|
THE REVELATION TO JOHN OF JESUS CHRIST
Sources of Commentary: Woodbridge Bible Study Course, The Expositor’s Study
Bible, The Life Application Bible, and The Idiot’s Complete Guide to the Book of
Revelation
8-7-2022 - Preview. Today we begin our study of the Revelation to John of Jesus
Christ.
The Book of Revelation is the supreme book of prophecy in the New Testament. For
centuries it has lit the fires of readers’ imaginations, enriched their minds,
and given optimism to people of God everywhere. The author is the beloved
disciple John, who wrote five New Testament books: The Gospel of John; I, II,
and III John; and of course, The Revelation. John is the only original apostle
that was not killed for his faith. Instead, he was exiled by the Roman
authorities to the island of Patmos. If you have ever read the Gospel of John,
you will notice that he never once mentioned his own name. But in Revelation, in
order that its prophetic message might have the needed apostolic authority as
well as the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he mentions his name repeatedly.
The purpose of the Book is to reveal the full identity of Jesus Christ, to give
hope to believers, and warning to nonbelievers. It was written about 95AD from
the island of Patmos and directed to the seven Churches of Asia in existence at
the time, as well as to all believers everywhere from that time and throughout
the future until the return of Jesus. Most scholars believe that the seven
Churches were experiencing persecution under the Roman Emperor who ruled from
90-95 AD. Part of that persecution was to exile John to Patmos. While he was
there, he had a vision of the glorified Christ. God also revealed to him what is
to take place in the future: the final judgement of mankind and the ultimate
triumph of God over the evil that has overtaken the world He created.
Revelation is written in “apocalyptic” form, which is a type of Jewish
literature like what we saw in Daniel 7-12. This form uses symbolic imagery to
communicate hope from God to those in the midst of persecution. The events are
ordered according to literary patterns rather than strictly chronological
patterns. Revelation is a book of Hope as John shows us that our victorious Lord
Jesus will certainly return to vindicate the righteous and judge the wicked.
It’s also a book of warning showing us that things are not as they should be –
then, now, and in the future. It shows us that Christ calls believers to commit
themselves to live in righteousness.
Although Jesus gave John this revelation of Himself nearly 2,000 years ago, it
still stands as a warning to God’s people today and will continue until it is
carried out to the finish. We today can take heart as we come to understand
John’s vision of hope: Christ will return to rescue His people and settle
accounts with all who defy him.
8-14-2022. Revelation 1:1-3. The Introduction. There are two interwoven themes
in the Book of Revelation: (1) The testimony of Jesus Christ that provides
blessing for those who respond and believe; and (2) recurring emphasis that time
is winding down and the end is near. As we go through the Book this theme will
be repeated with an even greater urgency because Jesus is returning soon.
1:1-2. John confirms that his writings, given to him by God, are the Revelation
of Jesus Christ and not the Revelation of John. You will see some Bibles call
the book the Revelation to John or the Revelation of Jesus Christ. But it should
never be referred to as the Revelation of John. He goes on to say that the
things which he writes will start soon – which they did and will continue to
unfold through the Church age of today and beyond. We see in verse 2 that John
is merely a witness to what he had seen, and his task is to record fairly and
faithfully all that he saw and heard.
1:3. This is a key verse. All who obey these admonitions are promised a
blessing. “The time at hand” means that the revelation begins with the Church
age and continues forever. Everything that is recorded will come true. John is
urging readers to be ready at all times for the last judgement and the
establishment of God’s kingdom on earth. We don’t know when it will occur, but
we must always be prepared as things will happen quickly with no opportunity to
switch sides.
The drama of the events that unfold in Revelation will be spectacular, but if
you are on the winning side, there is nothing to fear. When we think about the
future, we can continue on with confidence because Jesus – who will be the
victor – is always with us.
8-21-2022. Revelation 1:4-8. The Salutation and Theme. Whenever you write a
letter, there is always a beginning that is called the Salutation. Some of you
may remember the structure of letters learned in elementary school. This part of
Revelation is the Salutation – or greeting – to the seven Asian Churches who
were in what we know today as Turkey. The Holy Spirit chose these Churches to
portray the entirety of the Church Age – then and up until the Rapture. This
tells us that the contents of Revelation were intended to people with a basic
knowledge and understanding of Christianity. They either believe in God and
Jesus His Son and are still faithful in their belief, or at some point did
believe but for whatever reason have chosen to walk away from their faith.
1:4. The sanctifying grace and peace John speaks of is only possible because of
what Jesus did for all of us on the Cross. The phrase ‘from the seven spirits
which are before His throne’ speaks of the aspect of the operations of the Holy
Spirit which Isaiah tells us in chapter 11:2. These are the spirits of wisdom,
understanding, council, might, knowledge, and fear of the Lord. All of these
attributes rest in the Messiah – Jesus Christ.
