TUSITE ‘EPELELI 30, 2024

RESPONDING TO ANOTHER'S SUCCESS

KO E TALI KI HE LELEI ‘OKU ‘INASI AI HA TAHA KEHE

GENESIS 37:9, 11

"He dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me... And his brothers were jealous of him." 

SENESI 37:9, 11

9 Pea na‘a ne toe misi foki ‘o ne fakahā ki hono ngaahi tokoua, ‘o ne pehē, Ko eni kuo u toe misi, pea ko e la‘ā mo e māhina mo e fetu‘u ‘e hongofulu mā taha na‘a nau tulolo kiate au. 11 Pea meheka kiate ia ‘a hono ngaahi tokoua; ka ka kumuni ‘a e lea ‘e he‘ene tamai.

Envy is a feeling common to humanity. It is also a monster - a giant that can eat anyone Alive.

How do you struggle with envy? Who are those in your sphere of influence or your field of vision who are experiencing favor or success, and with whom in some way you wish to swap places? We must be careful. "The odious passion of envy," writes George Lawson, "torments and destroys one's self while it seeks the ruin of its object."" Envy tends to destroy the envier.

They did not yet know it, but Joseph's brothers were on the road to the evils of deceit, malice, and slave-trading their own sibling-to the most detestable forms of cruelty. The first step on that road was their jealousy of him. But they did not see it, and so they walked towards actions they presumably had not countenanced when Joseph first started sharing his dreams of grandeur.

We must learn to see our envy and to deal with it. So how can we handle others' success without succumbing to bitterness and jealousy?

First, we recognize that God is sovereign over the affairs of man. God determined for Joseph to have what he had and be what he was - and He determined a less significant position for Joseph's brothers. If they had been prepared to consider this, although it might have been hard, they would have been spared the self-inflicted pain of their envious hatred.

Second, we turn to God in prayer. F.B. Meyer, a great 19th-century preacher, once told of how another preacher came to minister in the same area in which he was already ministering, and suddenly there was a drift from his congregation. Jealousy began to grip his soul, and the only freedom he could find was to pray for this fellow pastor-to pray that God would bless another's ministry. Prayer loosens the grip of envy on our hearts.

God is the one who sets up and brings down. If Joseph's brothers had grasped this truth, they would have had no occasion to be envious. God is also the one who gives us every breath as a gift from Him. If they had grasped this, they would have had more desire to give thanks than to grow bitter. Today, search your own heart, recognize and repent of any jealousy that has taken root, and bow in humility and thankfulness before your sovereign God.

1 SAMUEL 2:1-10

Bible Through The Year: Numbers 7-8; Revelation 17

 MONITE ‘EPELELI 29, 2024

RIGHTLY EXALTED

MATU ‘AKI HAKEAKI‘I

PHILIPPIANS 2:9

"Therefore God has highly exalted him." 

FILIPAI 2:9

Ko hono ō pē ia foki na‘e mātu‘aki hākeaki‘i ai ia ‘e he ‘Otua, mo ne foaki kiate ia ha hingoa ‘oku mā‘olunga ‘i he hingoa kotoa pē:

Philippians 2:5-8 is a beautiful statement concerning Christ's humanity, deity, ministry, and humiliation. Having mapped the humility of the incarnate Son of God all the way to His death on a cross, where does your mind go next? Naturally, we think of the resurrection. But Paul does not. He takes us to Christ's exaltation.

There is, Paul says, a logical connection between Jesus' humiliation and His exaltation: Therefore God has highly exalted him" (v 8, emphasis added). What is this exaltation? It is that the Father has given His Son the throne and ordered this world so that one day "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (v 10-11).

