Devotional

If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen. Revelation 13:9 CSB

There was a marketing phrase used years ago when cell phones were getting started and it seemed like there were different levels of quality of connection. The phrase was simply, “Can you hear me now?” In today’s verse, that same question is being asked by God to those who are receiving these words. What does it look like for you to listen to God? It often requires you to slow down, turn down the volume of life, and take the time to really listen. If you’re reading this, you are most likely a person who chooses to interact with God’s word, the Bible. You also are probably someone who has a few moments of quiet in your day. God wants you to listen to Him. Let His word communicate to you. Let your quietness be a place where you can hear. You’ve been given spiritual ears for a reason, and that’s to listen to Him. It’s a gift that the God of the universe wants to connect with you. He wants you to hear Him now.

Revelation 12 CSB

The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon

12 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in labor and agony as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: There was a great fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven crowns. 4 Its tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. And the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she did give birth it might devour her child. 5 She gave birth to a Son, a male who is going to rule all nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God, to be nourished there for 1,260 days.

The Dragon Thrown Out of Heaven

7 Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels also fought, 8 but he could not prevail, and there was no place for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was thrown out—the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the one who deceives the whole world. He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say,

The salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Christ
have now come,
because the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them
before our God day and night,
has been thrown down.
11 They conquered him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
for they did not love their lives
to the point of death.
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens,
and you who dwell in them!
Woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has come down to you
with great fury,
because he knows his time is short.

The Woman Persecuted

13 When the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given two wings of a great eagle, so that she could fly from the serpent’s presence to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, times, and half a time. 15 From his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river flowing after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth. 17 So the dragon was furious with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep the commands of God and hold firmly to the testimony about Jesus.

The Beast from the Sea

18 The dragon stood on the sand of the sea.

Revelation 13 CSB

The Two Witnesses

13 And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads. On its horns were ten crowns, and on its heads were blasphemous names. 2 The beast I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. The dragon gave the beast his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 One of its heads appeared to be fatally wounded, but its fatal wound was healed.

The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast. 4 They worshiped the dragon because he gave authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to wage war against it?”

5 The beast was given a mouth to utter boasts and blasphemies. It was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6 It began to speak blasphemies against God: to blaspheme his name and his dwelling—those who dwell in heaven. 7 And it was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them. It was also given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation. 8 All those who live on the earth will worship it, everyone whose name was not written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slaughtered.

9 If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen.

10 If anyone is to be taken captive,
into captivity he goes.
If anyone is to be killed with a sword,
with a sword he will be killed.

This calls for endurance and faithfulness from the saints.

The Beast from the Earth

11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast on its behalf and compels the earth and those who live on it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. 13 It also performs great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in front of people. 14 It deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs that it is permitted to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 It was permitted to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could both speak and cause whoever would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 And it makes everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark: the beast’s name or the number of its name.

18 This calls for wisdom: Let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, because it is the number of a person. Its number is 666.

Psalm 44 CSB

Israel’s Complaint

For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.

1 God, we have heard with our ears—
our ancestors have told us—
the work you accomplished in their days,
in days long ago:
2 In order to plant them,
you displaced the nations by your hand;
in order to settle them,
you brought disaster on the peoples.
3 For they did not take the land by their sword—
their arm did not bring them victory—
but by your right hand, your arm,
and the light of your face,
because you were favorable toward them.

4 You are my King, my God,
who ordains victories for Jacob.
5 Through you we drive back our foes;
through your name we trample our enemies.
6 For I do not trust in my bow,
and my sword does not bring me victory.
7 But you give us victory over our foes
and let those who hate us be disgraced.
8 We boast in God all day long;
we will praise your name forever.Selah

9 But you have rejected and humiliated us;
you do not march out with our armies.
10 You make us retreat from the foe,
and those who hate us
have taken plunder for themselves.
11 You hand us over to be eaten like sheep
and scatter us among the nations.
12 You sell your people for nothing;
you make no profit from selling them.
13 You make us an object of reproach to our neighbors,
a source of mockery and ridicule to those around us.
14 You make us a joke among the nations,
a laughingstock among the peoples.
15 My disgrace is before me all day long,
and shame has covered my face,
16 because of the taunts of the scorner and reviler,
because of the enemy and avenger.

17 All this has happened to us,
but we have not forgotten you
or betrayed your covenant.
18 Our hearts have not turned back;
our steps have not strayed from your path.
19 But you have crushed us in a haunt of jackals
and have covered us with deepest darkness.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
and spread out our hands to a foreign god,
21 wouldn’t God have found this out,
since he knows the secrets of the heart?
22 Because of you we are being put to death all day long;
we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.