The number sever is used throughout Revelation to symbolize God’s completeness
and perfection which is why it is sometimes called God’s perfect number.
1:5. Notice that Jesus is referred to by John as ‘the faithful Witness, the
first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.’ Faithful
Witness speaks of the earthy life of perfect obedience that Jesus lived in human
form. The First Begotten of the Dead means Jesus is the first to be resurrected
from the dead. We know that there were others that Jesus and the disciples
brought back to life, but they all died again. But Jesus is the only one to be
resurrected never to die again. The ‘Prince of the Kings of the earth’ refers to
Jesus ruling the world which is a key theme of Revelation.
1:6. Because of the Cross, we all are made kings and priests to God our Father.
And as the Redeemer, Jesus deserves the ‘glory and dominion for ever and ever.’
This is the message we are to take to the world. Yet many hesitate to share what
Jesus has done in their lives because they feel it’s not very spectacular. We
qualify as witnesses for Jesus because of what He has done for us, not because
of what we have done for Him. Some of the things He has done for us? Showed His
love by setting us free from our sins through His death on the Cross,
guaranteeing us a place in His kingdom, and making us priests to administer
God’s love to others. The fact that an eternal, powerful God has offered life to
us is nothing short of spectacular!
1:7. The Second Coming is the major theme of Revelation. Here we see that Jesus’
return will be visible and glorious. All people on earth at the time will see
Him arrive (which is also told in Mark 13:26) and they will know it is Jesus.
How they will see Him around the world, we don’t know but God will make it
happen somehow. ‘Those who pierced Him’ could refer to the Roman soldiers who
crucified Him or to the Jews who were responsible for His death. Remember that
John was a witness to this event, and he never forgot what he saw that day.
‘Wailing’ will take place because the judgement Christ will bring to the world
for its sin.
1:8. Here we see Jesus calling Himself the Alpha and Omega, translated to A to
Z, the first and last; and the beginning and the end; all meaning that He is the
eternal Lord and Ruler of the past, present, and future. The word ‘almighty’
guarantees that He will be able to accomplish all that He says He will. Without
Jesus we have nothing that is eternal, nothing that can change our life, nothing
that can save us from sin. Each one of us must make sure that He is our ‘first
and last’ and honor the One who is the beginning and the end of all existence.
8-28-2022. Revelation 1:9-20. John’s Vision
1:9. As we read this Book, remember that John was suffering just as all of us
do. He could relate to the intense persecution of the Churches at that time and
to all who would eventually read his words in the future. John had come to terms
with his exile in Patmos and was allowing the Holy Spirit to completely control
his life. His patient endurance was about to be rewarded. We should all follow
John’s example in our relationships with other Christians; showing empathy for
their suffering, encourage them to be strong in their faith and remind them of
their future reward with God.
1:10. John heard Jesus before he saw Him. A voice behind John sounded like a
trumpet.
1:11-12. When he turned around to see what was going on, he saw a magnificent
figure standing amid seven golden lampstands – candle sticks – holding seven
stars. Both the lampstands and stars signified the seven Churches which He named
and directed John to write all that he was about to see in a book. We know this
was Jesus because He identified Himself as the Alpha and Omega.
1:13-16. John got more than a glimpse of his Lord. He recognized Him as the Son
of Man in the middle of the seven candlesticks which tells us that Jesus is the
Head of the Church and no matter what they face, Jesus stands among them with
reassuring love and power. He was dressed in a robe with a golden sash that
signifys His deity and His position of High Priest who goes into God’s presence
to plead forgiveness for all who believe in Him; His hair white as snow
indicates He is the everlasting God with majesty and authority; and His eyes
like blazing fire, show His penetrating scrutiny and fierce judgment; His feet
like superheated bronze, indicate His humanity but also that He is superhuman;
His voice sounded like many waters, telling us He speaks with divine authority
and power; He was holding seven stars in His right hand which represents the
pastors of the seven Churches; from His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword,
shows He judges by the Word of God; and He was so brilliant it could only be
compared to the sun, which presents Him as He really is His glorified form.
1:17-18. John was as close to Jesus as anyone during His earthly ministry and
saw Him in His glorified form at the Transfiguration; yet when he saw Jesus this
time, he fell at His feet as dead. In other words, John thought he was going to
die. But we see Jesus telling John not to be afraid because He is the First and
the Last; meaning He alone is God, the Absolute Lord of history and the Creator.
Jesus also tells him that He is He Who Lives, meaning He will never die again,
and He has life in Himself; He is the fountain and Source of life to others; and
the one who has immortality. Jesus also tells John He is alive forevermore
meaning He will never die again and because of Him death is totally defeated;
and that He has the keys of Hell and of death, meaning He alone determines who
will enter death and Hell and who will not. Remember the power that John
witnessed is available to all who believe in Jesus Christ.
