August 23: HEADING FOR THE THIRD WOE

The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly. Revelation 11:14

So now we come to the end of the interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets. Recall that all of chapter 10 and verses 1-14 of chapter 11 constitute this interlude, and compare it to the one between the sixth and seventh seals (contained in chapter 7). The overarching theme of this pause is God’s tender mercy for the preparation of God’s people to be fortified through the final events just before the return of Jesus. They are to reach out to this lost world — prophesy again (10:11) — with final calls to salvation. Revelation and Daniel will supply more details as we go, the purpose of which is character development (not to satisfy idle curiosity). It is the genuineness of character that will effectively turn eyes toward the Savior.

John the Revelator referred to the fifth, sixth, and seventh trumpets as three woes (8:13). As we are at the end of the sixth trumpet judgment, only one woe is left; and the third woe is coming quickly. With the opening of the little book (10:2,8,9,10) of Daniel, greater light from heaven has been given. Better understanding of Daniel has put a bright light upon Revelation. Daniel himself, though he faithfully penned the little book under the Holy Spirit’s direction, did not fully understand some of what he wrote. The book of Daniel lays out survival skills for enduring Babylon and living to tell about it. The historical sequence prophetically laid out is priceless for anyone who desires to gain insight into the Lord’s master plan of salvation. Ridding the world of sin and its sticky residue is a process that requires the cooperation of all who will be saved.  

Intermingled with the themes of God’s rich mercy and the essential preparation for the end of days is the restoration of His sanctuary in the minds of His people. He exposes the Satanic tactics of those under the sway of the archenemy for the destruction of the sanctuary. Salvation is the work of God, and it need not be a mystery. The entire plan for a safe — and complete — journey all the way back to Him is provided in the “roadmap” of the sanctuary.

In the lessons throughout Scripture that take us from the wilderness tabernacle, modeled after the heavenly sanctuary, to the first and second stationary temples, and onward to the spiritual reality of our bodies as the temple of God, we are to demonstrate the how of salvation in our lives. It is initiated by Him and carried to completion by Him, for He is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), but we are to join Him willingly in the transformation process. Fervent prayer, taking in His word and sharing it with others can be summed up in a word: obedience. Only through obedience can spiritual muscle be gained, learning to swim against worldly currents that would carry us, like plankton, on an aimless journey through life. This is the daily of Daniel 8:11-13 that our archenemy has sought to suppress and destroy.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8