I really wanted to write about pineapple and pineapples.

For my thirtieth birthday, we took a cruise ship. I was wearing my yellow polo shirt and drank Piña Colada — my favourite drink — through a straw.

With me were some of my favourite people,

my family.

Some of them,

they hurt me.

I am not yet able to tell the tale plainly.

I don’t understand enough.

It’s not the type of thing that has a clear timeline. Rather, it’s exactly like they were the pineapple in my fruit salad and I was (in this analogy) allergic.

It might have developed suddenly or over time, as these things do. At some point, I kept eating — the same way I always had. It left me with (metaphorical) blisters on my tongue, without me knowing why they were there.

Some time during the following years, I concluded that my tongue was supposed to be swollen. Like that was just the way of things.

Until I stopped thinking there was anything wrong with it to begin with. Even as it kept growing, were someone to ask what was up with my tongue, I wouldn’t have even understood the question.

Finally, the pineapple was too much — the allergy so intense that it almost suffocated me. I stood there in front of the mirror, having reached some final threshold, and realised:

• It’s not supposed to hurt like this to speak.

• Breathing shouldn’t be this hard.

• Most people don’t have tongues this swollen, with blisters all over them.

When it dawned on me that it was all from the pineapple — which I love so much — something broke inside of me.

It hurts.

Even though I know there are other fruits you could put in there instead, like oranges — small representations of the sun — it’s never going to be the same.

And physalis.

I am not sure whether I will ever be able to eat pineapple again. Realistically, I could probably eat it once a year. But is it worth it?

(It’s not)

It has indeed been awhile since I posted on here. Entries on here will be a little more sporadic over the next few months as this is my busy time of year for my actual job. I know I'm a little late to the party here but I want to wish everyone a happy new year!

Sportsbooks, media rights, and leagues themselves have created a triangle of sorts over the past few years. We have sportsbooks who have their names on networks, we have leagues who have deals with sportsbooks, and of course we have the media rights deals leagues have with the networks and apps. While this makes a whole bunch of money for the stakeholders of all those parties (some of which have massive conflicts of interests), it's the fans who lose out. First though, I want to discuss what is going on with Main Street Sports, the operator of the FanDuel RSNs.

Main Street Sports, the company that operates what are now known as FanDuel Sports Networks, is in dire straits and if they do not get bought out soon, they will go bankrupt. The Major League Baseball Teams who had media rights deals with FanDuel RSNs opted out of their broadcast deals to paint a picture of how bad the situation is. This does not affect the nationwide FanDuel TV, which used to be TVG, that is a whole separate entity which I will get into in a bit. First, RSNs (Regional Sports Networks) are mostly dying out as the media landscape is changing. Companies like Main Street Sports and others who solely operate RSNs are feeling the pinch of lower advertising revenue along with higher costs for the broadcast rights of the teams that they air. This dynamic is why RSNs would not be a viable way for the proposed Brand New Shield to distribute its media rights. Second, the FanDuel Branding I believe hurt the RSNs just like the Bally's Branding before it because of the fact those brands were built on gambling. It was different when they were Prime Sports Networks or Fox Sports Networks or NBC Sports Networks (a few of the NBC Sports Networks are still around). The naming rights deals with the Sportsbooks to me were one of the gravest mistakes the RSNs made which is why a company like Main Street Sports is in such a bad predicament. Many people do not associate premier sports television coverage with sports betting, and quite frankly they never will.

Now there is also the national FanDuel TV which used to be TVG (which was primarily a horse racing channel). FanDuel TV has turned into more of a sports talk/sports betting channel with personalities like Kay Adams and such leading the way on their programming. They also have a deal with the Indoor Football League to air games including the championship game. While this could be great for the IFL, it comes at a costs in terms of league image and integrity. As I've mentioned before, I don't believe FanDuel TV would offer such a deal unless they could get betting revenue from it. The IFL just doesn't have the footprint for FanDuel to offer such a deal without such a benefit for FanDuel involved. While the IFL will undoubtedly get more exposure and the opportunity to grow the fan base, they will also face similar questions like the NFL does in terms of its relationship with FanDuel. Is there a script? Are games rigged? Establishing such a relationship creates these questions regardless if there's any foul play involved or not.

I'd still like to think that integrity still matters at an organizational level in Sport Management. That is why I ask these questions and post about these types of relationships on here so that if/when the opportunity to do better comes along, we do better when that opportunity arises. The gambling and media rights landscapes for sports are ever-changing and maybe, just maybe, there's a chance to change them for the better.

