the spiritual place where all who died go to. As we discussed in previous books, the believers went to Abraham's Bosom, and the unbelievers went to Sheol. Not until Jesus' blood washed away sin, could Moses, Abraham, David and all the other believers enter heaven with the Father...they were still in a sinful state. The moment Jesus died on the cross, and hereafter, all who die in faith will immediately go to heaven with the Father, but before that, the faithful had to wait in Abraham's Bosom. If you wish to learn more about this, read Luke 16 where Jesus tells us of this.

I also point out to my kids that Jonah didn't pray until three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish. This is why I believe that Jonah actually died, and he was resurrected and spit out onto the beach...he was again a type of Christ, who was dead for three days and three nights, then resurrected. I can't prove that, but it fits the pattern, and since Jonah's life is mirroring the life of Jesus in many ways, it makes sense to me!

(v.5) Read these verses with Jesus in mind, and it fits. Jesus freed that "captives" in Abraham's bosom. Luke 4:18

Jonah is describing the center of the earth...the abyss. The Greek word for that is Abusso, which is referred to mean hell. Notice how Jonah says the earth with its bars closed behind me forever...he is describing hell...or Sheol/Hades.

(v.9) Whether Jonah was physically dead or not, he was in a bad situation! He prayed fervently to the LORD, and He heard Jonah. I think what did it, was Jonah called upon the name of the LORD by saying, Salvation is of the LORD. This is the name of Jesus...YHWH Saves!

13 May (2 Kings 11-12)

2nd Kings 11

(v.3) Satan tried many times to thwart God's plans, but we see here, another attempt to eliminate the heirs of David, to keep God's Covenant with David from happening. So far, we have seen these attempts:

~ Pharaoh during Moses' time

~ Haman during time of Esther

~ Athaliah during this time

And we will see Herod, during time of Jesus, try to kill all the young boys in Bethlehem in the Gospels.

We see more Hebrew numerology here, since Joash was hidden for six years, which typifies incompletion, but is named king in the seventh year, which typifies completion.

(v.17) All leaders should do what Jehoiada did, and make himself and the people dedicate themselves to the LORD. Wouldn't it be great if every four years, our President would do this upon inauguration?

2nd Kings 12

Jehoash (or Joash) became king at the age of seven. Obviously, he relied on the wisdom of Jehoiada for those early years. This blog is like that in my mind...wisdom from God to teach us, and to teach our kids in their early years. Please pray that this blog is God-driven, not driven by me!

3 May (1 Kings 18)

1st Kings 18

(v.19) This is the great scene where Elijah stacks up the only true God, with 850 pagan priests and their gods! God loves those odds!

(v.21) Elijah tells the people to make a choice...either follow God, or the pagan gods of this world. We are all faced with that decision, and even daily, we can follow God in our actions, or Satan and his worldly lusts.

(v.27) This is a case where God lets Elijah mock the priests. I teach my kids that our worldly gods will fade and fail us, but the true living God, Jesus, will always be with us!

(v.31) Here we see Hebrew numerology again...Elijah uses 12 stones, which symbolizes the 12 sons of Jacob. We also know them as the 12 Tribes of Israel. I remind my kids that if we do our worship according to things in the Bible, God is more likely to hear and bless us.

(v.34) Elijah uses another powerful number in Hebrew culture...the number 3 means redemption. I remind my kids that Jesus spent three days in the grave, and redeemed us when He rose again!

(v.36) Here we see that God told Elijah to do all this, and God blessed Elijah for his courage and faith.

(v.44) We learn another good lesson here...keep praying! God's timing is not our timing, so we should keep praying for things that we ask of Him. Also, Elijah uses another important number in Hebrew culture...the number seven means completion. If you read in Revelation, the number seven is all over the place, mainly because that book completes God's work. Also, God rested on the seventh day in His creation...it was complete!

2 May (1 Kings 17)

1st Kings 17

(v.6) We see God provide for Elijah like He did for Moses and the people of Israel in the Wilderness. We need to remember this when we think God has forgotten us...He will provide if we have faith!

(v.12) The woman was settled with the fact that she and her son would die. We don't know why she didn't get help from others, but in that culture, she may have been a prostitute at some point, and disgraced. She had no one to turn to, and here comes a prophet from God! I can think of some times in my life when God answers prayer by bringing someone into my life.

(v.21) Elijah prayed and laid his body on the boy three times. This is again symbolic for redemption, and it also shows us that we don't always hear God's answer the first few times. This teaches us to keep praying, and God will answer in His perfect timing!

Feb 20 (Ruth 4)

Ruth 4

At the end of chapter 3, we saw that Boaz gave Ruth six ephahs. Numbers represent things in Jewish culture, and obviously, in the Bible. The number six represents "incomplete" and seven represents "complete."

