My name is Joyce Maina – a wife, mother and grandmother. Am a retired teacher and a career counsellor. Jesus is my Lord and Savior and He is the subject of our talk today.
Let us start with a word of prayer: Heavenly Father, Lord God Almighty, by your Holy Spirit, give us wisdom to understand your Word, in the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
Just before Jesus was crucified, He told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit. The times became hard, almost unbearable. Those who stayed in Jerusalem had the door locked for fear of the Jews. Cleopas and his brother opted to go back home. They reasoned that since Jesus was dead and buried, and this was the third day, it made no sense to keep waiting.
On their way home to Emmaus, we see Jesus running after them. He asked them why they were sad and what they were talking about. The answer to this question was a long one. How the Jews had killed Jesus, who was good to people, and that it was the third day since He had died, and that they thought He was the one to set them free from Rome.
Julius Mwebia
Very interesting, so Cleopas & his brother were supposed to be among the disciples in the closed room?
Yes. They became impatient and left for comfort zone – home.
The question is: Did they hear Jesus tell them to wait in Jerusalem? Were they disobeying an order? Had they forsaken the fold? Have they given up? Jesus, because of His love for His sheep, explained to them the Scriptures and on their own free will, they went back to Jerusalem. That is love at its best.
Jesus said there will be the mark of the beast, 666. This is how it is recorded in Revelation 13:16-18.
He (the beast) causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads. And that no one may buy or sell except who has the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666.
Apostle Wilfare
What gets my attention here is how fast they forgot about the promise that should be released and the fact that Jesus had spoken earlier about His death then resurrection… sometimes we despair and forget His promises. May the Lord help us not forget.
The beauty is, Jesus will get us, even when we are running away from Him. Am amazed at such love. Now listen to Revelation 14:11
“And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”
Beloved, Jesus is the Word of God. What is He telling us?
There are 3 things here, mark of the beast, name of the beast and the number of his name.
Is this word addressed to us or another generation? When Jesus told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem, Cleopas and his brother did not understand. But when Jesus explained from Scriptures, then broke bread, suddenly, they got it. And wasting no time they hurried back to Jerusalem to tell it. Tell what? That He is alive, because they had seen Him. (Please read Luke 24:13-35)
My point is, times are getting harder and harder, just like in those days when the disciples had their doors closed. We have our mouths and noses covered and we must obey certain orders. Our breathing is restrained. That is not good for our health. We are threatened every day with figures of the covid19 infections. We’ve been advised that those of us above 70 should not step out of the house. We are also not welcome in church.
In all these things, are we being subdued, slowly so that we do whatever we are told? Paper money is being discouraged so should everyone have a phone?
The scripture says that without the mark of the beast, you can’t buy or sell. My question is how is it that the whole world is subdued by a virus (whatever that is or is not)? How come the whole world is sick together with its economies?
Our ears are hearing strange things like reproductive health for children. People are burying their dead without an autopsy, like those early years of HIV AIDS. The whole world is singing the same song: corona, the root word of coronation. Whom are they coronating? What is the coronation about? We have heard how billions of dollars are dished out to Kenya and to other countries.
As I ponder on these things, I know that God is inherently good, and His loving kindness endures forever. I also know that Cleopas and his brother were talking to each other and were sad. At such a time like that, Jesus caught up with them and turned their sadness to joy. They got the strength to run back to Jerusalem, which was seven miles away.
That gives me hope and a lot of joy. I have confidence that, by His grace, I will know the mark of the beast, the name of the beast and the number of his name. And the sooner I get to know it, I will tell it and also write it.
Samuel
Thought-provoking questions
We pray for revelation. Beloved, as I pose the question: what is Jesus telling the church at this particular time, kindly tell me if you know. The most beautiful thing is that Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us. Because He wrote our names in the Lamb’s Book of Life when we believed and confessed Him.
About Joyce Maina
Joyce Maina is passionate about the love of God in Christ Jesus. She is the wife to Peter Maina and they are blessed with four children and six grandchildren.
Joyce has discipled new converts at Deliverance Church, Zimmerman. She was a Lecturer of Communication at Kenya Utalii College, Nairobi, and is a practising Career Counsellor.
She has a Graduate Diploma in Communication from Victoria University in Australia, a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Columbia College in Missouri, USA and a Secondary Teacher’s Certificate from Kenyatta College in Nairobi, Kenya.
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