There is a moment in Revelation 8 that is so strange, so emotionally unsettling, and so spiritually heavy that most people read past it without really letting it hit them, and yet it may be one of the most important verses in the entire book of Revelation for anyone who has ever felt forgotten, delayed, or unheard by God. John writes that when the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Not thunder. Not angels singing. Not the sound of worship. Not the roar of judgment. Silence. Heaven, the place that never stops praising, the place that never sleeps, the place that never stops moving, suddenly goes quiet. That silence is not emptiness. That silence is attention. It is the sound of all of heaven leaning forward. It is the sound of eternity pausing because something on earth has finally reached God in a way that demands response.

This chapter is not primarily about disasters falling from the sky. It is not mainly about trumpets and fire and hail and blood. It is about what happens when prayers that were whispered in pain, cried in secret, and spoken in despair finally reach the throne of God in full. Revelation 8 is where the suffering of the saints stops being ignored and starts being answered. The judgments that follow do not come from anger alone. They come from justice awakened by intercession.

John is allowed to see what no one on earth gets to see. He sees seven angels standing before God, and they are given seven trumpets. Trumpets in Scripture are not background music. Trumpets announce something that cannot be ignored. They declare that what was hidden is now revealed. They are used for coronations, for war, for divine announcements, for the arrival of God’s authority into human history. But before any trumpet sounds, something else happens. Another angel appears. This angel is not blowing a trumpet. This angel is carrying a golden censer, and he is standing at the altar. He is given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne.

That one sentence changes everything. The incense is not symbolic decoration. In Scripture, incense represents prayer rising before God. What John sees is not just angels and altars. He sees every prayer that was ever prayed in faith and pain now being gathered, mixed, and presented before the throne of the living God. That means the prayers of the persecuted church, the prayers of parents who buried children, the prayers of believers who were imprisoned, the prayers of those who died alone in faith, the prayers of people who were mocked, beaten, silenced, and ignored for following Jesus, all of it is now in one place. Heaven is not silent because nothing is happening. Heaven is silent because everything is happening.

This is where Revelation 8 becomes intensely personal. Because it means that none of your prayers were wasted. None of your tears were lost. None of your cries vanished into the air. None of your whispered pleas were ignored. The silence in heaven is not God hesitating. It is God listening. It is the pause before divine response. It is the intake of breath before the storm of justice is released.

Then John sees something terrifying and beautiful at the same time. The angel takes the censer, fills it with fire from the altar, and throws it to the earth. That fire had been burning in the presence of God. That fire had been touching the prayers of the saints. When it hits the earth, there are peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. What that means is that prayer does not stay in heaven. Prayer comes back to earth as power. Prayer returns as consequence. Prayer returns as God’s will breaking into human systems that have been resisting Him.

Too many people think of prayer as passive. Revelation 8 shows it is explosive. The prayers of the saints are what release the judgments of God. The world is not shaken by politics. It is shaken by intercession. Empires do not fall because of armies. They fall because heaven has decided that enough is enough. And heaven makes that decision because of what God’s people have been crying out for.

When the first trumpet sounds, hail and fire mixed with blood are hurled down upon the earth, and a third of the earth is burned up. A third of the trees are burned up. All green grass is burned up. This is not random. In Scripture, trees and grass often represent human systems, prosperity, growth, and stability. What is being judged here is not just nature. It is the illusion of human self-sufficiency. God is striking at the things people trust more than Him. He is touching the economic systems, the agricultural systems, the environmental structures that make humanity think it can survive without God. A third is burned, not all. Judgment is still restrained. Mercy is still present. Even in wrath, God limits destruction because His desire is repentance, not annihilation.

The second trumpet brings something like a great mountain blazing with fire that is thrown into the sea. A third of the sea becomes blood. A third of the living creatures in the sea die. A third of the ships are destroyed. In the ancient world, the sea represented commerce, trade, travel, and global connection. God is now touching the flow of the world. The systems of profit, the systems of movement, the systems that connect nations and economies. Revelation is not anti-creation. It is anti-idolatry. When humanity builds a world that worships money, speed, power, and expansion, God will shake those foundations.