1:19. Jesus then instructs John to write about the three things, showing us
Revelation is broken into three parts: (1) The vision of Jesus in the midst of
the Candlesticks, (2) the things which are – concerning the Churches (3) and the
things which shall be hereafter which are the events after the Rapture of the
Church and include the Great Tribulation, the Second Coming, and eternity.
1:20. We see Jesus explain the mystery of the Seven Stars in His right hand and
the Seven Candlesticks. The candle sticks are the Churches and represent the
entirety of the Church Age; and the stars are the Pastors or leaders who belong
to Christ and are accountable to God for the Churches they lead.
9-4-2022. Revelation 2:1-7 Letter to Ephesus. Today we start to look at the
letters to the seven Churches and we will see that God really does pay attention
to all Churches and cares very much about them. This shows Jesus cares about
this little Church as well and as fellow believers, we must all serve God and do
our best to change the world by sharing His word. We will see is how Jesus
graded the Churches. There are a variety of Churches around today which provide
people the ability to find one that suits their needs. But we have to be careful
because many Churches seem to operate with a mission to keep the customer
satisfied rather than preaching the Word of God. If that’s their approach,
they’re in deep trouble. The early Churches also provided variety, but not all
of it was good. The initial portion of Revelation is a frank and enlightening
performance review by Jesus of the Churches. His comments to each follow the
same general outline: The identity of the Church, Jesus’ description that was
relevant to the Church, a review of the Church’s strengths, a review of the
aspects of the Church that need improvement, a challenge to hear and respond to
His critique, and a promise to those who are faithful. First up is Ephesus,
which had the highest profile of the day. Ephesus was a major seaport and where
Paul spent several years personally ministering to them. It’s first pastor was
Timothy and was put there because of Paul, who has since passed away, yet the
Church is still alive with a new generation of leaders.
2:1-3. Starts with a reminder that Jesus is the head of the Church. Jesus
recognizes their labor, patience, and distain for all things evil, and the
strength of their doctrinal belief which allowed them to identify and remove the
liars among them. And, they had a course of action set and stuck to it with
patience even when the things weren’t going well. They continued to work hard
and never quit.
2:4-5. Despite their hard work and enthusiasm, they left their first love
behind. Jesus is said they didn’t lose it but left it on their own terms. He is
referring to their departure from the Cross, which is so serious it will lead
the Church to ruin unless they repent immediately and change their ways. Jesus
tells them they have fallen from grace – meaning they stopped depending on
Christ and the Cross. They are told that they had to repent and do the ‘first
works’ – go back to the Cross – or they will be removed from the light. Christ
is the source of the light, but the Cross is the means. The Church at Ephesus
had to come back to the Cross or be removed from the light. When we lose sight
of the seriousness of sin, we lose the thrill of our forgiveness, knowledge, and
enthusiasm for Jesus our Savior which are required to keep our love for God
intense and untarnished. If Jesus to removes the lampstand it means the Church
is no longer effective and no longer able to give light to the community it
serves. Jesus warned them that He would extinguish their light if they didn’t
repent for their sins. Repent means to recognize failures, show remorse and ask
for forgiveness of sins.
2:6. We see Jesus giving them credit for sharing His hatred of the Nicolaitans
who were a group of preachers that exploited the people with a false doctrine
instead of spiritually developing them. They gave them permission to enjoy some
of the sinful, immoral practices of the Ephesian society of the day. Notice
Jesus was commending them for hating sin but not the sinners. All this applies
to us today. We are to accept and love all people but refuse to tolerate any
sinful practices. We are tolerant when we don’t agree or applaud what they do,
but we love and welcome them.
2:7. The Church must come back to the Cross. Christians can only overcome sin by
placing their faith exclusively in Christ and the Cross, which will give the
Holy Spirit the latitude to work in each heart and mind. We also see that God
put two unique trees in the Garden of Eden: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil. We know what happened when Adam and Eve ate of the
Tree of Good and Evil: they disobeyed God’s command and chose their own path
that removed them from the Garden of Eden and prevented them from eating of the
Tree of Life. Eventually evil will be destroyed and all believers will be
returned to a restored paradise where everyone will eat from the Tree of Life
and live forever.
We face a culture of widespread sin and immorality. A lot of Churches refuse to
preach the Cross because parishioners don’t want to hear about the blood that
was shed to forgive sins. All this compromises the Church’s message and its
standing with God. Only God’s Word can be used to set the standards for what is
right and wrong – not popular opinions of parishioners.
9-11-2022. Revelation 2:8-11 Letter to Smyrna. Smyrna was another seaport, found
on the Aegean Sea. Ephesus, 25 miles to the south, was on the decline due to
increasing silt making boat passage too difficult. Smyrna was growing in
popularity as a favorite trade route. The city was also known for its prominence
in science, medicine, and majestic architecture. The society was politically
motivated, eager to establish ties with Rom, and had erected a temple to the
emperor Tiberius in 25 AD. In contrast, the Church members were both poor and
persecuted. The Greek word used to describe their financial condition is
translated to “extreme poverty.” There were two hostile forces against them: A
Jewish population strongly opposed to Christianity, and a non-Jewish population
loyal to Rome who supported emperor worship. Compared to the grandeur of the
city around them, they must have seemed and felt like losers. Yet Jesus’ message
was one of confidence and tremendous hope. Notice that He didn’t have a single
negative thing to say about them.