But why is His exaltation fitting? Scripture gives us several answers. First, Christ's exaltation is fitting because it fulfills Old Testament prophecy and demonstrates that God keeps His word. The worldwide recognition of Jesus as Lord will occur because God promised it would. Six hundred years before Jesus arrived on the stage of human history, Isaiah recorded these words from God: "Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted" (Isaiah 52:13). And so Christ came to bear the pain and sin of the world, fulfilling the role of Suffering Servant, lifted up on a cross and then raised to be exalted on His throne. As Paul wrote elsewhere, "All the promises of God find their Yes in him" (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Second, Christ's exaltation is fitting because He is God. The Bible teaches us that the Son is one with the Father. On account of His divinity, exaltation is a necessity; there is nowhere else for God to sit! No other seat is suitable for the Son except at His Father's right hand.

Finally, Christ's exaltation is fitting because He is the dear Son of His Father. God the Father watched the Son obediently go to the cross to fulfill the covenant of redemption and heard Him cry out in pain, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). The Father knew that the Son underwent that agony out of love for the Father and love for His people. The Father would not leave His perfect Son in that dire condition. How could the Father's love do anything other than exalt the Son from His lowly state? 

Christ's humiliation for us and exaltation above us are surely enough to bring us to the point where we bow in joyful submission to Him. They show us that there is one who has the status to demand our obedience and the character to deserve our adoration. They remind us that the best thing about heaven will be the most glorious person in heaven:

I will not gaze at glory, but on my King of grace;

Not at the crown He giveth, but on His pierced hand;

The Lamb is all the glory of Immanuel's land.

(Anne R Cousin - 1857)

ACTS 13:16-43

Bible Through The Year: Numbers 5-6; Revelation 16

 SAPATE ‘EPELELI 28, 2024

JESUS LIFTS US UP

‘OKU LANGA’I HAKE KITAUTOLU ‘E SISU

MARK 9:26-27

"After crying out and convulsing him terribly [the unclean spirit) came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, "He is dead.' But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose." 

MA’AKE 9:26-27

26 Pea kaila ‘a e fa‘ahikehe, ‘o ne fakatekelili‘i lahi ia, ‘o ne toki mahu‘i mai: pea na‘e hangē kuo mate ‘a e tama; ‘io, na‘e lea ‘a e kakai, Kuo pekia. 27 Ka ka puke ‘e Sīsū hono nima ‘o langa‘i, pea ne tu‘u hake.

There is no one whom Jesus cannot help.

In Mark 9, we read about Jesus' interaction with a child who had long been possessed by an unclean spirit. The boy's predicament had been his lot since he was young. He could neither speak nor hear. When the demon took him, it threw him down, causing him to foam at the mouth, grind his teeth, and become rigid (Mark 9:18). This young man was caught in a dreadful circumstance, essentially trapped inside his body, unable to hear any words of comfort that may have come to him from his father, family, or friends, unable to give voice to his pain and fear. His life was marred by the attempted distortion and destruction of the image of God that he bore.

In the face of such a hopeless situation, Jesus intervened, giving a divine word of rebuke to the evil spirit. Through such a powerful rebuke, Christ drew out the enemy's powerless rage, and the evil spirit, having done its worst, left the boy as though dead. And then Jesus raised him up.

This is what Jesus does. He takes people whose lives are decimated - those who are en route to destruction and He does what only He can do: He enters that life, takes the person by the hand, lifts them up... and they stand.

Jesus is the only one who can truly say, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die" (John 11:25-26). He is the only one who can take someone who seems absolutely helpless and completely unable to effect change in themselves, and give them new life.

So today, Jesus comes to you and says, Why don't you just bring your burdens to Me? You can't educate yourself out of pain and sorrows. Therapy won't give you lasting answers for all your burt and confusion. Truly, it's good that you know you can't do this on your own. Bring your burdens to Me.

Not only that, but He can come to others through you. There is no one you will meet today who does not need Jesus' help, and no one whom Jesus cannot help. However bright someone's life looks, there is normally regret and anxiety under the surface, and there is always the sin that is slowly dragging each of us to destruction-unless and until Jesus intervenes. When you learn to see those around you in this way, you long to share Christ with them; for there is no one whom Jesus cannot help.