Naomi, being Jewish, knew that this was a message from Boaz, that he wasn't finished, and that he would not rest until he completed the transaction!

(v.5) I find it interesting that Boaz addresses Ruth as a Moabitess and the wife of the dead. I'm not sure if that would have been customary in those days, or even proper disclosure, but it sure got the desired effect that Boaz wanted!!!

In this chapter, we see Boaz performing the transaction at the city gate, with witnesses. My kids find it humorous that they "seal the deal" by giving each other their shoe!

The book concludes with the only proof in the Old Testament that David was from the tribe of Judah. This is important, since way back in Genesis 3:15, and to Luke 1:32, we see that the Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah, and be a son of David. In order to rule in the Millennium, and sit on David's throne, Jesus had to be a descendant of David.

Here are some good points to make with your kids about the typology in this book:

~Ruth (Church) couldn't be grafted into Naomi (Israel) unless Naomi (Israel) was exiled from her land

~ This allows Ruth (Church) to marry into Naomi's (Israel's) family

~ Ruth (Church) doesn't replace Naomi (Israel), but is grafted into the same tree of Israel (Rom 11:17)

~ Ruth (Church) comes to know Boaz (Kinsman Redeemer) because of Naomi (Israel)

~ Naomi (Israel) comes to personally know Boaz (Kinsman Redeemer/Christ) through the marriage of Ruth (Church) and Boaz (Christ)

Feb 10 (Jos 1-8)

Joshua 1

From my Chuck Smith Bible, there are a few things I discuss with my kids before we jump into this book:

~This is the first book of the Bible that is named after a person
~Joshua in Hebrew is Yehoshua, which means "Yahweh is Salvation"
~Jesus in Hebrew is Yeshua, which means "Yahweh Saves"
~As we'll see, Joshua is a type of Christ

(v.4) There is so much hate and fighting about the land that Israel now possesses, yet in reality, God gave Israel a much bigger area. From Turkey in the north, down through most of Syria, through Lebanon and out to the Euphrates (Iraq) is what God calls Israel. Today, Israel is only a fraction of what it should be in size.

I remind my kids that Moses represents the Law, and they didn't enter the Promised Land by the Law (Moses). They entered by the faith of Joshua (Jesus). Living by the Law doesn't save us and allow us to enter heaven, it's our faith in God and Jesus!

Joshua 2

Here we meet an incredible woman named Rahab. She is a Gentile and a pagan, yet she believes the LORD is the only God, and she helps these two spies (witnesses). Later, we learn that one of David's ancestors, Salmon, married Rahab (Matt 1:5). She went from being a pagan Gentile harlot, to an esteemed mother of Boaz, who is in the kingly line of David!!!

Joshua 3

Israel crosses the Jordan, and says goodbye to the old ways of Egypt. Of course, they still will have their moments, but through Joshua, they cross over and have a new beginning. This is like when we gave our lives to Christ, we crossed over and left behind our worldly dependence, and trusted in another Joshua...Jesus!

Joshua 4

Numbers represent things in the Bible. Here is a list of ones that we come across a lot:

3 ~ Sanctification, redemption (Jesus, Jonah, etc in the grave for 3 days)
6 ~ Incompletion (Six days of creation needed a 7th for completion, rest)
7 ~ Completion (Seven days of creation, seven cities of refuge, all the sevens in Revelation)
12 ~ Represents Israel (the twelve tribes)
40 ~ Testing and Judgement (Flood of Noah, the Jews, and Jesus in the Wilderness)

Here we have the 12 tribes being represented by the monument of 12 stones. This is the very spot, where centuries later, John the Baptist did his ministry!

Joshua 5

All the men who left Egypt with Moses were circumcised, but the children were not. These children were circumcised now, since their fathers abandoned the Word of God. This was a painful lesson for them to learn!

(vv.13-15) Here we see another theophany...Jesus in the OT! We know it's Jesus, since an angel would've reprimanded Joshua for worshipping anything other than God. Also, this Commander has Joshua take off his sandals, since he's on holy ground (Exodus 3:5).

Joshua is a type of Christ...he will lead the conquest of Jericho, which mirrors Jesus' conquering of Babylon and the world in Revelation.

Joshua 6

God has Joshua tell his army a very peculiar plan to conquer Jericho...my kids laugh when I act out this plan and show their faces when they hear it! But if we compare this event in the book of Joshua to Jesus in the book of Revelation, we see many similarities:

Yehoshua (Joshua) ~ Yeshua (Jesus)

Commander of Israel ~ Commander of the army of the LORD

Seven days ~ Seven years

Priests sent out in front ~ High Priest (Jesus) leads

First send in two spies ~ Two witnesses sent in first

Seven trumpet blasts ~ Seven trumpet judgements

Judgment by fire ~ Fire and brimstone judgment

Kings hide in caves ~ Leaders hide in caves

Joshua 7

Here we see Israel getting overconfident and not reliant upon God. Not only are they thinking they conquered Jericho instead of God, but they disobey Him by taking things from there. I point out to my kids that we do this ourselves all the time!