2:8. We see that John is making it clear that what he is writing is from Jesus
shown by the reference to the First and Last and the one who died on the Cross
but rose to live again forever and ever. This was an extremely significant
reminder for a group of people who might have been feeling half-dead themselves.
Just as Jesus had suffered persecution from satan, from those outside the
religious community, and even from some of those who called themselves religious
leaders, so would the people of the Smyrna Church. But because Jesus is alive
and lives forever, He can help them through all trials and affliction.
2:9. Even though Smyrna was a poor Church, Jesus called them spiritually rich.
He speaks to them in a very sympathetic tone with great understanding. We learn
that God doesn’t consider Jews who reject Jesus as Messiah to be truly Jews.
Instead, they are members of the synagogue of satan.
2:10. As all Churches under Roman rule, Smyrna was suffering persecution. Some
were thrown in prison, and some were killed for their faith. Jesus is telling
them they shouldn’t be afraid. He promised them a crown of life for their
faithfulness. Only the love of Jesus can remove fear that all Christians will
face in life because of what they have to look forward to when Jesus returns.
2:11. Jesus is reminding them that Churches will suffer but they are to remain
steadfast in their faith and they will not be thrown into the lake of fire when
Jesus pronounces judgment at the second coming.
If the Church was hoping to hear that things were going to get better, they may
have been disappointed. With all that they had endured, this letter is a
forewarning to Churches today to prepare for their situation to get even worse.
They were challenged by Jesus to be faithful even to the point of death. Simply
for believing something different from the people around them, they were going
to go through awful times in terms of money, success, and security; but they
would be rewarded with a crown of life. There is historical evidence about this
warning sent to the Church. An early bishop of the Church was an outspoken
Christian named Polycarp. He had been a disciple of John and bishop of the
Church at Smyrna. An angry mob accused him of destroying their gods because he
taught Christians not to sacrifice to or worship Roman deities. Because he was
an old man, he was given an opportunity to denounce Christ and be released. When
he refused to do so, he was burned at the stake in 155 or 156 AD. The warnings
to this Church have relevance even today. Christians will be persecuted for
their faith and persecution will get stronger and more violent as the return of
Christ gets closer. But we are not to lose faith or hope in the promises of God.
Steadfast faith will be rewarded and there will come a time when we see our Lord
face to face and receive the rewards for keeping our faith strong.
9-18-2022. Revelation 2:12-17 Letter to Pergamos. The third of the seven letters
is to the Church at Pergamos, which means citadel. This city was on a hill that
was about 1,000 feet above the surrounding country, giving it a sweeping view of
the surrounding area and created a natural fortress. It was a sophisticated
center of Greek culture and education; with a 2,000-volume library almost as
extensive as the one in Alexandria, and it is where parchment was invented. The
city had been a capital of Asia until the Romans arrived and quickly shifted the
loyalties of the citizens, who were the first to construct a temple devoted to
the worship of Cesar. The original temple was dedicated to Cesar in 29 BC.
Pergamos was also the center of four cults – Zeus, Dionysus, Asclepius, and
Athena - and rivaled Ephesus in its worship of idols. The chief god was
Asclepius, whose symbol was a serpent and was considered the god of healing.
People from all over the world came to Pergamos to get healing from this god.
2:12. The opening of the letter shows Jesus with a sharp two-edged sword in His
mouth. Just as the Romans used their swords for authority and judgment, Jesus is
shown with a sword in His mouth which represents God’s ultimate authority and
judgment using the word of God, as well as His future separation of believers
from unbelievers. Unbelievers will give up the eternal rewards of living in
God’s eternal kingdom.
2:13. Pergamos was called the city “where satan has his throne” by Jesus yet He
commended them for not denying their faith in Him even though they are
surrounded by a culture that worships satan and considered the Roman emperor a
god. He refers to one of their members, Antipas, who was killed for not giving
up his faith and recognizes their faithfulness in spite of the persecution they
face.
2:14-15. Even so, He is not happy with them calling out their adherence to the
doctrine of false prophets, specifically calling out the Nicolaitans, first
mentioned in the Letter to the Church at Ephesus, and also Balaam. Balaam, an
early prophet, was commissioned by the Moab King Balak to curse the Israelites
on their way from Egypt to the Promised Land. But God had other plans as Balaam
couldn’t get his donkey to take him where he wanted to go because the donkey saw
an armed angel standing in the middle of the road. After several beatings, the
donkey spoke to Balaam causing him to bless the Israelites a number of times
rather than curse them. But later, he changed his approach where he suggested
that Moabite women seduce Israelite men. That plan worked until God sent a
plague through the camp that killed 24,000 people causing Balaam to eventually
be killed for instigating this plan. This story is contained in the book of
Numbers and since it is used in Jesus’ letter to Pergamon, members of the Church
were still being influenced by these doctrines. Their spiritual condition
desperately needed the personal attention of Jesus. The message is to be careful
how they live – and it applies to Christians today. While we may not “worship
idols and false gods” in the traditional sense, we may participate in greed,
sexual sin, cheating, gossiping, and lying. We are not to tolerate nor
participate in sin by bowing to the pressure to be open-minded about what those
around us are doing.