LUKE 19:1-10

Bible Through The Year: Numbers 3-4; Revelation 15

 TOKONAKI ‘EPELELI 27, 2024

ASKING RIGHTLY

KO E KOLE ‘OKU TOTONU

JAMES 4:2-3

"You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend is on your passions." 

SEMISI 4:2-3

2 ‘Oku mou holi me‘a, ‘o ‘ikai ma‘u; ‘oku mou fai fakapō ai, ‘o meheka, ka ‘oku ‘ikai te mou lava ke ma‘u; ‘oku mou fetu‘usi leva ‘o tau. ‘Ā, ‘oku ‘ikai te mou ma‘u koe‘uhi ‘oku ‘ikai te mou kole: 3 ‘oku mou kole, pea ‘oku ‘ikai te mou ma‘u, koe‘uhi ā ‘oku mou kole kovi, he ko e fai pē ke tauhi ‘aki ho‘omou ngaahi holi kovi.

Thou art coming to a King,

Large petitions with thee bring;

For His grace and pow'r are such,

None can ever ask too much. 

This hymn by John Newton reminds us of Jesus' words: "Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours" (Mark 11:24). Jesus taught His disciples elsewhere, "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:11). We can go to God and ask Him for good things. We can never ask too much of God. Yet, as James says, many of us don't receive these gifts from our Father because we don't have the courage to act on Jesus' teaching and simply ask. Or we do ask, but we request things not that are in line with His will but rather that we want to receive from Him in order to spend it on [our] passions"- to use to further our priorities, and not to serve His.

When we consider what God's word teaches about prayer, we find that we are to ask and to ask with humility, sincerity, and love, and with an understanding that God is sovereign and that His will is what we most wish to be done. When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will" (Mark 14:36). See the balance here. Jesus had absolute confidence in God's power, He had the courage to ask God to do something humanly impossible, and yet He also showed complete submission to the Father's will. It was only God's sovereign purpose that kept the cup from being removed as Christ prayed. It was not because Christ didn't "believe enough" to make it happen. In the same way, the boldness, childlikeness, and enthusiasm we demonstrate when asking God to do the impossible are not undermined by His sovereignty; they are mercifully controlled by it.

As God's child, you can boldly come before your Father, trusting Him to accomplish all you need and all you ask that is in accordance with His will. Following Jesus' example, you can submit your desires to your Father's loving sovereignty. As you trust God for the right thing in the right way, you can be confident that He will always give the right response. You can never ask for something that is too big for God to do. So just ask!

LUKE 18:1-8

Bible Through The Year: Numbers 1-2; Revelation 14

 FALAITE ‘EPELELI 26, 2024

GLORIFYING GOD IN OUR BODIES

FAKALANGILANGI‘I ‘A E ‘OTUA ‘I HOTAU SINO

PHILIPPIANS 1:20

"It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death." 

FILIPAI 1:20

‘a ia ‘oku hoa mo ‘eku ‘amanaki tu‘u mo falala, ‘e ‘ikai fakamaa‘i au ‘e ha me‘a; kaekehe, hangē ko ia ‘i mu‘a, ‘e pehē foki ‘i onopooni, te u mālohi noa pē ‘i he fakahīkihiki‘i ‘o Kalaisi ‘aki hoku sino, pe ‘i he‘ene mo‘ui, pe ‘i he‘ene mate.

Your body, and what you do with it, matters.

More than once in his writings, the apostle Paul expresses great concern about people's bodies. He asks the Corinthians, for instance, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?" He then goes on to say, "You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). In other words, our bodies belong to the God who created them and who sustains them. This way of thinking is at the heart of Paul's theology.

Paul found great joy in knowing that Jesus would be honored, or exalted, in his own body. It was his chief aim and prayer that in his ministry he would possess courage and faithfulness to do this. For Paul, to exalt Christ meant to make much of His great name: to give Him glory. We see this attitude expressed by John the Baptist, who said of Jesus, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). Similarly, you'll never find Paul drawing attention to himself. He saw himself only as a conduit leading to Christ.

