Chapter 1: What is the significance of the Bible in a Year podcast?
Hey everyone, before we get started today, I want to let you know the Bible in a Year has brought the Word of God to so many people. As you know, you're part of this community, changing lives in so many incredible ways. We're humbled to play this role in God's plan and consider it our ongoing mission to keep bringing the Word of God to as many people as possible.
So what I'm saying is the end of this year is not going to be the end of Bible in a Year. So far, Ascension has been able to add the podcast to YouTube. You might have found it that way. Maybe you're watching right now on YouTube. And also, we're working on translating it into different languages so you could have the Bible in a year in other languages than English.
But, of course, this takes a significant investment to bring projects like these free of cost to our listening communities. And we want to keep them free of cost to all those people who participate because we want to get the Word of God out there.
And because of that, we have to rely on generous contributions from listeners like you to help defray these costs and to enable us to continually provide new audiences with this life-changing content. So if you would like to help support the Bible in a Year mission, you can go to ascensionpress.com support. That's ascensionpress.com support.
Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of Scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension.
Using the Great Adventure Bible timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. It is day 363, another palindrome day, maybe our final palindrome day of the year. We're reading Revelation chapter 15, 16, and 17, as well as Hebrews chapter 5, 6, 7, and 8. Just... Piece of cake.
It's going to be super short. We're also reading Proverbs chapter 31, verses 23 through 25. As always, the Bible translation I'm reading from is the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition. I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to download your own Bible in a Year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a Year.
You can also subscribe to this podcast because why stop saying it now? It is day 363. We're reading Revelation, not Revelations. Why did I say Revelations? It's not plural. It's singular, although... It's pretty great. Revelation chapter 15, 16, and 17, Hebrews, letters to the Hebrews, chapter 5, 6, 7, and 8, as well as Proverbs chapter 31, verses 23 to 25.
The revelation to John, chapter 15, the angels with the seven last plagues. Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and wonderful, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is ended.
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Chapter 2: How do the readings from Revelation relate to early Christian persecution?
And he said to me, the waters that you saw where the harlot is seated are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. And the 10 horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the harlot. They will make her desolate and naked and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire.
For God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and giving over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman that you saw is the great city which has dominion over the kings of the earth.
The Letter to the Hebrews, Chapter 5
For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this, he is bound to offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people.
And one does not take the honor upon himself, but he is called by God, just as Aaron was. So also, Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, You are my son. Today I have begotten you. As he says also in another place, You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.
In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death. Spiritual Growth About this we have much to say which is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of God's word.
You need milk, not solid food. For everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, free as a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their faculties trained by practice to distinguish good from evil. Chapter 6 The Peril of Falling Away
Therefore, let us leave the elementary doctrines of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, with instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits.
For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they then commit apostasy, since they crucify the Son of God on their own account and hold him up to contempt.
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Chapter 3: What are the implications of the seven bowls of God's wrath in Revelation?
Anyone who belongs to Christ, you don't need to be afraid of the future. So speaking of the future and speaking of the past and speaking of the book of Revelation, we have in chapter 17, we have the story of the harlot and the beast. And it talks about here's the woman, the harlot and the beast. And the beast has the seven heads and 10 horns that carries her.
And it says that in chapter 17, verse 9, it calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads of the beast are seven hills on which the woman is seated. There are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen. One is, the other has not yet come. When he comes, he must reign only a little while. So what is that? And consensus typically is that the seven hills, Rome is a city built on seven hills.
And also, but also there's a rabbinic tradition that says that Jerusalem is also a city built on seven hills. And so I think, okay, either one, but knowing that here are the Christians who are undergoing incredible persecution from the Roman empire at this point.
you recognize that if you begin with these kings or these emperors, these rulers, that the first one being Caesar, that the one they're talking about here, the sixth one would be Nero or Domitian. And there's an interesting kind of thing because here they are describing this. And so in some ways we say, oh my gosh, what is this beast? And what are these hails? And what is this harlot?
And when's that going to happen? Well, the author, St. John, he's saying, no, he's not describing something that necessarily will happen. He's describing something that has already happened. And that's why he's speaking in this code. He's saying, you just figured this out. This is what we're talking about right now. And the point is this, where it applies to us.
This persecution is going to be limited. It is going to be devastating, but it is going to be limited. That Jesus Christ continues to reign. It goes on to say, even though all this power here at the end of chapter 17, it says in verse 16, it says, And the 10 horns you saw, they and the beast will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, devour her flesh and burn up her fire.
For God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose. Basically, it's all going to be over. All this great city of the city of Rome, this persecutor of the world, that's going to end at some point. That Satan's time is powerful on earth. but his time is short. And that same is true for us.
There are sufferings, there's gonna be times of great persecution, but it will not end in absolute destruction. Even if it ends with our lives, it will not end with absolute destruction. God is giving us this word of hope through in the midst of this description of destruction in the book of Revelation. In the letter to the Hebrews, oh gosh, this is incredible.
You know, we've already established that Jesus is higher than the angels. He's higher than Moses. He's also talking about he's higher than the priests. He's higher than the priesthood. That Jesus is the new and eternal priest. In fact, remember, you know this already because this is so great. And that's why, as they're writing to the Hebrews here, Writing to a bunch of people who know the story.
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