The third trumpet brings a star called Wormwood that falls on the rivers and springs of water, making them bitter so that many people die from the waters. In Scripture, water represents life, truth, and sustenance. Wormwood means bitterness. This is not just a physical poisoning. It is a spiritual one. It is what happens when truth is corrupted, when lies are normalized, when deception flows through the systems people depend on. A poisoned culture eventually poisons its people. Revelation is showing what happens when humanity drinks from sources that are no longer clean.

The fourth trumpet darkens a third of the sun, moon, and stars. Light is reduced. Night becomes longer. Day becomes dimmer. This is not just astronomical. It is spiritual. God is withdrawing clarity. When people reject truth long enough, darkness becomes the norm. Confusion becomes the atmosphere. Revelation 8 is showing a world that no longer knows where to look for light because it rejected the Light when He came.

But through all of this, the most shocking truth remains this: none of this started with anger. It started with prayer. The entire chain of events in Revelation 8 begins at an altar where incense and prayers rise before God. That means that what is happening in the world is connected to what God’s people have been saying to Him. Heaven is responding to the cries of the faithful.

This should change how you see your own life. Because if the prayers of persecuted believers can move heaven and shake earth, then your prayers are not small. When you pray for justice, for healing, for restoration, for God to act, you are participating in the same spiritual mechanism that moves Revelation forward. You are not ignored. You are being collected. Your prayers are being stored. They are being weighed. And one day, they will be answered in ways you cannot yet see.

Revelation 8 is not meant to make you afraid. It is meant to make you confident. It shows that God is not distant. He is not detached. He is not slow because He does not care. He is slow because He is listening to everything. And when He moves, He moves with the full authority of heaven behind Him.

This chapter is the proof that God has a memory. He remembers every injustice. He remembers every martyr. He remembers every act of faith. He remembers every tear. He remembers every prayer. And when the time is right, He answers in ways that reshape the world.

What you are seeing in Revelation 8 is not a cruel God. You are seeing a just God who has finally decided to respond to the cries of His people. The silence in heaven was not absence. It was focus. It was the moment before eternity spoke back to history.

And when heaven speaks, the earth listens.

The most sobering truth about Revelation 8 is not what falls from the sky, but what rises from the altar. Everything that shakes the world in this chapter is born in prayer. That alone should radically change how you understand both suffering and intercession. The persecuted church was not powerless. The oppressed believers were not forgotten. Their cries were not just emotional expressions of pain. They were legal appeals in the court of heaven, and Revelation 8 shows us the moment those appeals were answered.

When the eagle flies in mid-heaven and cries out, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth,” it is not because God enjoys destruction. It is because humanity has ignored mercy for so long that justice must now speak. Even here, God warns before the worst arrives. Revelation never shows God ambushing humanity. He always sends signals. He always gives time. He always calls people to turn back.

What makes this chapter so powerful is that it connects prayer to history. Too often believers think prayer is about changing how they feel. Revelation 8 shows prayer changes how the world moves. The saints did not stop Rome by swords. They stopped it by faith. They did not overcome persecution by violence. They overcame it by endurance and truth. And heaven recorded every moment of that faithfulness.

The incense was not just fragrance. It was testimony. It was proof that the church endured. It was proof that faith survived. It was proof that love did not die even when hatred ruled. When God threw that fire back to the earth, He was not throwing punishment alone. He was throwing validation. He was saying that every act of faith mattered.

This is why Revelation 8 should give you courage when you feel unseen. If heaven keeps records of prayer, then nothing in your life is wasted. The season where you felt like nothing was happening was actually the season where everything was being recorded. The silence you experienced was not abandonment. It was accumulation.

God is not slow. He is thorough. He waits until the full weight of prayer has been gathered before He acts, because when He acts, He acts with perfect justice. No innocent cry is ignored. No faithful tear is forgotten.

This chapter also exposes something about the modern world. We live in a culture that believes power comes from platforms, armies, money, and influence. Revelation 8 reveals the real engine behind history is intercession. The most dangerous people on earth are not the ones with weapons. They are the ones who pray. They are the ones who refuse to stop believing that God hears them.

That is why tyrants fear faith. That is why oppressive systems try to silence worship. Because prayer moves something they cannot control.

The trumpets are terrifying not because they are loud, but because they announce that God has stepped into history in response to the cries of His people. What follows in Revelation is not chaos. It is accountability. It is the collapse of a world that was built without God.

If you ever wondered whether your faith matters in a broken world, Revelation 8 answers you. Heaven is listening. Earth will respond. And nothing done in Christ is ever forgotten.

