You made it! You got to the end of the Artists Bible Reading Plan. You successfully read through the entire Bible in a year. Was this experience encouraging? Are you inspired by the biblical art we've shared?
Revelation 22:17, "The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life."
'Heaven books' have been popular these last few years. You know the type -- where the author has a near death experience and then writes a book about seeing Heaven. At least a couple of these authors have been discounted, yet we know Heaven is real. So here's a helpful video on the topic:
Revelation 21:1 shares, "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more."
We understand the idea of a new heaven and a new earth but the idea of the sea disappearing is a little strange, isn't it? Well here's an article from Dennis E. Johnson that very seriously tackles what this verse could mean.
A book written by a devil to instruct his nephew on how to make humans sin? That's the synopsis of the brilliant book by C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters. The preface of the book makes its purpose clear: it's fun to mock Satan. And identifying his silly tactics is a great way to strengthen our faith.
This first clip is from the stage production of The Screwtape Letters with actor Max McLean. In the second clip, Max describes the play and his understanding of the book, which he calls a 'reverse devotional."
One of my favorite blogs is challies.com where Tim Challies provides great resources for Christians including links to books on sale, thought-provoking links and articles, and theological reflections. It's a great site, I encourage you to check it out. Below is an infographic he put together for the Trinity, which I post to further illuminate Revelation 19 and the second coming of Christ.
Also, if you're interested in the Second Coming of Christ then a quick youtube search will show sermons by Billy Graham, Francis Chan, etc., on the topic. So don't be shy, search away and click on any respected and trustworthy teacher.
"TENET is a leading vocal ensemble of soloists specializing in Renaissance and Baroque music under the artistic direction of Jolie Greenleaf." Here is the group performing a beautiful piece, 'Canticle of Zechariah.' If you click through to the youtube video, there is a link to that night's program. It provides background for the music and contains the Latin/English lyrics for the song.
Today we read Haggai, the Encourager Prophet! This is not about destruction, it's about rebuilding. And then in Revelation we read about the victory of the lamb. So all in all this is a feel-good day.
Merry Christmas! You are surely spending today with family or loved ones so I won't keep you long. For our stop in Zephaniah I simply share a kinetic typography video from Church of the Highlands:
This is David Wallace performing 'Nahum: An Apocalyptic Prophesy for Electric Viola.' In another video David explains why he composed this piece:
Many of the minor prophets give visual descriptions but Nahum seems to give a lot of descriptions of sound. It's begging to be turned into music. And David believes Nahum is the sequel to Jonah, taking place three generations after, and the city of Nineveh is out of chances. While the prophecy seems horrific and violent, Nahum means 'consolation,' and the meaning of the book is that the days of bullies are numbered. Every evil regime will end one day. Anyway, very interesting. Enjoy.
I wanted to share the Christian parody band ApologetiX one. last. time. I've used a handful of their songs throughout the year and today I have a double-header. The first song is called 'Revelation Man' and parodies 'Secret Agent Man' by Johnny Rivers. The next song is 'Barroom Hitz' which parodies Ballroom Blitz by The Sweet AND also gives the explanation for why ApologetiX do what they do.
In Micah 5 we see a prophecy for a great leader to be born in Bethlehem. Nice! And in Revelation 12 we see the culmination of the spiritual battle between good and evil. The good King sits on the throne and over the next two weeks we'll read how the entire biblical story ends (with a new beginning). Enjoy.
Micah 6:8, "No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God."
So apparently Obadiah is the least read book in the whole Bible! For a really fantastic blog post on Obadiah, check out this site by Jeffrey and Laura Kranz. They openly describe their site as "Bible geekery." :-D Enjoy.
I believe the painting above is a watercolor from French painter James Tissot (1836-1902) and is titled 'Obadiah the Prophet.'
Others:
Are you a fan of the band Toto? Here's an ApologetiX parody that uses Toto's song 'Hold the Line' to sing about Obadiah. Nice.
This video has nothing to do with the Bible but it's one of the things that pops up when you search for Obadiah. It's the cover 'Hey Ya' by Obadiah Parker. (By the way, you stumble into some disturbing art when you begin to search the Internet for Revelation and the minor prophets. Just saying).
Well this video is a punch in the gut (in a good way!). It's a powerful clip from Hillsong United's social justice documentary, 'I-Heart Revolution: We're All in This Together." It quotes Amos 5:21-24.
The four horsemen of the apocalypse rear their ugly heads all over popular culture. Not too long ago I was talking with a guy who could name all 4 horsemen because of the video game Darksiders:
And the non-Christian band Muse involves the horsemen in their big hit from 2006, 'Knights of Cydonia.' I should warn you, it's a catchy song, and the video is a bit strange.
But of course usually these references distort the message we find in Revelation. Which isn't a surprise -- the end of the world, divine judgment, and horsemen of death, how could those not be appropriated for all sorts of action stories?
Again, if you have questions about the Revelation reading for today, leave them in the comments section and we can discuss!
Today we also read the book of Joel (Bibledex Overview here). This minor prophet doesn't pop up often in sermons or Bible studies but it really should because it has a great message. I used Joel for one of my first sermons in Seminary (ah, good times).
