In today's devotional, we learn about the events surroundings Jesus' birth and get better clarity on how they happened; where they occurred and why Mary and Joseph travelled all the way to Bethlehem in the first place. By comparing Matthew's and Luke's account of the events, we were able to for example pinpoint the exact place where some of the events took place; Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth, they only went to Bethlehem for the census and where Jesus was in turn born. They stayed in Bethlehem until the child's dedication at the temple in Jerusalem. And after his dedication, they would return to Nazareth from where all the other events take place. Why are these bits of truths important? Though possibly unknowingly, Jesus' parents were fulfilling scriptures; the child was to be born not in Nazareth, but in the city of David, Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). Also, he was going to be called a Nazarene, not because he was one like John the baptist and Samson, but because he would grow up in the town of Nazareth.

Today's devotional led us to compare the genealogy of Jesus as presented by Matthew who was writing to a Jewish audience, compared to Luke who was writing to a more broader audience. You will notice that Matthew traces the genealogy of Jesus through the line of the king proving that Jesus was the Messiah, the one who fulfills the promise God made to king David of a king forever on his throne. While the genealogies meet at some point, Luke intended the genealogy of Jesus to present Jesus as the savior of mankind, so he traces this all the way back to Adam. We also learned key important lessons from the life of Mary, Zachariah and Elizabeth. What should our response be whenever we receive a word from God?

In today's devotional, we conclude our introduction to the Harmony of the Gospel. I gave an example in Mark 1:2; while reading from the NIV, NASB and KJV, we must pay attention to the possible variant that exist using different translations. Finally, we began the series by taking an introduction to Jesus, here, we read what each of the gospel says introducing Jesus Christ; Luke 1:1-4, John 1:1-18 and Matthew 1:1-17. We will read Luke 3:23-38.

In today's devotional, I highlight how it is possible for two people to look at the same event and come out with different views and take on the event. That is what happens whenever people are burdened with the responsibility to report on a situation, they will naturally report the event, but pay attention to different details. We see this severally as we do an Harmonised study of the gospel, all the writers paid attention to different details. I also highlighted briefly how the Bible we currently have today came to us, and why there are errors even in it. Yes, there are errors in the Bible we have today. The inerrancy of the scriptures is not in the copies printed and that we have today, there are errors. When we speak about inerrancy, which means no errors, we are referring to those who originally listened to and wrote down the words they heard. Finally, I gave an example comparing Matthew's and Mark's take on Jesus raising a girl from the dead. Matthew 9:18-26 compared to Mark 5:21-43 NIV.

Happy New Year! We begin 2023 by doing an harmonised study of the four Gospels of; Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Why do we need to or what benefits can be derived from doing an harmonised study of the Gospels? I will never forget the words of my professor in Bible school; "the Bible is not written in black and white as most people assume it is". When you realize the veracity of this statement and how little most Christians understand or know about the Bible they read every day, you'd realize how much work those of us who teach the word of God have to do. Secondly, we have to be able to like Timothy, rightly interprete or divide the word of truth. Why? It is so that we can contend for our faith. And this faith is currently facing a lot of opposition. We do this so that we can defend our faith when it comes under attacks from forces within and without. During this harmonised study, we will sequentially look at the life of Jesus from the point of view or telescope of this four authors. We will examine and address the differences in their writings. For example; how could two people looking at the same situation, inspired by the Holy Spirit come up with differences in their recount? I look forward to doing this study with you and pray that during this time, you will learn more and more about the life of Jesus and that you will know the Lord better and better.

Jesus repeats one message again and again as the book of Revelation concludes, Jesus said; "I am coming soon." He actually said these three times in this one chapter. That tells us how important those words are, and they communicate a sense of urgency. Jesus is coming soon; it could be today, it could be tomorrow or the next, or next year. One thing is certain, it will be soon. If you have been paying attention to world events and the timing and their sequence as Daniel and now John revealed, you know it will be soon. Our generation is likely going to be the ones to finally witness it. “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed are those who obey the words of prophecy written in this book.” Revelation 22:7 NLT. “Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Revelation 22:12‭-‬13 NLT. "He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!" Revelation 22:20 NLT.

