WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23

Scripture: Revelation 16:4-6

Because of tradition many might ask, is this really New Testament Christianity?  It seems more like Old Testament Christianity than what Jesus would have us do in the New Testament.  But that is not really true.  We know that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, and we find one more living account in Revelation 16:4-6.  It says, “Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying: ‘You are righteous, O Lord, The One who is and who was and who is to be, Because You have judged these things. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, And You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due.’”  Verse 6 makes it clear, “…For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, And You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due (ax-ee-os).”  Ax-ee-os is a Greek word that means “befitting, congruous or corresponding,” and is the word that is used for covenant justice.  The early church obviously understood that covenant justice was part of what they had in God, and they were not about to let it go.  When God promised covenant justice, it was “Just as you have done to My people, I will now do to you.”  That was the essence of the Abrahamic covenant and it carries all the way through!