23 Wake up, Lord! Why are you sleeping?
Get up! Don’t reject us forever!
24 Why do you hide
and forget our affliction and oppression?
25 For we have sunk down to the dust;
our bodies cling to the ground.
26 Rise up! Help us!
Redeem us because of your faithful love.

Revelation 12 CSB

The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon

12 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in labor and agony as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: There was a great fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven crowns. 4 Its tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. And the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she did give birth it might devour her child. 5 She gave birth to a Son, a male who is going to rule all nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God, to be nourished there for 1,260 days.

The Dragon Thrown Out of Heaven

7 Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels also fought, 8 but he could not prevail, and there was no place for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was thrown out—the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the one who deceives the whole world. He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say,

The salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Christ
have now come,
because the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them
before our God day and night,
has been thrown down.
11 They conquered him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
for they did not love their lives
to the point of death.
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens,
and you who dwell in them!
Woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has come down to you
with great fury,
because he knows his time is short.

The Woman Persecuted

13 When the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given two wings of a great eagle, so that she could fly from the serpent’s presence to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, times, and half a time. 15 From his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river flowing after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth. 17 So the dragon was furious with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep the commands of God and hold firmly to the testimony about Jesus.

The Beast from the Sea

18 The dragon stood on the sand of the sea.

----

Revelation 13 CSB

The Two Witnesses

13 And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads. On its horns were ten crowns, and on its heads were blasphemous names. 2 The beast I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. The dragon gave the beast his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 One of its heads appeared to be fatally wounded, but its fatal wound was healed.

The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast. 4 They worshiped the dragon because he gave authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to wage war against it?”

5 The beast was given a mouth to utter boasts and blasphemies. It was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6 It began to speak blasphemies against God: to blaspheme his name and his dwelling—those who dwell in heaven. 7 And it was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them. It was also given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation. 8 All those who live on the earth will worship it, everyone whose name was not written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slaughtered.

9 If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen.

10 If anyone is to be taken captive,
into captivity he goes.
If anyone is to be killed with a sword,
with a sword he will be killed.

This calls for endurance and faithfulness from the saints.

The Beast from the Earth

11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast on its behalf and compels the earth and those who live on it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. 13 It also performs great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in front of people. 14 It deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs that it is permitted to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 It was permitted to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could both speak and cause whoever would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 And it makes everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark: the beast’s name or the number of its name.

18 This calls for wisdom: Let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, because it is the number of a person. Its number is 666.

----

Psalm 44 CSB

Israel’s Complaint

For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.

1 God, we have heard with our ears—
our ancestors have told us—
the work you accomplished in their days,
in days long ago:
2 In order to plant them,
you displaced the nations by your hand;
in order to settle them,
you brought disaster on the peoples.
3 For they did not take the land by their sword—
their arm did not bring them victory—
but by your right hand, your arm,
and the light of your face,
because you were favorable toward them.

4 You are my King, my God,
who ordains victories for Jacob.
5 Through you we drive back our foes;
through your name we trample our enemies.
6 For I do not trust in my bow,
and my sword does not bring me victory.
7 But you give us victory over our foes
and let those who hate us be disgraced.
8 We boast in God all day long;
we will praise your name forever.Selah

9 But you have rejected and humiliated us;
you do not march out with our armies.
10 You make us retreat from the foe,
and those who hate us
have taken plunder for themselves.
11 You hand us over to be eaten like sheep
and scatter us among the nations.
12 You sell your people for nothing;
you make no profit from selling them.
13 You make us an object of reproach to our neighbors,
a source of mockery and ridicule to those around us.
14 You make us a joke among the nations,
a laughingstock among the peoples.
15 My disgrace is before me all day long,
and shame has covered my face,
16 because of the taunts of the scorner and reviler,
because of the enemy and avenger.

17 All this has happened to us,
but we have not forgotten you
or betrayed your covenant.
18 Our hearts have not turned back;
our steps have not strayed from your path.
19 But you have crushed us in a haunt of jackals
and have covered us with deepest darkness.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
and spread out our hands to a foreign god,
21 wouldn’t God have found this out,
since he knows the secrets of the heart?
22 Because of you we are being put to death all day long;
we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.

23 Wake up, Lord! Why are you sleeping?
Get up! Don’t reject us forever!
24 Why do you hide
and forget our affliction and oppression?
25 For we have sunk down to the dust;
our bodies cling to the ground.
26 Rise up! Help us!
Redeem us because of your faithful love.

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DAY THREE HUNDRED-FIFTY FOUR

Devotional

Revelation 12 CSB

Revelation 13 CSB

Psalm 44 CSB

Revelation 12 CSB

Revelation 13 CSB

Psalm 44 CSB