It comes as no surprise, then, that when he wanted to establish his credentials as an apostle, Paul didn't say, "Let no one cause me trouble" just because he was a mighty apostle or because he was used by God to preach the gospel. No - he said, "Let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus" (Galatians 6:17, emphasis added). Through his body, his commitment was revealed. He was increasingly abused for his devotion to Christ. He finally went to his grave scarred, brutalized, and disfigured - yet through his trials, his cry remained "I will rejoice." 

God was Lord over Paul's whole life: his body, his time, his totality. Only that could bring him such joy. Only that can bring us such joy.

The bottom line is that you are not your own. Nothing you have is your own. Everything is a stewardship, whether God has given you much or little. You belong to God, your Creator and your Redeemer. One day, He will raise us with glorified, imperishable bodies (1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 51-54). For the moment, in this life He calls us to serve Him in this body. In everything you do with it, then, let your body be an offering that you joyfully lay before God.

1 CORINTHIANS 6:12-20

Bible Through The Year: Ecclesiastes 10-12; Revelation 13

 TU‘APULELULU ‘EPELELI 25, 2024

MERCY FOR THE BLIND

‘ALO‘OFA MA‘AE TANGATA KUI

MARK 10:47

"When be heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say. Jestes, Son of David, have mercy on me!"" 

MA‘AKE 10:47

Pea ‘i he‘ene fanongo ko Sīsū ia mei Nāsaleti, pea ne hanga ‘o kalanga, ‘o pehē, Hako ‘o Tēvita ē! Sīsū, ‘alo‘ofa mai!

Blind Bartimaeus sat in complete blackness. He could hear the crowd, the movement, the jibber-jabber of people speaking. He could hear the hullabaloo that signaled that Jesus of Nazareth was somewhere out there in the darkness, but he was unable to see Him. Recognizing that this might be his only chance to get Jesus' attention, in desperation he shouted out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

 

The simplicity and clarity of Bartimaeus' request was a testimony to his faith; it indicated that he actually believed that Jesus was able to do what he was asking. By God's grace, blind Bartimacus saw what countless others had missed: he saw that in Jesus he could find God's mercy. And when Jesus then addressed his need, Bartimaeus and all who observed the encounter understood that his faith was the reason for his cure. But Bartimaeus never made the mistake of thinking that all he really needed was his physical sight. That is why, as soon as he received his sight from Jesus, he "followed him on the way" (Mark 10:52).

In this encounter we see a microcosm of the whole gospel. The Bible often uses blindness as a metaphor for the predicament of men and women. For example, the apostle Paul says. "The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ," (2 Corinthians 4:4); and Jesus Himself said, "I came into this world, that those who do not see may see" (John 9:39). And earlier in Mark's Gospel, we read that even though the disciples were following Jesus, they still did not see and understand all that He was teaching them, so He asked, "Having eyes do you not see, and having cars do you not hear?" (Mark 8:18).

How, then, are the blind made to see? Just as Bartimaeus was: by going to Jesus and calling out to Him for mercy, asking for the loving forgiveness and new life that only He can provide. You will never know Jesus Christ as a reality in your life until you know Him as a necessity. That is a truth we needed to grasp in order to enjoy the first day of our new life following Him; but it is also a truth we need to remember in order to go on through our lives still following Him. In whatever way you require mercy right now, look at Him with the God-given eyes of faith and simply ask. The good news is that Jesus still hears, Jesus still cares, Jesus still stops, Jesus still listens, and Jesus still saves.

MARK 10:46-52

Bible Through The Year: Ecclesiastes 7-9; Revelation 12

 PULELULU ‘EPELELI 24, 2024

FROM SADNESS TO GLADNESS

HIKI MI HE MAMAHI KI HE FIEFIA

JOHN 20:20

"He showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord." 