Joshua 8

After the culprit, Achan, is stoned, they then win easily. This is God's Word speaking to us that we need to include Him in all parts of our lives, at all times. When we do, we will see His glory manifested in our lives!

They won because they had faith in God, and let Him have the glory!

Jan 26 (Exodus 13-15)

Exodus 13

In this chapter, we see God commanding the Jews to honor and remember what He did for them by the Passover, and now the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This doesn't make much sense to our kids at first, but if we explain that it points to Christ, they will see it.

Leaven is yeast...it puffs up the bread. We are puffed up when we have pride. Leaven is equated to sin and pride many times in the Bible.

So this feast is meant to point us to another time in the future, when a sinless and humble Man sacrificed Himself for us!!!

(v.21) I like to talk with my kids about how the LORD provided for His people in every way. Not only did He bring them out of slavery, but He is protecting them from evil. I remind my kids that Pharaoh is a type of Satan, so God is bringing the Jews (and us) out of slavery (to sin), and He's protecting us from Egypt (Satan).

I remind my kids that just because God is protecting us, it doesn't mean that we won't have bad things happen in our lives. We are in a fallen world, so sin and temptation will torment us. God uses our trials to uplift us and have us grow...by His power...not our own!

Exodus 14

We see the LORD guiding and providing for His people...like He does with us today. We may never see a great miracle like the Red Sea crossing, but God works miracles in us every day!

Recently, there has been a discovery of a submerged land bridge across the Strait of Tiran. Many Bible scholars today, believe that this is where God had the Jews cross. He blew the water to the sides of this land bridge, and swallowed up the Egyptians with water there. In fact, sea divers have discovered chariot wheels in this very area, half-buried and with vegetation on them! This supports the theory that Mt. Sinai is really in Saudi Arabia. Click below on a great resource for more about this:

http://www.baseinstitute.org/

Exodus 15

We see a common theme going now, where things happen in 3 days. This also points to Christ, since He was in the grave for 3 days!

Check out the videos and info on the link above to see more of these 12 wells and 70 palm trees. The number 12 always points to the 12 tribes of Israel, and the number 70 is used as typology of God's redemption.

Jan 3 (Genesis 6-11)

Genesis 6

In this chapter, we see the reason for the Flood of Noah. We need to teach our kids that Satan is real, and since the Garden, when he tricked Adam and Eve, he knew that God would provide a Redeemer for mankind. In this chapter, we see that Satan's fallen angels (the Nephilim) which means "Fallen Ones" mated with the daughters of men. This created an abnormal offspring, which were big and powerful. If you think your kids are old enough to look into this further, show them the following passages to support this:

~1 Sam 17:40
~2 Sam 21:22
~Num 13:33

Wild Bill Hickock wrote that it was legend among the tribes, that they feared these giants. They told Wild Bill about how these giants could run as fast as horses and buffalo and tear their limbs off with ease. This is also why in the movies, we would see an Indian greet a stranger by raising one hand up, and saying "How." It was told to Wild Bill that they did this to count the fingers on the stranger's hand...to make sure they weren't one of the Nephilim!

Continuing on, we see that Noah walked with God, and his family wasn't tainted by this genetic defect from the Nephilim. This is why God chose Noah and his family to replenish the earth after the flood.

In v. 13 and after, we see that God gave Noah direct measurements to house all the "kinds" of animals on the ark. Some skeptics claim that God couldn't have housed all the animals on earth...well...He didn't need to. God told Noah to take male and female of every "kind"...this means that Noah didn't have to take all the breeds of dogs, just one set, and they would replenish the earth. The dogs with short hair survived and thrived in the hotter climates, and the ones with shaggy fur did better in the colder climates...God didn't need to save all of them because those dogs in the ark had all the DNA traits in them to make more breeds for the future!

NOTE: To give your kids an idea of how big the ark was, tell them that a "cubit" was measured by the length from the fingertips to a person's elbow. Of course, not everyone is the same, but in general, a cubit would be around 18 inches in length.

If we take this standard, then the ark would have been over 97,000 square feet, and would hold over 520 train boxcars!!! God provided plenty of room (See picture above to see size comparisons).

