Reading for Today:
-
Isaiah 5:1
Chapter 5 1 Let me sing for my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved had a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:
–6:13
-
Psalms 105:23-36
23 Israel also came into Egypt; And Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. 24 And he increased his people greatly, And made them stronger than their adversaries. 25 He turned their heart to hate his people, To deal subtly with his servants. 26 He sent Moses his servant, `And' Aaron whom he had chosen. 27 They set among them his signs, And wonders in the land of Ham. 28 He sent darkness, and made it dark; And they rebelled not against his words. 29 He turned their waters into blood, And slew their fish. 30 Their land swarmed with frogs In the chambers of their kings. 31 He spake, and there came swarms of flies, And lice in all their borders. 32 He gave them hail for rain, `And' flaming fire in their land. 33 He smote their vines also and their fig-trees, And brake the trees of their borders. 34 He spake, and the locust came, And the grasshopper, and that without number, 35 And did eat up every herb in their land, And did eat up the fruit of their ground. 36 He smote also all the first-born in their land, The chief of all their strength.
-
Proverbs 24:28-29
28 Be not a witness against thy neighbor without cause; And deceive not with thy lips. 29 Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.
-
1 Corinthians 15:29-58
29 Else what shall they do that are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them? 30 Why do we also stand in jeopardy every hour? 31 I protest by that glorifying in you, brethren, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. 32 If after the manner of men I fought with beasts at Ephesus, what doth it profit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die. 33 Be not deceived: Evil companionships corrupt good morals. 34 Awake to soberness righteously, and sin not; for some have no knowledge of God: I speak `this' to move you to shame. 35 But some one will say, How are the dead raised? and with what manner of body do they come? 36 Thou foolish one, that which thou thyself sowest is not quickened except it die: 37 and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body that shall be, but a bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other kind; 38 but God giveth it a body even as it pleased him, and to each seed a body of its own. 39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one `flesh' of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fishes. 40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the `glory' of the terrestrial is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory. 42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43 it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 44 it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual `body'. 45 So also it is written, The first man Adam became a living soul. The last Adam `became' a life-giving spirit. 46 Howbeit that is not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; then that which is spiritual. 47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is of heaven. 48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the power of sin is the law: 57 but thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not vain in the Lord.
Notes:
Isaiah 5:2 good grapes,…wild grapes. The owner made every conceivable provision for the vine’s productivity and protection, illustrating the Lord’s purely gracious choice of Israel. Justifiably, He expected a good yield from His investment, but the vine’s produce was “sour berries,” inedible and fit only for dumping.
1 Corinthians 15:29
29 Else what shall they do that are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?
This difficult verse has numerous possible interpretations. Other Scripture passages, however, clarify certain things which it does not mean. It does not teach, for example, that a dead person can be saved by another person’s being baptized on his behalf, because baptism never has a part in a person’s salvation (Eph. 2:8; Rom. 3:28; 4:3; 6:3, 4). A reasonable view seems to be that “they…who are baptized” refers to living believers who give outward testimony to their faith in baptism by water because they were first drawn to Christ by the exemplary lives, faithful influence, and witness of believers who had subsequently died. Paul’s point is that, if there is no resurrection and no life after death, then why are people coming to Christ to follow the hope of those who have died?
1 Corinthians 15:42
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
b–44 Focusing directly on the resurrection body, Paul gives 4 sets of contrasts to show how the new body will differ from the present one (v. 54; Phil. 3:20, 21):1) no more sickness and death (“corruption”); 2) no more shame because of sin (“dishonor”); 3) no more frailty in temptation (“weakness”); and 4) no more limits to the time/space sphere (“natural”).
1 Corinthians 15:52
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
twinkling of an eye. This was Paul’s way of showing how brief the “moment” will be. The Greek word for “twinkling” refers to any rapid movement. Since the eye can move more rapidly than any other part of our visible bodies, it seems to well illustrate the sudden transformation of raptured believers. trumpet will sound. To herald the end of the church era, when all believers will be removed from the earth at the rapture (1 Thess. 4:16). dead…raised. According to
1 Thessalonians 4:16
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first;
, they are first and the living saints follow.
DAY 7: Describe Isaiah’s vision of heaven.
In
Isaiah 6:1
Chapter 6 1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple.
, Isaiah says that he “saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up.” The prophet became unconscious of the outside world and with his inner eye saw what God revealed to him. This experience recalls the experience of John’s prophetic vision in
Revelation 4:1
Chapter 4 1 After these things I saw, and behold, a door opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard, `a voice' as of a trumpet speaking with me, one saying, Come up hither, and I will show thee the things which must come to pass hereafter.
–11. The throne was greatly elevated, emphasizing the Most High God. His “train” refers to the hem or fringe of the Lord’s glorious robe that filled the temple. Though Isaiah may have been at the earthly temple, this describes a vision which transcends the earthly. The throne of God is in the heavenly temple (Rev. 4:1–6; 5:1–7; 11:19; 15:5–8).
The seraphim above the throne (v. 2) are an order of angelic creatures who bear a similarity to the 4 living creatures of
Revelation 4:6
6 and before the throne, as it were a sea of glass like a crystal; and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, four living creatures full of eyes before and behind.
, which in turn resemble the cherubim of
Ezekiel 10:1
Chapter 10 1 Then I looked, and behold, in the firmament that was over the head of the cherubim there appeared above them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.
ff. “Six wings.” Two wings covered the faces of the seraphim because they dared not gaze directly at God’s glory. Two covered their feet, acknowledging their lowliness even though engaged in divine service. With two they flew in serving the One on the throne. Thus, 4 wings related to worship, emphasizing the priority of praise.
“One cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy’ ” (v. 3). The seraphs were speaking to each other in antiphonal praise. The primary thrust of the 3-fold repetition of God’s holiness is to emphasize God’s separateness from and independence of His fallen creation, though it implies secondarily that God is 3 Persons. The earth is the worldwide display of His immeasurable glory, perfections, and attributes as seen in creation (Rom. 1:20). Fallen man has nevertheless refused to glorify Him as God (Rom. 1:23). “And the posts of the door were shaken…smoke” (v. 4). The shaking and smoke symbolize God’s holiness as it relates to His wrath and judgment (Ex. 19:16–20; Rev. 15:8).
Isaiah’s vision made him painfully aware of his sin and broke him; in this way God has prepared him for his cleansing and his commission. “Woe is me…I am a man of unclean lips” (v. 5). If the lips are unclean, so is the heart. This vision of God’s holiness vividly reminded the prophet of his own unworthiness which deserved judgment. Job (
Job 42:6
6 Wherefore I abhor `myself', And repent in dust and ashes.
) and Peter (
Luke 5:8
8 But Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
) came to the same realization about themselves when confronted with the presence of the Lord (Ezek. 1:28–2:7; Rev. 1:17). The hot coal taken from the altar of incense in heaven (Rev. 8:3–5) is emblematic of God’s purifying work (v. 6). Repentance is painful. Spiritual cleansing for special service to the Lord, not salvation, is in view (v. 8).
From The MacArthur Daily Bible Copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson Bibles, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc, Nashville, TN 37214, www.thomasnelson.com.
Additional Resources