This chapter stands as one of the most profound promises in Scripture: God hears His people, and He will answer them in ways that shake the world.

Your prayers are not small. They are part of something eternal.

Your friend, Douglas Vandergraph

Watch Douglas Vandergraph’s inspiring faith-based videos on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@douglasvandergraph

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Immediately after the death of Charlie Kirk, many on the political left celebrated and mocked his death as getting what he deserved, while many on the right called for retribution in the form of violence. There were not calls from either side to stand down. There was not even agreement that his assassination was a tragedy worthy of lament and mourning. People on both sides of the political spectrum were stoking the sparks of dissent into anger.

Immediately after the death of Renee Good, many on the political right celebrated and mocked her death as getting what she deserved, while many on the left called for retribution in the form of violence. There were not calls from either side to stand down. There was not even agreement on what just happened. People on both sides of the political spectrum were fanning the flames of anger into rage.

Clearly, this event is BY NO MEANS THE MORAL EQUIVALENT of Charlie Kirk's assassination. It is potentially far worse. It is potentially far less serious. If it turns out that Good was gunned down by an overzealous law enforcement agent of the state, it is far worse than Kirk's assassination by a private citizen. It if turns out that the use of deadly force against Good was justified by law enforcement, her death is still tragic, but it is nowhere near morally comparable to Kirk's.

Here's the thing...we do NOT know which one of the above evaluations is correct. That judgment does not come in an instant from social media, talking heads on cable news, or politicians. That judgment comes as the result of a deliberate, impartial investigation by individuals qualified to do it. So far, that has not happened.

Here's what we do know...both sides of the political spectrum have abdicated their moral authority by cheering either death and should be soundly rebuked. Both sides are wrong to celebrate the death of either of these individuals, regardless of motivation. Both sides are being irresponsible and are part of the ever-growing cancer of division that has metastasized through these United States. Though there are clearly times when violence is necessary and right, anyone celebrating and glorifying death (regardless of cause) is acting as a lackey of Satan, willingly or unwillingly, and is directly contributing to the destruction and collapse of our nation.

It is time to stand down. It is time to mourn the destruction of lives, the destruction of the ability to debate and disagree, the destruction of civility, and the inevitable destruction of our nation that will come as a result of the normalization and celebration of political violence. Stand down. Everyone.

Better yet, time to fall down on our knees and pray...that is the only way out.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

#culture #politics #theology

heal my heart ease my pain give me the strength to love again

00:59:03 h

https://on.soundcloud.com/eP73tSaqvcsBT6sg54

Why I Can't Stop Thinking About Iran Right Now

I usually talk about other things here, but I feel like I have to speak up about what’s happening in Iran. To me, it’s the most important story in the world right now.

Over the last week, we’ve seen tens of thousands of Iranians take to the streets to stand up against a regime that has been brutally repressing them since 1979. It’s not just about politics, though; it’s about survival. The economy there is basically in a freefall. To give you an idea of how bad it is, one U.S. dollar is now worth 1.47 million rials. The currency lost 80% of its value in just one year. People can’t afford food, and they’re dealing with constant power outages and water rationing.

What makes it even more infuriating is the hypocrisy. You have a government that brutalizes young girls for how they wear a hijab, while the families of those same officials are all over social media flaunting their wealth and “living it up.” The corruption is everywhere.

On the global stage, we know Iran is the main sponsor behind groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. They were the only major country to actually celebrate the October 7th attacks. It reminded me of Masih Alinejad, a dissident living in New York. The regime didn't just arrest her family back home to silence her; they actually sent assassins to her house in Brooklyn. It’s a miracle she’s still alive.

There’s really no other word for this leadership than evil.

Despite the government’s “savage” response—shooting protesters, making thousands of arrests, and cutting off the internet—the people are still marching. Every hour feels like history in the making. Seeing the courage of everyday Iranians, young and old, is honestly inspiring. They are literally risking everything for a chance at a normal life. It feels like this time, things might actually change.

But the reality is, they probably can’t do it alone. We’ve already seen the U.S. take action with the strikes on nuclear facilities six months ago, and there’s been a clear warning that there will be consequences for killing protesters.

In my opinion, the world—and especially the U.S.—would be so much better off if this regime fell. This is a once-in-a-generation moment to support people who are fighting for the same freedoms we often take for granted.

I really hope we don't let this opportunity pass.

If America stands for anything, it should be moments like this.