Genesis 7

There are a lot of neat things here too...I will list some that I think are key for our kids to understand the reason and results of the flood:

~two of every kind, but seven of every clean kind of animal (for food and sacrifices)

~God said, "Come into the ark" ...not "Go into the ark" - God was inside with them! This is a type of the Holy Spirit, when we accept Christ and allow Him to be our LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit dwells inside us, and He keeps us from damnation and spiritual death.

~rain for 40 days and nights (see Matthew 4) Numbers represent things in the Bible...40 means testing or judgement

~I describe the flood to my kids, but showing them that the earth had a water canopy in the sky, and great amounts of water in the earth's core. When God released both, an incredible amount of water rushed upon the earth and flooded everything quickly.

(v.19) shows us that the WHOLE EARTH was flooded, even above all the highest hills! This was not a local or regionalized flood, it covered the whole globe! This explains the Grand Canyon's deep gorges...when the water receded, the rush carved out great canyons in a short time.

(v.16) shows us that God was in the ark with Noah and his family...God shut them in the ark...He didn't close it from the outside, he closed it from inside! How truly comforting that is when we face our own storms of life...He is there with us!

NOTE: Every kid wants to know if God put dinosaurs on the ark. The Bible doesn't explicitly list them, but it doesn't for any particular "kind" so we can't know for sure. What I do tell my kids, however, is that dinosaurs are mentioned in the Bible (Job 40:15-19). Noah didn't have to put adult T-Rex dinosaurs into the ark, all he had to do was put babies or even dinosaur eggs, and the "kind" would survive the flood!!!

I also explain why they died off...as we read in Genesis 1, there was a water canopy in the sky, which insulated the earth from UV rays, and enabled the earth to have much higher amounts of oxygen in the air. We also know that the whole earth was tropical, since even today's ice regions, mammoths have been found frozen with tropical vegetation in their mouths!

From archaeology, we know that even the biggest dinosaurs only had nostrils the same size as a modern-day horse. Before the flood, with the rich oxygen-filled air, and the water canopy protecting the earth from extreme UV rays, the dinosaurs didn't have to inhale hard to get enough oxygen into their huge lungs. But after the flood, all that changed. They had to do many big breaths just to get the equivalent oxygen as one previous breath. This is why many scientists and Bible scholars feel that the big dinosaurs couldn't have survived too long after the flood...only the smaller ones who didn't have such huge lungs would survive...like the crocodiles and alligators, for example.

There is much more that we talk about, but I suggest you look at these sites for more valuable info:

http://www.answersingenesis.org/

http://www.drdino.com/

Genesis 8

(v.4) Why did God bother to tell us the month and day of the week for when the ark rested on the mountains of Ararat? Well, if we do our homework, we see that Jesus rose from the grave on the very same day, all those years later! In each case, God provided a "New Beginning" on that day!

Note: The correct wording here is "mountains of Ararat" not Mount Ararat. This is why, many Bible scholars believe that the ark of Noah is really in the high mountains of Iran...not in Turkey like tradition has it. I recommend this website if you wish to look into this further:

http://www.baseinstitute.org/

NOTE: My kids asked me how the whole earth was populated after the flood. I told them, that after the flood, much of the earth was exposed, allowing for people to travel to all the ends of the earth. Then, when God raised the mountains, and lowered the valleys, the waters rushed and created many of the beautiful landscapes we see all over the globe. By then, the earth had people on all the newly established continents, and they procreated from there. For further study on this, please see a great website by Ken Ham called Answers in Genesis

http://www.answersingenesis.org/

Genesis 9

(v.3) We see here that this is the first time that God has allowed mankind to eat animal flesh. Up until now, man only ate vegetables and breads. I love my steak and burgers, but we can see that man lived longer if he only ate fruit and vegetables...food for thought as they say!

(v.6) God here ordains capital punishment, or the death penalty, if someone willingly sheds innocent blood.

The rest of the chapter, God tells Noah that He will never again destroy the earth by water, and He gives as a sign a rainbow. Not only are rainbows pretty, but it's also nice for us to remember that God is in control and keeping to His promises to us! However, when we get to Revelation, we see that God will destroy the earth by fire, instead of with water.

Genesis 10

This chapter can be, admittedly, fairly boring to us, with all the names listed. However, if we step back and look at it, God is providing proof that these people lived, and His plan of redemption for us started with Noah, all the way to Christ!!!

(v.24) Here we see when the earth had a major shift, and the great oceans were formed as I mentioned a few chapters ago. Peleg means "divided"

Genesis 11

(v.3) We see that man decided to reach up to Him and give themselves a lofty stature. The Tower of Babel is the epitome of man trying to reach God, and it's the birthplace of idolatry and where Satan's throne is. We will never learn unless we accept Jesus, and let Him come to us!

(v.5) Notice that the Lord came "down" to earth

(v.7) Another reference to the Holy Trinity..."Come, let Us go down and confuse their language."