October 21, 2021 – Revelation 8-10

Lots of woes and troubles here. And lots of sevens: 7 seals, 7 angels, 7 thunders. Just some quick thoughts. John reports many details in these chapters, apocalyptic detail. This sort of stuff can be difficult to interpret, and indeed, many good Bible scholars do disagree on these matters. But one thing certainly stands out, and that is that God has a carefully laid out scheme of what he will do, and he brings it to pass. Even in the midst of the interpretation challenges, and with so many troubles announced, there is great comfort in knowing that our God is accomplishing his good and perfect will. Always, even when troubles are many, we can agree with Isaac Watts:

O God, our help in ages past,

our hope for years to come,

our shelter from the stormy blast,

and our eternal home;

Under the shadow of your throne

your saints have dwelt secure.

Sufficient is your arm alone,

and our defense is sure. -- Isaac Watts (1719)