2:16. This reiterates the warning that if Christians don’t confess and give up
sinful behaviors, we will be judged by the sword out of the mouth of Jesus. In
other words, He won’t be happy with us, and we will be dealt with accordingly.
2:17. Hidden manna suggests the spiritual nourishment that faithful believers
will receive. We don’t know what the white stones are or exactly what the name
on each one will be. But when considered in relation to the hidden manna, they
may be symbols of the believers’ eternal nourishment or the security of eternal
life. They are significant because they will each have the new name of a person
who truly believes in Christ. They will prove that a person has been accepted by
God and declared worthy to receive eternal life. A person’s name represents his
character. This is something that we pay attention to because it will confirm
that we have a new heart with no desire to sin or rebel against God.
9-25-2022. Revelation 2:18-29 Letter to Thyatira. Thyatira was a small town in
what we know today as western Turkey. In contrast to the past three Churches,
the Church at Thyatira was located in a small insignificant town of working
people. Still, while being significantly smaller, the town was known for its
trade guilds, many of which sold cloth colored from a special purple dye
manufactured there. One prominent tradeswoman named Lydia is talked about in
Acts 16:14-15 where we learn she was converted by Paul in Philippi. Paying close
attention to what Paul preached resulted in her heart being opened to the Word
of God and to Jesus. She was known to be the first European Christian convert.
Lydia and her family were baptized, and she opened her home to all who loved
Christ thereby establishing the first Christian Church on European soil. The
Thyatiran Church was not only one of the seven singled out in Revelation, it
also received the longest letter. Jesus praised it for deeds, love, faith,
service, and perseverance, yet these attributes are not the focal point of the
letter. Much more was said about the faults of the Church rather than its strong
points.
2:18. Jesus is described with eyes like fire and feet like fine brass which
present Him in the role of judgement because He sees the Church moving into idol
worship.
2:19. Jesus commended them for their charity, service, faith, patience, and good
works but He was disappointed because they were putting more stock in their good
works instead of Christ and the Cross. It’s the faith and belief in Christ and
the Cross that make Christians stand apart from the things of the world.
2:20-21. Jesus brings up Jezebel comparing this Church’s behavior to the evil
queen. We first learn about her evil corrupting influence on Israel in the Old
Testament book of I Kings. Her ability to influence people made her like Balaam,
whom we talked about when looking at the letter to Pergamos. But unlike Balaam,
an outsider paid to oppose Israel, Jezebel was queen married to King Ahab who
was supposed to be responsible for the welfare of the nation including
accountability his before God. There was a woman who became prominent in the
Thyatiran Church and was corrupting the congregation by promoting idol worship
and sexual immorality. Sex outside of marriage always hurts someone. It hurts
God because it shows that we prefer to satisfy our desires on our own instead of
according to His Word. It hurts others because it violates the commitment
necessary to a relationship; and it hurts us because our sin always separates us
from God. It destroys families, Churches, and communities because it undermines
integrity and trust, which is so vital to relationships. Like the Old Testament
queen Jezebel, this woman was unwilling to change her ways and turn away from
sin choosing to continue to corrupt the Church. The same corruption is
continuing today.
2:22-23. The consequence of the continued sin is described in verse 22. The bed
refers to false teachers who taught salvation by works, which in this case was
spiritual adultery. The children of these sinners will also suffer spiritual
death, and all will be judged by Jesus according to their works.
2:24-25. The message of Jesus to this Church and all Churches everywhere –
including present day – is to quit tolerating blatantly false teachings.
Christians must disassociate from anything that leads people from the truth of
Jesus Christ. We must hold tightly to the basics of our Christian faith and view
with extreme caution any teaching that turns us away from the teaching of the
Bible, the fellowship of the Church, or our basic confession of faith.
2:26-27. Christ says Christians are to keep to His works – meaning the work He
did on the Cross for all sinners – and not to our own works. He also promised
that those who remain faithful until the end and continue to please God will
rule over His enemies and reign with Him as He judges evil. This amazing promise
gives us good reason to remain steadfast in our faith. If you feel unfairly
treated or unjustly viewed because of your strong faith, remember one day the
victory will be ours.
