“And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.”
Revelation 13:7-10 KJV,https://bible.com/bible/1/rev.13.7-10.KJV
Day 23 of the reading of the gospel of Luke
Luke 23
“And the whole multitude of them arose, and led him unto Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Cæsar, saying that he himself is Christ a King. And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it. Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man. And they were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place. When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man were a Galilæan. And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time. And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle ...
Good News for Everyone
Picture, for a moment, a normal day of your life. Everything is pretty typical; nothing out of the ordinary. Then, imagine that out of nowhere, light shines down all around you. It’s so bright and warm, you can’t see anything except … an angel? An angel is talking to you!
That’s precisely what happened to a group of shepherds near Bethlehem the night Jesus was born. And here’s what the angel said:
“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” (Luke 2:10)
It’s no surprise the angel opens with, “Don’t be afraid.” The shepherds whom the angel appeared to must have been terrified! How startling to be in the middle of a normal day taking care of your flock and have something so unexpected happen! And not only unexpected—something that absolutely changed the course of history.
The angel also knew what the shepherds did not: “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” The Messiah ...