JESUS IS COMING SOON, what are you going to do about it?

Revelation chapter 17 tells us about the Great Prostitute; who is she and where does she resides? "One of the seven angels who had poured out the seven bowls came over and spoke to me. “Come with me,” he said, “and I will show you the judgment that is going to come on the great prostitute, who rules over many waters. The kings of the world have committed adultery with her, and the people who belong to this world have been made drunk by the wine of her immorality.” So the angel took me in the Spirit into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that had seven heads and ten horns, and blasphemies against God were written all over it.

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Revelation 17:1‭-‬3 NLT. The first thing we note about this prostitute is that she rules over many waters. Many waters refers to people. She is seen here riding on a scarlet beast as it rises to power. Satan is depicted as a Red dragon in Revelations 12, this beast simply looks like him. The scarlet beast is the antichrist. This verse gives us an hint of how the antichrist is going to rise to power, he is ridden by this prostitute. He will use the influence this prostitute has over the kings of this world and the people who belong to this world, to rise to power.

The prostitute name is given to us; "A mysterious name was written on her forehead: “Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World.” Revelation 17:5 NLT. John looks at her with amazement because I believe John is surprised at her influence and her willingness to cooperate with the antichrist, she is even comfortable with the killing of the very followers of Jesus she claims to know. We also note that the prostitute is seen riding the scarlet beast and not a white horse the antichrist rode on when the first seal was broken. This information is vital because it tells us that the antichrist will not need the prostitute when he emerges as a rider on a white horse, no, he uses her during the period when he shows himself as the beast. We know that this is going to be during the second half of the Great tribulation. The information of where the prostitute rules is also given to us in verse 9; “This calls for a mind with understanding: The seven heads of the beast represent the seven hills where the woman rules. They also represent seven kings." Revelation 17:9 NLT.

There is only one city that sits on 7 hills, that is the ancient city of Rome. In the first century, the code name for Rome was Babylon. For example, when writing to the believers in Rome, the apostle Peter said; "Your sister church here in Babylon sends you greetings, and so does my son Mark." 1 Peter 5:13 NLT.

The chapter also tells us the final destination of the prostitute. Even though we see her riding the beast at the beginning, her end is destruction because the beast's true intentions were always to use her during the period when he needs the world to accept his one world religion. Apart from that, he actually hates her; "The scarlet beast and his ten horns all hate the prostitute. They will strip her naked, eat her flesh, and burn her remains with fire." Revelation 17:16 NLT. Tying all of these points together; "And this woman you saw in your vision represents the great city that rules over the kings of the world.” Revelation 17:18 NLT. The prostitute is a city, the city of Rome, the Vatican city to be more precise. It also stands for the institution she represents and the head of that institution; the Catholic church and the Pope.

The events around Revelation 9 through to 13 take place during the 7 year period of tribulation. In chapter 13, we see this 2 figures, 2 beasts that are worthy of mention. The first beast, the antichrist, looks a lot like the red dragon described earlier in Revelation 12, but he is different. "Then I saw a beast rising up out of the sea. It had seven heads and ten horns, with ten crowns on its horns. And written on each head were names that blasphemed God. This beast looked like a leopard, but it had the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion! And the dragon gave the beast his own power and throne and great authority.

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Revelation 13:1‭-‬2 NLT. He has the same number of heads, horns and crowns as the dragon because he would be using the same system of government, power and authority as the dragon. As you can see, the dragon gives this first beast its power. Meaning the power the antichrist will display as he wows the world would be satan's power. He is given; power, great authority and thrones, which means he will take over governments too. With his powers, great authority and thrones, he would blaspheme God and conquer the people of God. The second beast is the false prophet; "Then I saw another beast come up out of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke with the voice of a dragon. He exercised all the authority of the first beast. And he required all the earth and its people to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed.