2:28-29. We see a reference to the Morning Star which Jesus is often called. A
morning star appears just before dawn when the night is coldest and darkest. At
the world’s bleakest point Jesus will burst onto the scene, exposing evil with
His light of truth and will bring His promised reward of eternal life to those
who believe in Him. The message is that the coming Kingdom Age will be glorious
beyond compare. Jesus ends with a message to all Churches -- past, present, and
future -- that to leave Christ and the Cross is to commit spiritual adultery
which will result in spiritual death.
10-2-2022. Revelation 3:1-6. Letter to the Church at Sardis. Unless you’ve read
Revelation before, you probably never heard of Sardis. When this letter was
written it was a capital city in the area of Lydia and known for its riches.
Aesop told his fables in this area, and it was among the first places where gold
and silver coins were minted. It had a king named Croesus who wasn’t known for
his tact or humility. He thought his city was invincible and took it upon
himself to attack the Persian empire at the height of its power. Needless to
say, it didn’t take long for the city to be captured. It was captured by the
Greeks, then the Romans, and then the Turks. In 17 AD the city was leveled by an
earthquake, and it was never able to recover. Today it’s known only as a small
village called Start. Like Ephesus, it had a large temple devoted to Artemis,
the Greek goddess of the hunt. Her Roman counterpart was Diana. Archaeologists
have discovered ruins of this temple and right beside it found ruins of a
Christian Church. At the time of the writing of the letter, the Church was in a
spiritual slump. It had a good reputation but stopped growing, reaching a point
where it would either need some serious attention or disappear. The Church
continued in a small form and about 1500 AD became known as the “Reformation
Church” which continues today.
3:1. The sever Spirits of God’ refers to the Holy Spirit in all His fullness and
capacity and the seven stars refers to the pastors of the seven Churches. Jesus
tells them He knows of their works but when He writes ‘you have a name that you
live.’ He is telling them they have a reputation of being alive, but tells them
they are dead.
3:2-3. He is telling them to look at their actual condition and fix their
problems. Their problem was they had gotten away from preaching the Cross; their
works were based on a dead faith and unless they got back to the Cross and
changed their ways, they would die. This was a wakeup call for the Church to
return to the roots of its faith or they would be judged harshly and left
behind.
3:4-5. Speaks of a few people who still believed and taught the Cross that Jesus
judged as worthy to walk with Him. And anyone who overcomes their backsliding
and comes back to Him, can have their names restored to the Book of Life and
judged blameless before God. An interesting point to take note of here: many
think that once they accept Christ, they can never lose their salvation or place
in Heaven. However, Jesus himself tells us that names can be removed from the
Book of Life.
3:6. This letter is reinforcing the fact that without complete faith in the
spotless sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, eternal life will not be available. It
must be a true and complete faith.
10-9-2022. Revelation 3:7-13 Letter to the Church at Philadelphia. The city was
originally founded by citizens of Pergamum and built in Asia Minor. They kept
out barbarians and brought in Greek culture and language. They had a king named
Attalus II Philadelphus, known for naming the city after his brother Eumenes
whom he truly loved; hence the name Philadelphia that means the “city of
brotherly love.” This city was built on a hill that made it easy to defend, but
the hill was right above the fault line of the earthquake that destroyed Sardis
in 17 AD, and ruined Philadelphia as well. In addition, 20 years of aftershocks
kept interfering with the rebuilding efforts as the people were afraid so most
lived outside the city. Their vineyards did well, however, so the area became a
center of worship for the god Dionysius, the god of the wine, orchards, fruit,
vegetation, fertility, festivity, and theater in ancient Greek religion and
myth. He is also known as Bacchus, who is celebrated on Fat Tuesday at the close
of Mardi Gras each year in New Orleans. Even though the city was on unstable
ground, the Church remained solid. While the Church at Sardis had appeared alive
but was dead, the Philadelphians were very much alive in spite of everything
they had been through. They stood firm for what they believed and kept at it
even though they had little stamina left from having the wind knocked out of
them so often. And notice there is no criticism from Jesus in this letter.
3:7-8. The ‘key of David’ represents Jesus’ authority to open the door into His
future kingdom. After the door is opened, no one can close it and salvation is
assured. Once it’s closed, no one can open it and judgment is certain.
3:9. Refers to the coming Kingdom Age when Christ will rule personally over the
entire earth with Israel having been restored. Israel will then bow at the feet
of Jesus, whom Gentiles have already accepted.
3:10. Scholars are divided about the meaning of this verse. Some say that ‘I
will also keep you from the hour of trial’ means that in a future time of Great
Tribulation true believers will be spared. Other say it means that the Church
will go through a time of Great Tribulation and God will keep them strong in the
midst of it. Still others believe this refers to times of great distress in
general, and the Church’s suffering through the ages. We can’t absolutely know
from this verse if, when, or for how long Christians will experience ‘the hour
of trial.’ What we do know is that today millions of Christians throughout the
world are dying at the hands of godless tyrants. To them, the time of testing
has already begun. That said, whenever Christians suffer, Jesus has promised
eternal protection for them as He said previously in Luke 21:17-19.