I don't usually share 'study notes' on our readings but I had a lot of fun this past year studying Revelation with both the High School group and with the Nursing Home groups. Here's a thought from Revelation 4 that both groups found interesting:
Revelation is more easily understood when we remember genre. If you go to a romantic comedy in movie theaters, for example, you probably know how the movie will turn out in the final 5 minutes. Each genre has its formula, and a story is great depending on what it does with that basic formula.
Revelation is the genre 'Apocalyptic Literature.' We no longer see movies in theaters or books in bookstore from this genre, but in the 1st Century they were quite popular. They started with a very colorful, grand entrance (like we see in Revelation 4) and centered around a good guy (usually a king or god) who fought against evil. Nowadays our equivalent might be a superhero movie?
John uses this genre to tell the story of Jesus because, well, Jesus is ultimate hero. And Revelation becomes easier to understand when we learn to identify the genre from the new information John adds. Make sense?
A fun bit to identify in Revelation 4 are the four animals. To us these feel random. But to the 1st Century audience those would have immediately been recognized as the 4 mascots of the Israelite tribes. Every time the Israelite people stopped in the desert, the 12 tribes would break up into their 4 sections (north, south, east, west). And each 'mascot' represented the 'best of' creation -- of the thinking animals, the wild animals, the flying animals, and the tamed land animals. The New Testament tradition even continued these mascots in representing the four Gospels.
Those 4 mascots would have been instantly recognized. And they would have been a clue for who the 24 elders are (the 12 Old Testament tribes and the 12 New Testament disciples). This elder interpretation will be solidified further as we read on. And of course, at the center of it all is Jesus on the throne.
Hopefully this little bit of information is fun to hear. If you have specific questions, don't hesitate to leave them in the comments section. Revelation is a great book to research and discuss.
There's something different about the door in this painting. See if you can catch it:
The answer is that the door is missing a doorknob. Perhaps the painter was trying to communicate that we must choose to let Jesus into our hearts. Jesus will not force His way in.
Revelation 3:20 shares, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me."
Here's a very well done modern retelling of the story of Hosea. It comes in 6 parts and this is part 1. For more information and links to the other parts, click through to the Vimeo page. Enjoy!
I've posted a couple Worldview Everlasting videos (where Internet Meme Culture is added to Bible Study). The guy who does those has posted a lecture series he gave on the book of Revelation. I haven't listened to all the lectures yet so I don't know if I agree with his presentations, but I still thought it was worth the mention.
The oil painting above is by a Flemish painter named Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641). It's of the Apostle Jude.
The year is almost over, we're on the final stretch of this Artists Reading Plan! And it just so happens that the Reading Plan is structured in a way that we're flying through these Minor Prophet books, often covering a book in a day. How has the pace been? Does it feel like we're speeding up as we reach the end?
If you want an overview of Jude then click here for the Bibledex video. I know that the secular band Florence and the Machine wrote a song called 'St. Jude' which is about the Catholic Saint Jude and the damaging British storm Jude, but I don't think I'll share the song here. Anyway, have a great day.
The image above is for Daniel 8. The image below makes me think of Daniel 10. And don't forget to click on the Bibledex Overview here if you want to be reminded of what 3 John is about.
This beautiful oil painting is on display at The National Gallery in London. It is called 'Belshazzar's Feast' and is painted by Rembrandt. It connects with our reading in Daniel today.
Above is one of my absolute favorite depictions of Daniel in the lion's den. It was painted by Briton Rivière, a British painter who lived 1840 to 1920. Then below is the famous depiction of Nebuchadnezzar by William Blake
1 John 4:1 lovingly warns, "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."
In case you think false prophets are a thing of the past, here's a 26 minute documentary on a modern day cult leader who claims to be Jesus and the voice of God. This documentary is fascinating and if you're like me, will give you the creeps. We indeed must test the spirits and discern what is true and what is false.
Today is the first day we're reading Daniel so here's the Bibledex overview. It just so happens that in this Artists Bible Reading Plan, we finish Daniel a day before we begin Revelation. Nice! So pay attention to Daniel because it helps inform some of what we see in Revelation.
Yesterday's video was popular on youtube but believe it or not, today's went even bigger. This version alone has been watched over 22 million times, praise God. It's called 'Lifehouse Skit' and helps demonstrate what we read in 1 John 2. Enjoy.
This video became huge a few years ago and rightly so. It's a powerful reminder of God's love! And ties in perfectly with 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
The video was directed by Dan DeFilece and he describes the project like this:
"This project was a collaborative effort that spanned countries & time zones with several artists working long hours to finally put this piece out. The passage comes from an Old Testament prophecy, taken from Ezekiel 37. Not only is the text extremely descriptive and visual, lending itself to beautiful imagery, but show that where there is death and exile, hope and life can be found."
We're almost to the end of November. Getting close to the final stretch of the Reading Plan! How's it coming along? Are you giving yourself grace for when you miss a day? Are you feeling overall encouraged to keep pursuing the depths of God's Word?