Revelation 13:11‭-‬12 NLT. The second beast looks like a lamb but he is actually a beast. He is a man of religion but underneath, he worships satan. It is he, using the instrument of religion, or better still, One World Religion, that will require everyone to worship the antichrist. Exercising the powers given to him by the antichrist, he would also be able to do miracles. It is worthy of note also that it would be he, who would require everyone who wants to be able to trade and live to take the mark of the antichrist. "And with all the miracles he was allowed to perform on behalf of the first beast, he deceived all the people who belong to this world. He ordered the people to make a great statue of the first beast, who was fatally wounded and then came back to life. He was then permitted to give life to this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue of the beast commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die. He required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name.

Revelation 13:14‭-‬17 NLT.

As John describes the events going on in heaven, we see Jesus Christ step forward, the only being in the entire universe, qualified to receive the scroll and break its seven seals. Halleluyah! He receives the scroll and breaks the first seal, the effect, is felt not only in heaven, but on the earth. The effect is the appearance of a rider on a white horse. "As I watched, the Lamb broke the first of the seven seals on the scroll. Then I heard one of the four living beings say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” I looked up and saw a white horse standing there. Its rider carried a bow, and a crown was placed on his head. He rode out to win many battles and gain the victory." Revelation 6:1‭-‬2 NLT. Revelation chapter 6 is actually the beginning of 21 judgements that will come upon the earth. The 21 judgements are divided into 3 sets; 7 seals, 7 trumpets and 7 vials or bowls. The breaking of the 7th seal ushers in 7 trumpets judgements, while the blowing of the 7th trumpet ushers in the 7 vials judgements. It is vital to pay particular attention to the events of the first seal because it gives us an opportunity to understand all that is about to happen and to situate it in time. The seal reveals a rider on a white horse mirroring another rider on a white horse in Revelation 19. The rider on the white horse in Revelation 19 is specifically named as Christ himself. The rider of this white horse is nameless, he is a deceiver and a pretender, it is the Antichrist himself. He is carrying a bow without arrows, this meaning he will have the capacity for warfare but will instead portray himself as a man of peace. A crown was placed on his head means his authority is not his, it was given to him. We will see his power given to him in Revelation 13 where the great dragon, satan himself, gives his authority and power to the antichrist who is depicted here as the beast. Lastly, "he rides out to win many battles and gain the victory." This means he is going to win, however people pray and try to struggle against him, they will not be able to defeat the antichrist. He is a master of deception, and exceptional at getting results. I believe that understanding the events and timing of the appearance of the antichrist, the rider on the white horse which is usually a symbol of peace, is the key to understanding the endtimes. Secondly, because we also know that the antichrist will not reveal himself until after the church is raptured, and that his appearing starts all of the judgements, understanding when and how he manifests is a crucial lesson if you like me are preparing not to miss the rapture.

In Revelation chapters one through to three, John gives us a description of how Jesus would look like when we see him in heaven. Jesus then tells John to write seven letters to seven churches who were present at that time. Using the dispensationalist style of interpretation, we've said these seven letters also speaks about the entire church age. The churches are; Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. To Ephesus Jesus says; “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands: “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. You have patiently suffered for me without quitting. “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!

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Revelation 2:1‭-‬4 NLT. He tells them to look how far they've fallen and to repent. To the church in Smyrna Jesus writes; “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Smyrna. This is the message from the one who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive: “I know about your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich! I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they are Jews, but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan. Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.

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Revelation 2:8‭-‬10 NLT. To Pergamum Jesus writes; “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Pergamum. This is the message from the one with the sharp two-edged sword: “I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me. You refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan’s city. “But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin.

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Revelation 2:12‭-‬14 NLT. He tells them, repent of this sin. To Thyatira Jesus writes; “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Thyatira. This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire, whose feet are like polished bronze: “I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things. “But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols.

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Revelation 2:18‭-‬20 NLT. Thyatira was the constantly improving church, yet their tolerance had allowed in those sowing the seeds of idolatry. To Sardis Jesus writes; “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Sardis. This is the message from the one who has the sevenfold Spirit of God and the seven stars: “I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is almost dead. I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God. Revelation 3:1-3 NLT. Jesus goes on to write to the Philadelphian and Laodicean churches. To all the churches, Jesus gives a charge to work at or change at something, improve at something, or hold on to something. My encouragement, read through and learn from the warnings and rewards.