3:11. ‘Behold I come quickly’ is a reference to the Rapture. ‘…hold fast to what
you have’ is telling us that each Christian has their own special gifts,
abilities, experience, and maturity. God doesn’t expect us all to be and act the
same, but He does expect all of us to hold on to what we have and to persevere
and always work to use our resources for Him. The Church at Philadelphia was
commended for their efforts to obey and they were encouraged to hold tightly to
whatever spiritual strength they had. The message to us today is to use whatever
we have to live for Christ, and we will commend us for our efforts and our work.
3:12. Those who ‘overcome’ are those who trust explicitly in Jesus and what He
did on the Cross, despite pressure to abandon our faith and beliefs. The new
Jerusalem is the place where all God’s people will live in the Kingdom headed by
Jesus following the second coming. Christians can look forward to that time
where everything will be new, pure, and secure.
3:13. Once again the Spirit is saying all Christians must keep their faith in
Jesus and His work done on the Cross strong and remain ready for when we are
called to Him either by death or by the Rapture.
10-16-2022. Revelation 3:14-22. Letter to the Church at Laodicea. This Church is
known as the Apostate Church. Apostates are those who leave behind their true
faith. In this letter the Church isn’t seen as the best place for worship or
ministry. While the city itself was in good shape, the Church wasn’t. The
earthquakes that hit some of the other cities also hit Laodicea with equal
severity, but the city had the capital to recover without any help from the
Romans. This city was a big provider of wool used for carpets and coats. It was
located on a major Asian trade route and was a noted banking center. It had a
medical school and became famous for producing a medical eye salve. The citizens
didn’t have to depend on anyone else for their livelihood, and it was the
wealthiest of the seven Churches. The city always had a problem with its water
supply. At one time an aqueduct was built to bring water from hot springs, but
by the time the water reached the city, it was only lukewarm. The Church had
stopped depending on Jesus for their spiritual needs. While it wasn’t a cold
Church, it simply wasn’t hot. In an interesting statement Jesus expressed that
He would have preferred their being cold to their being lukewarm. As such He
couldn’t condone a witness who was only half faithful and half true.
3:14. The reference to the Amen, the faithful, and true witness are those who
remain faithful to God the creator and to Jesus and what He did on the Cross.
3:15-16. Like the water brought from the aqueduct, the Church had become
lukewarm in faith which was distasteful and repugnant to Jesus. These believers
didn’t take a stand for anything, instead their apathy and indifference caused
the Church to become hard-hearted and self-satisfied. God won’t use an apathetic
or self-sufficient nominal Christian. We can’t settle for following God halfway.
The result will be the same as what Jesus said of the Laodicean Church: I will
spue you out of my mouth.
3:17. The Church equated the increase of material goods with spiritual blessing
which is false. Wealth, luxury, and ease can make people feel confident,
satisfied, and complacent but no matter how much you possess or how much money
you make, you have nothing if you don’t have a vital relationship with Jesus.
Wealth cannot be allowed to affect spiritual desire.
3:18. We see how Jesus is telling them they are to buy their gold – their real
spiritual treasure – from Him. Despite their thriving cloth and dyeing
industries, He told them to buy their white clothes – His righteousness -- from
Him. And to buy ointment for their eyes so they could see the truth in Him. His
message to them – and to believers today -- is that true value is not in
material possessions but in a right relationship with God. Their possessions and
achievements were valueless compared with the everlasting future of Christ’s
kingdom.
3:19. Here is the warning to the Church. God will discipline this lukewarm
Church – and similar Churches today – for their indifference toward Him. The
purpose of this discipline is not to punish but to bring the believers back to
Him. God may discipline all of us to snap us out of our spiritual apathy, but
it’s His love that moves Him to such actions. The way to avoid this kind of
discipline is to stay close to Him through confession of sins, service, worship,
and studying His Word. Apathy fades when God is allowed to work in the hearts of
believers.
3:20. Jesus knocks at the door of our hearts because He wants to save us and
have fellowship with us. He patiently and persistently waits to get through to
us – not by breaking and entering - but by knocking. He allows us to decide
whether to open our lives to Him and welcome Him in.
3:21. To all who overcome the sins of this world, the reward is the right to sit
with Jesus on His throne. But that only comes by making the Cross the object of
our faith. We can be co-equal with Jesus by accepting His gift of salvation
through the Cross.
3:22. Here we see the same closing message to all the Churches – and to
believers everywhere – where Jesus is urging believers to listen and understand
what had been written to them.
Each Church had a message addressed to them personally, but each letter
contained warnings and principles that apply to all Christian Churches
throughout all time, and to all believers until the time when Jesus returns to
establish His earthly Kingdom. All Christians everywhere must examine their
hearts and their faith to ensure that they are truly reflecting the love of
Jesus and the principles that God expects us all to live by.