There is a moment in Revelation 7 that almost no one slows down long enough to feel. The world is bracing for judgment. The seals are opening. History itself feels like it is holding its breath. And then, suddenly, everything stops. Winds are restrained. Angels pause mid-motion. Heaven interrupts its own momentum. And God says, in effect, “Wait.” That pause is not a delay of wrath. It is the revelation of mercy. Revelation 7 is not about numbers, charts, or timelines. It is about God’s heart refusing to let the storm fall before His people are marked.

That is the emotional core of this chapter. Not fear. Not doom. But protection. Not destruction. But sealing. Not chaos. But deliberate love moving ahead of catastrophe. When you read Revelation 7 carefully, it does not feel like a cold apocalyptic spreadsheet. It feels like a Father stepping between His children and a coming fire, saying, “Not yet. They belong to Me.”

This is why Revelation 7 sits where it does in the flow of Revelation. The first six seals of chapter 6 have shaken the earth. Conquest, war, famine, death, persecution, and cosmic disturbance have already been released. The sixth seal ends with terrified humanity crying out, “Who can stand?” And Revelation 7 answers that question—not with a theory, but with a picture. The ones who can stand are the ones who have been sealed by God.

That word “sealed” matters far more than most readers realize. In the ancient world, a seal was not a sticker. It was not symbolic. A seal meant ownership, authority, and protection. When something was sealed by a king, it meant no one else had the right to touch it. To break that seal was to challenge the king himself. So when Revelation 7 says God seals His servants on their foreheads, it is not talking about a visible tattoo or a barcode. It is talking about divine ownership and spiritual jurisdiction. These people are under God’s authority and protection in a way that cannot be overridden by hell, by the beast, or by the chaos of the last days.

And that is why the angels are told to hold back the winds. The winds represent destructive forces, judgment, upheaval, and calamity. They are told not to harm the earth, the sea, or the trees until the servants of God are sealed. In other words, God refuses to allow the storm to touch anything that belongs to Him before He has clearly marked it as His.

This changes how you should read the entire book of Revelation. It is not a book about God losing control and then trying to fix things at the end. It is a book about God being so sovereign that even the release of judgment is governed by mercy, timing, and purpose. Nothing is random. Nothing is out of control. Even the end of the world is organized by love.

Then comes the part that has confused, divided, and obsessed readers for generations: the 144,000. Twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. This number has been turned into everything from a secret rapture club to a symbolic headcount of elite believers. But Revelation 7 itself gives us clues that this is not meant to be read like a literal census spreadsheet.

First, the tribes are listed in a strange order. Judah comes first, not Reuben. Dan is missing. Joseph appears alongside Manasseh. This is not how Israel is normally listed in Scripture. That is a clue. It tells you something theological is happening, not merely genealogical. This is not a tribal registry. It is a spiritual portrait.

Second, the number itself is a theological number. Twelve is the number of God’s people: twelve tribes, twelve apostles. A thousand in biblical language represents fullness, completeness, and magnitude. So twelve times twelve times a thousand is not a small elite club. It is a picture of God’s people in full, complete, and overwhelming number. It is a way of saying, “All who belong to Me, in their fullness, are sealed.”

But John doesn’t stop there. He hears the number, but then he looks—and what he sees is not a small, numbered group. He sees a great multitude that no one can count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. This is one of the most powerful literary moments in Revelation. John hears a symbolic number that represents completeness, and then he sees the reality: an uncountable, global, redeemed humanity.

This is not God saving a tiny remnant. This is God saving a vast, beautiful, diverse family.

And notice what they are doing. They are not hiding. They are not running. They are standing. The same question at the end of Revelation 6—“Who can stand?”—is now answered. They can. The ones who are sealed. The ones who belong to the Lamb. The ones who have been washed in His blood.

They are clothed in white robes, which in Revelation always represents purity, victory, and righteousness given by God, not earned by humans. They hold palm branches, symbols of victory, celebration, and deliverance. This is not a funeral. It is a triumph.

They cry out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” This is not quiet worship. This is victorious, defiant praise in the face of everything hell tried to do to stop them. They are saying, “We made it. Not because we were strong, but because He is faithful.”

And then heaven responds. Angels, elders, and living creatures fall down and worship. Heaven joins the chorus. That is another key insight of Revelation 7: heaven does not stand above redeemed humanity. Heaven celebrates them. Heaven joins them. The story of salvation is not God tolerating humans. It is God delighting in them.

One of the elders then asks John a question that seems simple but is deeply revealing: “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and where did they come from?” John doesn’t answer. He defers. “Sir, you know.” And the elder explains: “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

This line destroys the idea that these people avoided suffering. They did not escape tribulation. They came out of it. They went through it. But they were not destroyed by it. The seal of God does not always mean you are spared hardship. It means you are preserved through it.

And notice what makes them clean. Not their endurance. Not their theology. Not their moral perfection. The blood of the Lamb. That is the gospel inside the apocalypse. Even at the end of time, salvation is still by grace.

This multitude now serves God day and night in His temple. He dwells among them. They hunger no more. They thirst no more. The sun does not strike them. No scorching heat. The Lamb becomes their Shepherd. He leads them to springs of living water. And God wipes away every tear from their eyes.

This is not poetic decoration. This is the destination of redemption. Revelation 7 lifts the curtain and lets you see where everything is going. Not to annihilation. Not to despair. But to healing, rest, intimacy, and joy in the presence of God.

And here is the part that almost no one connects: Revelation 7 is not only about the end of the world. It is about the nature of God. It shows you that even when judgment is coming, His first instinct is to protect His people. Even when history is shaking, His priority is to mark those who belong to Him. Even when the storm is ready, He pauses for love.

That means something for you right now.

Because most people think they live in Revelation 6. Chaos. Fear. News cycles that feel apocalyptic. Politics that feel like earthquakes. Cultures cracking. Families breaking. Anxiety everywhere. People are still asking, “Who can stand?”

Revelation 7 answers: the ones who belong to Jesus.

You are not sealed by perfection. You are sealed by belonging. You are not kept by your strength. You are kept by His ownership. You are not standing because you are unshakable. You are standing because He is.

The world may feel like it is unraveling. But Revelation 7 shows you something deeper: God knows exactly who is His, and He will not let the storm take what He has claimed.

And that means you are not as fragile as you think.

The Lamb who shed His blood to save you is the same Lamb who now stands as your Shepherd. The hands that were pierced are the hands that hold you. The voice that cried out on the cross is the voice that calls heaven to wait until you are sealed.

Nothing about your life is accidental. Nothing about your future is unprotected. Nothing about your faith is unseen.

The storm may be real.

But the seal is stronger.

And Revelation 7 was written so you would know that.

---

Now we will continue the full legacy depth, including the deeper spiritual meaning of the sealing, the connection to Ezekiel, Passover, the mark of the beast, modern fear culture, and how Revelation 7 reshapes how Christians live without panic.

Revelation 7 does something quietly revolutionary that most readers miss because they are too focused on end-times charts to notice it. It takes the idea of being “marked” and flips it completely. The world is obsessed with the mark of the beast, but Revelation 7 shows you that the mark that actually matters comes first. Before evil brands anyone, God seals His own. Before deception claims territory, love draws its boundary. Before fear gets a microphone, heaven puts its hand over the earth and says, “These are Mine.”

That idea of sealing did not originate in Revelation. It is rooted deep in Scripture. In Ezekiel 9, God tells a heavenly messenger to go through Jerusalem and place a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve over sin and injustice. Everyone without the mark would face judgment, but those who were marked would be spared. That mark was not visible to the public. It was visible to God. It was a sign of belonging. Revelation 7 is deliberately echoing that moment. History is repeating on a cosmic scale. The same God who marked His faithful in ancient Jerusalem is marking His people before the final shaking of the world.

The Passover story does the same thing. Blood on the doorposts was a seal. It was not about the quality of the house or the goodness of the people inside. It was about the blood. Judgment passed over what was marked. Revelation 7 is Passover on a global scale. The Lamb has already shed His blood, and now God is marking His people with that same covenantal protection.

This is why the mark of the beast in Revelation 13 is so powerful and so dangerous. It is a counterfeit of the seal of God. Satan does not invent new things. He imitates what God does and twists it. The beast marks people with allegiance to a system of fear, control, and self-exaltation. God seals people with allegiance to a Lamb who gave His life. One mark enslaves. The other sets free. One mark binds you to a collapsing world. The other anchors you to an unshakable kingdom.

Revelation 7 tells you something very important about spiritual warfare that modern Christianity often forgets. The battle is not first about what you do. It is about who you belong to. You are not sealed because you behaved well. You are sealed because you were purchased. The blood of the Lamb bought you, and God placed His seal on what He paid for.

This is why the enemy fights so hard against identity. If he can get you to doubt that you belong to God, he can get you to live like you are unprotected. Fear always grows in the soil of forgotten identity. Revelation 7 uproots that fear. It says, “You are known. You are marked. You are kept.”

That multitude in white robes is not just a future crowd. It is the destiny of every believer. Every tear you have cried is on its way to being wiped away. Every hunger for meaning is on its way to being filled. Every exhaustion from surviving in a broken world is on its way to rest. Revelation 7 is God pulling back the curtain to show you the finish line so you do not give up in the middle of the race.

This is why the vision is so gentle. No more scorching heat. No more thirst. No more hunger. No more tears. It is not just about surviving the end. It is about being healed after it. The Lamb who suffered becomes the Shepherd who leads. The One who was slain becomes the One who sustains.

There is something deeply personal about that. God is not outsourcing your care to an angel. The Lamb Himself tends to His people. He leads you to living water. He walks with you out of every tribulation. He does not just save you from judgment. He saves you into relationship.

This chapter also changes how you should view suffering. It does not deny that tribulation is real. It does not minimize pain. But it reframes it. These people did not come from comfort. They came out of great tribulation. Their robes are white not because they avoided suffering, but because they trusted Jesus in the middle of it.

That means your pain is not proof that God has forgotten you. It may be proof that you are being carried through something that will not destroy you. You are not sealed from storms. You are sealed through them.

Revelation 7 is God’s answer to the anxiety of every generation. When the world feels like it is breaking, God is still marking His people. When culture feels hostile, God is still building His family. When fear shouts, heaven is still singing.

The sealed do not panic. They worship.

And that is the secret power of this chapter. It does not tell you how to predict the future. It tells you how to live without fear in the present. If you know who you belong to, you do not have to be terrified by what is coming.

You are not waiting to find out if you are loved.

You are already sealed by it.

You are not hoping the Lamb will notice you.

He already shed His blood for you.

You are not standing because you are strong.

You are standing because heaven itself is holding you.

And that is why Revelation 7 exists. Not to scare you. But to steady you. Not to make you anxious. But to make you unshakeable. Not to focus your eyes on disaster. But to focus them on a Shepherd who will never let you go.

No matter what happens in this world, the seal remains.

No matter how loud fear gets, belonging is louder.

No matter how dark the storm becomes, the Lamb is still your light.

And in the end, you will be standing, in white, with a palm branch in your hand, surrounded by a family so vast it cannot be counted, singing a song so strong that it shakes heaven itself.

Because you were never meant to be lost.

You were meant to be sealed.

Your friend, Douglas Vandergraph

Watch Douglas Vandergraph’s inspiring faith-based videos on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@douglasvandergraph

Support the ministry by buying Douglas a coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/douglasvandergraph

Si vous suivez de près l'actualité de l'intelligence artificielle, vous êtes probablement déjà familier avec Claude Code. Depuis l'automne 2024, Anthropic entraîne ses modèles non seulement à discuter, mais à naviguer et utiliser des ordinateurs à la manière d'un humain. Jusqu'à présent, cette vision s'exprimait principalement via un agent de codage destiné aux développeurs, leur permettant d'automatiser des tâches techniques fastidieuses. Mais dès aujourd'hui, la donne change radicalement. L’entreprise ouvre ces capacités au grand public avec le lancement d'une nouvelle fonctionnalité en prévisualisation baptisée Claude Cowork.

Anthropic présente Cowork comme une méthode simplifiée permettant à n'importe qui (et pas seulement aux ingénieurs informatiques) de collaborer directement avec Claude. Le principe est étonnamment simple et puissant. Une fois que vous accordez au système l'accès à un dossier spécifique sur votre ordinateur, l'IA peut lire, éditer ou créer de nouveaux fichiers en votre nom. C’est une évolution qui transforme cette dernière d'un simple chatbot passif en un véritable agent actif capable d'exécuter des tâches concrètes.

https://youtu.be/WBNZpAWhw5E

Pour illustrer le potentiel de cet outil, l’entreprise américaine met en avant plusieurs cas d'usage quotidiens qui pourraient changer notre façon de travailler. Imaginez demander à Claude de mettre de l'ordre dans votre dossier de téléchargements en renommant intelligemment chaque fichier pour qu'il soit identifiable en un coup d'œil. Plus impressionnant encore, vous pourriez lui soumettre des captures d'écran de factures et lui demander de générer automatiquement un tableur pour le suivi de vos dépenses.

