Daily Dose of Hope

March 16, 2025

Day 1 of Week 51

Scripture:  Job 12-14; Psalm 100; Revelation 13

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Bible reading plan.  We are on week 51 starting today.  We have truly almost made it all the way through the Bible. 

Our Old Testament reading is Job 12-14. We find Job’s response to his friends in this chapter.  He is again lamenting his situation.  He has become a laughingstock to his friends, Job says.  As we read, we can see that Job is struggling with the idea of God’s justice.  He is innocent, so why is this happening to him?  God is all-powerful and wise.  Job wants to take his case directly to God.  This should not be happening to him.  “Why has God destroyed him?” Job begins to ask in chapter 14.  And there are no answers.  More tomorrow...

Our New Testament reading is Revelation 13.  In today’s chapter, we meet the anti-Trinity–the dragon and the two beasts. The dragon certainly represents Satan and each of the beasts represent those who work for him. It’s been said that one of the beasts symbolizes the Roman Empire, which makes sense considering the context. The Roman Empire and its succession of oppressive emperors who harshly persecuted Christians would be large on the mind of John and the original listeners of this text. The other beast, the one with the healed wound, may serve to mimic Christ (the Antichrist). They are blasphemous to God and it says that there are people all over the world who follow them. This begs the question: who do we follow?

Let’s chat for a moment about the mark of the beast. This has taken on a life of its own in popular culture, most of which is not Scripturally-sound. In the ancient Roman world, it was normative to brand or tattoo criminals, prisoners, and sometimes slaves. Some followers of the imperial cult would mark themselves as well. The mark of the beast is in contrast to the mark of God which seals the believers (we read about this in chapter 7). Now, some of the Christians, possibly those who are benefitting from the evil or power of the empire, will be marked by the beast. The true faithful will only have the mark of God.

The real question for all of us: whose mark do we wear?

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki