Revelation 15:5 After this I looked, and the temple of the tent of witness in heaven was opened, 6 and out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues, robed in pure bright linen, with golden sashes across their chests. 7 Then one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever; 8 and the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were ended. 

You might think this passage is confusing because you haven’t read the previous chapters. You’d be wrong. Revelation is one of the strangest books of the bible – and that’s saying something. I can only imagine how many gallons of ink have been spilled over the centuries as scholars have tried to make sense of this book. I’ll be honest – it’s hard to keep reading it.

But I keep at it because it is the Word of God and, who knows, it might speak to me in a way I don’t expect. Today is not that day, but maybe someday. That’s the thing about scripture. You never know when a particular passage or verse will hit you between the eyes with a dose of sorely needed truth, hope, encouragement, warning, whatever. We can’t predict when that will happen, so we continue in the discipline of reading every day. Hoping for a gift from heaven when we least expect it. Lord, let it be so. Amen.