Here is simply a video of John Piper walking us through 2 Peter 1:3-4.
1 Peter 5:6, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time."
Here's singer Chris Turner leading a congregation in the song 'Humble Yourself in the Sight of the Lord.' When you experience this song in person, a cappella, when people know how to sing the parts in rounds... ah, it will give you chills. Great song.
On the Vimeo page for this video, artist Michael Snowdon describes the inspiration, "In 1 Peter, I have been struck by the way Peter describes what it means to be Christian - it's not a lifestyle, but an identity. You are part of a recreated community of Jesus' people. Living this identity out in godly lives is then just part of who we are. But Peter never shies back from saying that this will involve persecution from those who don't follow Jesus, and that our temptation will be to do the same right back at them - they break you, so you break them, and sin starts spreading like fire through gasoline. Peter says no. He calls us to remember Jesus who we follow; how he endured suffering to make us right with God. He calls us to remember who we have then been made to be, freed from sin, and so to keep trusting God and living his way through persecution. 'Broken' seeks to capture something of this journey, based mainly on 1 Peter 4."
1 Peter is all over Pinterest, interestingly enough. Feel free to fast-forward through this next video but I post it to show the creativity of different church productions. I love that Christians (in this case in Dubai) are being inspired enough by Scripture to put together full productions.
1 Peter 2:6, "For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.""
Have you heard of 'Ezekiel bread'? It derives its name from Ezekiel 4:9, where God instructs Ezekiel to "Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself. You are to eat it during the 390 days you lie on your side."
James 3:10, "From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so." This powerful short video is from the team at Desiring God. Enjoy.
This skit is dead-on. It's by BluefishTV for James 1:17 which shares, "17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." Enjoy.
Here's a great praise song from the early 2000's by a band named Third Day. The song is called 'Consuming Fire.' It refers to Hebrews 12:29, "For our God is a consuming fire."
This next song is achingly beautiful but its definitely not a praise song. In fact, the meaning of the song is quite dark. Why would the band The Mountain Goats connect this song to Ezekiel 7? Hmm, good question.
The song is called 'Ezekiel 7 and the Permanent Efficacy of Grace.' Some explanation: Ezekiel 7 is a prediction of destruction and judgment. Permanent efficacy of grace is a doctrinal belief that God has predestined some for eternal salvation and that nothing can undo that choice. On his blog, the author explains that the main character is a 'torturer' with an international crime syndicate. And they are headed to a city in Mexico. Anyway, enjoy:
The video above celebrates the fact that God uses the little things. For example, who could imagine Ezekiel could deliver such a powerful message? But God chose to enable him with a great commission. And the 'Heroes of the Faith' in Hebrews 11 is more a gallery of the screw-ups. But that's exactly who God empowers -- people who deeply believe their strength is from the Lord and no one else.
The song 'Fly Like Ezekiel' by ApologetiX which parodies 'Fly like an Eagle' by the Steve Miller Band. I was unable to find my preferred ApologetiX Ezekiel cover (haha, yes, they have more than one), which is called 'EZkiel' and is a parody of the song Susie Q"
The above image is by Visual Unit and can be found here. I definitely recommend checking out his designs.
The hymn 'Great is Thy Faithfulness' comes from Lamentations 3. It's a beautiful hymn. In fact, my mom has already decided that she wants it played at her funeral (which will not be for a very long time, God willing). Here is the song performed on a guitar by Chris Rice:
Have you ever gone to the fast food restaurant In-n-Out and noticed that they place Scripture on their cups and wrappers? I love it. And though I couldn't find picture evidence, I'm about 90% sure that one of the verses they use is Lamentations 3:22-23.
Hebrews 10:16, "“This is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”
Happy Veterans Day! I found this interesting image on pinterest.
Jeremiah 50:6-7, "“My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray and turned them loose in the mountains. They have lost their way and can’t remember how to get back to the sheepfold. 7 All who found them devoured them. Their enemies said, ‘We did nothing wrong in attacking them, for they sinned against the Lord, their true place of rest, and the hope of their ancestors.’"
How do you feel after reading today's passages? in Jeremiah 48-49 we read warnings against specific nations. Then in Hebrews 7 we read about the very mysterious figure Melchizedek.
What are we to make of the 'priestly line of Melchizedek'?
These guys do a fantastic job of expressing Hebrews 4:16, which says, "Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
On the downside we continue to see Jeremiah suffer for staying faithful to the truth. Poor guy. :-( Jeremiah 33:3 is so powerful, and the image below can be found here.
Sermons usually serve a very different role from art. But when it comes to the engaging narrative style of Haddon Robinson, that line is blurred. Here's a sermon video where he tackles Philemon.
Titus 1 is such a rich passage (which gives advice on how to appoint church elders). It's a shame that it isn't easier to find art inspired by this section of the Bible. Here is a short video for Titus 1 from Blue Ridge Community Church, found on Worship House Media:
Jeremiah 20:9, "But if I say, "I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot."
I really love the performance below. It was done by a group from Trinity Church in Texas and features an original song, 'Fire in my Bones,' by Jeff Sparkman. Enjoy.
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