SIONE 20:20

Pea ‘i he‘ene lea pehē, na‘a ne faka‘ali‘ali kiate kinautolu hono ongo nima mo hono vakavaka. Pea na‘e fiefia ‘a e kau ako ‘i he‘enau mamata ki he ‘eiki.

The first Easter did not look like a typical Easter celebration.

Before Jesus' resurrection was discovered, the day was marked by tears, devastation, and bewilderment - not joy, hope, and praise. The disciples were gathered out of fear, to protect one another, not to sing "Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!"" They sat in sadness; their story had come to a grinding halt, with the next page blank.

Or so they thought.

The Bible does not attempt to deny or idealize the grief felt by Christ's followers after His crucifixion. They didn't understand what had happened, and they certainly didn't know what would happen next. Their sadness reveals humanity's limitations in knowing the bigger picture. Despite the Old Testament prophecies and Jesus' own foretelling of His death (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34), John's Gospel tells us that they "as yet did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead" (John 20:9). They didn't understand that when Jesus said from the cross, "It is finished" (19:30), He was not expressing defeat but declaring victory.

This victory meant resurrection. And as the resurrected Savior came to the disciples in their darkness, fear, and sadness. He brought transformation. Their unbelief turned to belief and their sadness to gladness. That gladness was rooted in the fact that they understood that Jesus had risen from the dead. Their faith and their future returned and were rooted in this wonderful reality. The darkness of their despair made the light of the resurrection all the more glorious.

If you are looking for a god that will just make you glad, you shouldn't look for the God of the Bible. He does make us glad - more so than anyone or anything else-but He often starts by making us sad. We are saddened by this broken world, saddened by our own sin, saddened that on the cross Jesus died for our wickedness, disobedience, and disinterest. It is only through truly feeling such sorrow that we can fully understand the gladness that comes with our account being settled, our debt being paid, and our wrongs being forgiven.

We can know the gladness of a love that loves us even though we are not worthy of it - that loves us when we don't want to listen. What kind of love is this? It is the love of God for men and women, for you and me! Today, look away from yourself and look at Him. This is love, and when we know we are loved in this way, we are able to see the healing in the harm and that sadness can be the soil in which eternal gladness grows. About which part of your life perhaps a part full of pain, or regret, or anxiety - do you need to hear this today? Remember that whatever you are walking through, it remains true that Christ the Lord is risen. Hallelujah!

JOHN 20:19-23

Bible Through The Year: Ecclesiastes 4-6; Revelation 11

 TUSITE ‘EPELELI 23, 2024

LIFE WILL FLOW TO ALL

‘E TAFE ‘A E MO‘UI KIATE KINAUTOLU KOTOA

EZEKIEL 48.35

The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits. And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The LORD is There." 

‘ISIKELI 48.35

Ko hono fua takai ko e taha mano mā valu afe. Pea talu ai ko e hingoa ‘o e kolo ko Sihova Sama, (‘Oku ‘i ai ‘a Sihova).

The best is yet to come.

The Israelites had been in exile for six decades when Cyrus of Persia came to power in the 6th century BC. Soon after, the king allowed some of the Israelite captives to return to their previous home. With great hope and anticipation, Ezra and Nehemiah journeyed back and led the people in rebuilding the temple and the walls of Jerusalem.

The number of returned exiles was small, and they faced significant opposition. They were successful in their endeavors, but they were by no means triumphant. In fact, the older, wiser people wept when they laid the foundations of the temple, because they knew it would not meet the grand expectations of the prophets (Ezra 3:10-12).

The longings of those who wept reflected Ezekiel's final prophecy, which contained this great hope: a new Temple would someday be built in a greater Jerusalem. It would be more magnificent than the first temple had ever been, and God would preside in the immense structure, from which a river would flow, giving eternal life to the world (see Ezekiel 40 - 48).