Grâce à un plugin Chrome et au framework Connectors maison, Cowork peut même naviguer sur le web ou interagir avec des applications tierces comme Canva. L'objectif est de fluidifier le travail. Vous n'avez plus besoin de copier-coller du contexte manuellement ou de reformater les réponses de l'IA. De plus, il est possible de mettre des tâches en file d'attente pour que Claude les traite en parallèle, sans attendre qu'il ait terminé une action pour en suggérer une autre.

Naturellement, l'idée de laisser une telle technologie accéder à ses fichiers locaux peut susciter des inquiétudes légitimes. Anthropic se veut rassurant en précisant que Claude ne peut ni lire ni modifier ce qui ne lui a pas été ouvert explicitement. L'entreprise ne cache pourtant pas certains risques. Le système pourrait théoriquement effectuer des actions destructrices, comme la suppression accidentelle d'un fichier important ou une mauvaise interprétation d'une commande. C'est pourquoi il est vivement recommandé de fournir des instructions extrêmement claires et sans ambiguïté. Anthropic avertit également sur les risques d'injection de prompt, soulignant que l'utilisation d'un agent autonome demande plus de vigilance qu'une simple conversation textuelle.

Pour la société, le défi est de taille. Il s'agit de convaincre le grand public de l'utilité de ces agents là où d'autres, comme Copilot de Microsoft, peinent encore à s'imposer malgré des années de présence. Le succès critique de Claude Code auprès des développeurs pourrait toutefois jouer en leur faveur. Pour l'instant, l'accès à Cowork reste un privilège. Il est réservé aux abonnés de la formule onéreuse Claude Max possédant un Mac avec l'application installée. Les autres devront patienter sur une liste d'attente, le temps que cette technologie prometteuse mûrisse.

I felt happy today:

After lunch and numerous long meetings, I made a fresh cup of hot coffee, put some 2Pac on, and started refactoring some unit tests. It’s like sudoku, but I can have my mind wandering or else focus deeply — up to me.

And 2Pac sings about shooting some other gangsters while I drink my coffee and look out through the window at the dark evening sky, and the snow.

The clock isn’t even that much, it all feels absurd.

Why this short moment filled me so with joy, I cannot explain.

It’s not like I don’t have anything to worry about

Who doesn’t?

Each day, I make a sincere effort to journal using two distinct pages. One is a weekly page that allows me to track daily and weekly habits on one side and to reflectively plan for the week on the reverse. The other is dated blank page that provides space for writing down memories, thoughts, feelings, experiences, and initial interpretations of my day. I say initial, because even through the lens of contemplative examination, I want to hold open the possibility that a more nuanced and anchored understanding of the experience might emerge through my ongoing practice and meditation.

When I write, aside from brief corrections when I misfire with my pen, I don’t edit while I’m reflecting. I simply let whatever flows from the pen land on the page and trust that what I have added is essential in some way, and that what I have already forgotten is not something I should worry about.

This is less about making sense of what I have experienced than it is about documenting my experience and providing mile markers that I can use to ponder later, though not forever as rumination is not the same thing as meditation. In fact, I have made a practice of looking over things within the quarter in which I write them, and then I recycle the removable pages from my journal like the temporary art of a sand mandala. Each new quarter brings a chance to be present with what is happening now while gently setting down the work of what has gone before. In my experience, that which is going to resurface over time, simply will if I give space in the silence.

I really enjoy the analog experience of writing with pen and paper, and while I try not to accumulate endless journals or notebooks, I do keep my daily pages separate from my planner, my poetry/prayer journal, and my meeting notes. I prefer the focus that comes with having fewer purposes in one set of pages, though you may want to experiment with the system that works best for you.

Practice:

Here are some tips for beginning your own daily pages journal.

• Decide how many purposes this journal will have, fewer total uses might allow for greater focus.
• Blank pages or bullet pages offer the greatest flexibility for laying out a single day
• You may want to find inserts or a page layout for a habit tracker/weekly look ahead to remind you of your intentions for the week
• Don’t edit or revise while writing. Your thoughts, feelings, experiences, and initial impressions are worthy in their own right.
• Make a plan for what to do with your journal when it is full? Will you save it? For how long? How can you hold these first impressions loosely and allow the Spirit to continue its work in you?
• Don’t panic if you miss a page. There’s a really good chance that you chose the most necessary thing instead. Return to the practice as soon as you can, and with grace and gentleness.