Galatians 3

Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.  And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” vv.7-8

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Father Abraham had many sons, 

many sons had father Abraham, 

I am one of them and so are you, 

so lets all praise the Lord 

(right arm, left arm, right foot, left foot)

That's a song many of us may know from Sunday school when we were kids, but are those lyrics really true?  Is Abraham our "spiritual father"? Or what about the term "Spiritual Israel"?  It's a term we hear of sometimes in church, but what do people mean by it?  Is it something true? Are these ideas even described in the Bible for believers today?  Well people like to use this verse in Galatians chapter three to prove that once someone becomes a believer today they become a part of Israel.  BUT THIS IS NOT WHAT THIS VERSE IS SAYING.  Paul is writing to believing Jews in this letter to the Galatians.  He's telling them [Israelites] that they are true sons of Abraham if they showed faith, not just any person in the world can claim to be a child of Abraham if they have faith. My friends and Bible teachers Andy Brown and Nathan Johnson described this with metaphor that helps make more clear this for today: 

Suppose I should claim that only those who love their country to the extent that they would give everything up for it are worthy of being called “Americans.”  In the course of my argument, I declared, “All who love their country to the extent of giving up their lives for it if need be are true Americans.”  Now, someone living in Great Britain received a copy of my statement.  This person is a real patriot, and knows he would give up his life for his country if need be.  Therefore, he decides that, according to me, he must be a true American!  When another person argues with him that he cannot be a true American since he is not an American citizen but rather is British, he replies, “Well, Nathan must mean that I’m a ‘spiritual’ American!”  Would this be a correct interpretation of what I’d said?  Of course not!  The fact is that I was making my argument, not to people from Britain, but to my fellow Americans.  I meant that anyone who lives in the United States and meets the criteria I was promoting is a true American.  Although I did not state that condition, it should be clear to all who heard me that that is what I meant.  The man in Britain who read my statement must realize that he is not my intended audience. (www.precepts.wordpress.com)

In verse 8 Paul is further proving his point that if even the gentiles are bless by believing how much more so will believing Israelites.  So next time you hear the Father Abraham song or "spiritual Israel" (which isn't in scripture) remember that you are blessed to be a child of God because of your faith in Jesus Christ without being literal or spiritual Israel.  

Galatians 2

Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed;  for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. vv.11-13

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Hypocrisy.  It's a thing that can really turn someone off or closed to a matter.  No one like a hypocrite yet we all are hypocrites at some time or another.  Here Paul is mentioning the hypocrisy of Peter, one of Christ's apostles, and calling him out in it.  Peter would eat with the gentiles but when certain men, strong followers of Jesus, came around he pretended like he didn't even know the gentiles and wouldn't associate with them.  And this act of Peter led others astray to act hypocritical as well.  I don't know what hurt more: the gentiles feeling betrayed by Peter when he acted this way or the guilt of Peter on himself or these other men feeling and knowing they've been lied to by their fellow brother in Christ.  This specific hypocrisy seems so childish and like a typical teenage issue in schools today of wanting to be popular so one denies certain friends.
Many nonbelievers don't want anything to do with Christianity because they see the hypocrisy of Christians.  We have to realize we're been watched extra closely for any slip up, not that believers never sin but do we live in hypocrisy or confess our wrong when we mess up.  
When have you played the hypocrite?  How can you change that so you live a life of truth?

Galatians 1

I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel. v.6

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The letter to the Galatians is written by Paul.  It is his first letter he had written as an apostle.  This first chapter describes some more of his training or learning from God after his conversion in Acts chapter nine till he started on his commission to the Jews of the nations in Acts chapter 13.  This letter is written to the ekklesia in Galatia.  Galatia though is not found in any maps.  Moreover this letter was sent to the Jews of the exile living among the nations (not in Jerusalem).  They were the Jews that didn't uphold the law that Paul went and spoke to, whereas Peter and other apostles were proclaiming the gospel to Jews in the land (the circumcision).  Yet these weren't two different gospels, rather the way they presented were different because of the needs of the people but the same message.

Paul starts this letter right off the bat with the reminder of only one gospel.  Then, and still now, so many were and are falling to the belief that there are “many ways” to heaven, many ways to God.  But there isn’t.  Christ is THE way, THE truth, THE life; He is the only way; He is the only gospel; this can't be true if there are more than one way.   Many religions appear similar to Christianity but have a seemingly slight difference that has major impact on what is true and what one believes of the core or root.

How have you seen someone who once seemed so on fire for the Lord Jesus but has now turned away to a counterfeit?  How have you geared your way of sharing the same gospel message differently to different people?

