Ezekiel saw a vision of God's throne and described the four living creatures surrounding it. Those four echo throughout the rest of Scripture.

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Although the wall was complete, Jerusalem had yet to be rebuilt and populated. At Yom Terruah, the people gathered from the surrounding villages and Ezra read the Book of the Law aloud. The people, understanding the fall feasts, celebrated Succot at the appointed time and then gathered together to confess their sins in much the same spirit as Daniel 9. They then prepared to renew the covenant with God.

In the wilderness, Moses appoints 72 elders over Israel. That number echoes through the Gospels and Revelation.

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In Genesis 22 Abraham is called upon by God to sacrifice his son Isaac on Mount Moriah. This, of course prefigures the Crucifixion in nearly every detail. In addition it says something profound about the relationship between children and their father. Contrary to every other society at the time, fathers do not own their children. (Inspired by Rabbi Sacks, "The Binding of Isaac" on Aish.com)

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Over and over the Bible tells Israel (and us) to rejoice in their relationship with God. This is because a lack of joy leads to fear, self focus and loss of faith. This progression is especially clear in the failure of the spies in Numbers 13. It is equally clear in today's response by the church to the panic induced by the spread of the Wuhan Flu.

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After Paul's arrest in Jerusalem, he goes before the council where he causes a riot when he asserts that his only crime is believing in the resurrection. He is spirited away by night to Caesarea where he appears before Felix, the Roman governor.

Ideology has largely replaced idol worship as a vehicle for bad behavior. What standard should one use in evaluating the promises of an ideology or program?

Revelation 13 describes a world where only those who have a special mark can buy and sell. Recently banks in Europe and the US have been moving to get rid of cash entirely making bank accounts the only medium of exchange. This is very ominous.

Revelation 13 describes the second beast. It has always been great sport speculating who that will be, and popes are a perennial favorite. The current pope, however, is exhibiting some behaviors that elevate him into front runner status.

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The story of Abraham marks the beginning of God's establishing personal relationships with people. Before Abraham Scripture simply records events. With Abraham we get much more personal and emotional information about His relationship with God. It is also significant that in order to develop that relationship God removed him from the big city and made him live in a tent. The patterns developed in this story have profound meaning for believers today.