The Israelites knew that what they were building wasn't the temple Ezekiel had prophesied. It didn't quite fit. Nor was the homecoming from Babylon the great exodus about which the prophets had spoken. They were left looking beyond their own city and the rebuilt temple. Ultimately, Ezekiel was prophesying about the coming kingdom of God, which was beyond his comprehension.

In the book of Revelation, John describes a vision of heaven that provides a different sight: the church in the kingdom of God. God's plan was never limited only to the Israelites; it includes so much more. He is determined to completely undo the effects of sin and renew the whole world. Once again, mankind will know what it means to live continually in His presence, in the city called "The LORD Is There." God will be in our midst, and from Him life will flow to all: "I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God... I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb" (Revelation 21:2, 22-23).

Like the Israelites before us, we live looking forward. We lean towards the future in expectation of the return of the King and the completion of His salvation. We will join Jesus in His kingdom and experience the joy which comes from being with Him. Do not settle for what this life has to offer, nor grow despairing over the disappointments of the here and now. Our best days lie ahead of us, in the city of God.

EZEKIEL 47:1-12

Bible Through The Year: Ecclesiastes 1-3; Revelation 10

 MONITE ‘EPELELI 22, 2024

THE PATH OF UNBELIEF

‘ALUNGA ‘OKU IKU KI HE TA’ETUI

 JOHN 18:5

"Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them." 

SIONE 18:5

Pea nau tali ki ai, Ko Sīsū mei Nāsaleti. Pea folofola ia kiate kinautolu, Ko au ‘eni. (Pea na‘e tu‘u mo kinautolu foki ‘a Siutasi ko hono lavaki.)

In the Garden of Gethsemane, as the soldiers approached to arrest the man who the Jewish leaders had decided must now die, the central figure was of course the Lord Jesus. But Judas played a key part - and teaches us a hard lesson.

Judas's betrayal of Christ reveals a deep hypocrisy rooted in a deeper denial. His treachery serves as a warning of how a heart, though seemingly close to God, hardens as it travels down the path of unbelief - a path marked by betrayed trust and corrupt company.

The Garden of Gethsemane was not just any garden. The disciples appeared to know itwell. For Jesus and the Twelve it was a place of fellowship, of relaxation, and, doubtless, of many happy memories. And yet it was in this beautiful place that Judas betrayed Christ. It's quite staggering that he would choose a place of such intimacy in which to perform an act of such infamy, like an adulterer who breaks the marriage bond in their own marriage bed.

Picture Judas walking along the path and leading a group of soldiers and Jewish officials (John 18:3). He who was so dreadfully lost spiritually became a guide: the blind leading the blind. The path of unbelief is a lonely place that often begs for the false comfort of hopeless companionship.

The garden was a beautiful, tranquil place, but it nevertheless witnessed a heinous event. When we think of the places where we've been tempted to betray Christ-on a lovely vacation, in the comfort of our homes, even in places where Christ has previously met with us, blessed us, wooed us, and won us-we clearly see our heart's perversity in our willingness to join Judas in his betrayal.

Let Judas's example remind us that we must all be on guard. There is no room for complacency in the Christian life, no matter what you have done and seen and no matter what your standing in your church. After all, Judas had lived with Jesus for three years, had seen His miracles, and had heard His teaching. Yet still he betrayed Him. "Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall" (1 Corinthians 10:12).

How do we remain followers and avoid the tragic path taken by Judas? As the word of God implores again and again, we must beware a slowly growing hard-heartedness that causes us to drift down the path of unbelief. Instead, we need to listen to the Holy Spirit as He guides us. We need to pray that we would find a tenderness in our hearts, an openness in our minds, and a prompting in our spirits telling us, "Now, go ahead and embrace this Christ!"

The hard lesson of Judas is that only by God's grace can we remain standing. So pray that you would never be found among the traitors: Save me, Lord, from the real temptations to doubt and deny You. Show me the wonder of Your protection and provision, and renew my assurance that You will lose none of those whom the Father has given You.

JOHN 10:11-30

Bible Through The Year: Daniel 11-12; Revelation 9