Revelation 22

Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. v.14

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Have you ever compared the first chapter of the Bible with the last chapter? It's interesting to do a comparison of Genesis 1&2 with Revelation 21&22. One thing you'll notice is the reversal of the right to the tree of life. See what other similarities and contrasts are with the first garden of Eden before the fall and to the everlasting paradise.
The majority of this last chapter is like a post script (the first five verses still describing the New Heavens and the New Earth). John is so overwhelmed at everything he has seen that he bows down before the angel that has told him these things. But the angel tells him not to worship him but God for the angel says he's John's fellow servant. How often do we see people today worshiping angels and this ought not to be, nor do they want to be worshiped. Yet even after reading such mysteries of the future and not knowing what to do next, may we bow before God in worship of the One who knows.
After reading the book of Revelation we can grasp some of what these future times will be like, but it is just a glimpse where more questions, wonderings and fathom arises as you study it further. We may not know what to expect but we can praise God that He not only has a plan but that He's included us in eternity with Him for those who have chosen to believe and follow Christ as their One and Only God!

Revelation 21

Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband...But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. vv.2, 22

Read chapter 21
The New Heavens and New Earth. Finally we've come to eternity without sin or deception ever to come again. We don't have much detail of what the New Heavens and the New Earth are like except for these last two chapters of Revelation. Some things we can note of are

• Tree of life
• Crown of life
• Book of life
• Spirit of life
• Water of life
• Streets of gold
• Free from any abominable thing
• New Jerusalem (not built by man but already built in heaven coming down)
• No temple (The reason there will not be a temple is because it was a place to meet with God, but then God will be everywhere and through Jesus present.)

Do you enjoy living for Christ today? Does the description of the New Heavens and New Earth sound like something you'd enjoy? Sadly many people are excited about heaven but not excited about Christ in the life they live in today, but heaven revolves around God so might want rethink and redefine what love and desire for Christ and heaven means.

Revelation 20

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while. vv.1-3

Read chapter 20
Here we see an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit. The bottomless pit or abyss is the great prison where fallen heavenly being are kept as Peter mentions as tartarus in 2 Peter 2:4, "For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell [tartarus] and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment." Tartarus is not the same as hades or the lake of fire that we discussed in chapter 19, no humans do we ever read of there. We read of Satan finally getting locked up in tartarus (much deserved) for 1,000 years. We see many different names for Satan here: dragon, serpent of old, Devil and Satan. This is so that he can deceive the nations no more. Yet he will get let out again after this time. What! Why? No way? But this is only for a "little while." This little season is between this 1,000 years and the New Heavens and the New Earth that will see begin in the next chapter twenty-one, yet hard to know exactly how long.
This 1,000 years starts at Christ's parousia, His personal presence on earth, where those that were martyred for Christ in the tribulation will be resurrected and there is perfect peace, no rebellion, with all those allowed by Christ to live with Him. Yet after the 1,000 years there's one last chance to see if Satan can deceive followers after Christ. Let us hope that after living perfectly with Christ for that long long period that we could never be deceived by the smallest hint of Satan. It's easy for believers today who may have been Christians for many years in this lifetime to still fall to Satan's schemes, but this small period we live in wont even compare to the 1,000 years of sin no longer working in and around us that we wont be so easily susceptible.
Are you able to start lining out future time periods of the tribulation, 1,000 years, little season and new heavens & new earth?

Revelation 19

Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh. vv.20-21

Read chapter 19
Misconceptions of "hell" are made a little more clearer in this chapter. Here we read of the lake of fire which is in Greek ten limnen tou puros, whereas another Greek word that people think of as hell is hades, yet these two are not the same for we see in chapter twenty that Hades is cast into the lake of fire (20:14). The Lake of Fire is the second death with no resurrection in view (Rev. 20:14). So what's the first death since all men are appointed to die once (Hebrews 9:27)? Hades, but this does not mean there's two "hells" as their descriptions don't match at all. (I'm not going to go deep into what hades is in this devotional but be sure to search it out or ask me later.) Even being cast into the lake of fire doesn't seem like one would be alive for long as they would be burned up pretty fast. It is the smoke that is everlasting, not the fire, and the smoke is the result that will never change (v.3).
Here we see the beast and the false prophet (two evils) cast alive into the lake of fire. Notice the word alive is added here where we never read of anyone in scripture going alive to "hell." In other words this is to show the difference of those cast there that are dead. Even the following verse emphasizes that the rest of their army are killed, so put to death first and then cast into the lake of fire. These were killed from the mouth of Christ, by His word, as Jesus has arrived on the scene sitting on a white horse with His armies (that are dressed in fine linen, not typical battle gear (v.14). Once Christ and his army arrives that's the end of these rebels.
What misconceptions of "hell" does this chapter make clearer or muddier for you?