10-23-2022. Revelation 4:1-5. The Throne. After John has sent the letters from
Jesus to the Churches, we see in chapters 4 and 5 what he was shown of Heaven.
Chapters 4 and 5 record glimpses into the glory of Christ. Here we also see God
sitting on the throne and how He orchestrates all the events that John will
record next. The world is not spinning out of control; the God of creation will
carry out His plan as Christ initiates the final battle with the forces of evil.
John shows us Heaven before he shows us what is happening on earth so we won’t
be afraid of future earthly events. As he begins his description in verse 1,
scholars suggest that what he is seeing will occur after the Rapture of the
Church. Adding to this understanding is that we will see in the next several
chapters how the Church is no longer shown to be on earth, because it will be in
the presence of God.
4:1. As the door opened into Heaven giving John the ability to see what was
happening in Heaven, the voice he hears of that of Jesus Christ sounding like a
trumpet as previously described in chapter 1, verses 10 and 11. Jesus is
inviting him to see what was going to happen after the Rapture of the Church.
4:2. This is the second of four times John describes himself as “in the spirit.”
It means the Holy Spirit is giving him a vision – showing him situations and
events he could not have seen with human eyesight. He sees God on His Throne.
4:3. What John sees is beyond description. Charles Woodbridge says this about
how John sees God: “The Lord God omnipotent is seated on the throne. God is
light. His transcendent, ineffable overwhelming effulgence is suggested in the
descriptive words of Rev 4:3.” In other words, what John has seen goes beyond
the ordinary limits of the human ability to describe. So, John describes God in
terms of his surroundings, leaning heavily on images of precious metals and
stones. He uses the jasper and sardine stones, a rainbow, and an emerald. We are
familiar with jasper as the component of much of the petrified wood found in the
southwest. But, while that form is mostly earth-toned (yellow, brown, red, and
green), John describes jasper as “clear as crystal in Rev 21:11. The sardine
stone, also translated as carnelian or ruby is usually red or brownish red,
getting its color from iron oxide. Interesting that the throne is surrounded by
a rainbow. The rainbow was given by God after the flood as His promise that He
would never again destroy the world with water. The rainbow resembling an
emerald could mean the colors of the rainbow were mostly green.
4:4. The 24 elders seen are likely the 12 tribes of Israel and 12 apostles in
the New Testament who represent all the redeemed of God for all time -- before
and after the death and resurrection of Jesus. They could also refer to the 24
groups of Israelite priests who took turns serving in the temple. The white
clothes represent the righteousness of Jesus and their crowns of gold signify
their authority. The Messiah has established His people to be “a kingdom of
priests” and the elders symbolize all those – both Jew and Gentile – who are now
part of God’s family. The 24 elders show us that all the redeemed of the Lord
are worshiping Him.
4:5. In Revelation and throughout the Bible, lightning and thunder are connected
with significant events in Heaven. These images reflect God’s power and majesty.
They remind us of the lightning and thunder at Mount Sinai when God gave the
people His laws. The “seven spirits of God” is another name for the Holy Spirit
and speaks of its totality and universality. The seven lamps burning before the
throne are equated with the one spirit with seven being equal to perfection.
10-30-2022. Revelation 4:6-11 Living Creatures and Heavenly Worship. Last week
we saw a glimpse of the throne of God and learned about the 24 elders sitting
around the throne of God. Today we get to see more about what is around God’s
throne. Keep in mind that Revelation contains a lot of symbolism because John’s
human mind wasn’t equipped to fully describe what he was being shown so he put
it in terms that humans could better understand. 4:6-7. We learn there is a sea
of glass like crystal which presents that which is perfectly transparent.
Crystal clear glass was virtually impossible to find in New Testament times so
the sea of glass highlights both the magnificence and holiness of God. The four
living creatures represent the character qualities of God. They weren’t real
animals but like the cherubim, which is a high-ranking order of angels, they
guard God’s throne, lead others in worship, and proclaim God’s holiness. God’s
attributes that are symbolized in the animal-like appearance of these four
creatures are: majesty and power (the lion), faithfulness (the ox), intelligence
(the human), and sovereignty (the eagle). We ae told they are constantly around
the Throne of God. The prophet Ezekiel saw four similar creatures in one of his
visions found in Ezekiel 1:5-10.
4:8. These creatures had wings and were covered in eyes which signify their
innermost nature and being. Because they never rest tells us they were spirits
and not flesh and blood. They constantly call attention to God with their
repetition of Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to
come. These creatures are unique and also everlasting.
4:9-10. This is a lesson on worship. John describes these scenes in great detail
because Christians in the first century (and today) came from may backgrounds.
Not all of them understood Jewish history or knew the glory of the temple. John
shows us where, why, and how to praise God. Worship takes our minds off our
problems and focuses them on God. Worship leads us from individual meditation to
being part of a community praising and honoring God, focusing on His love and
His character. This is why it’s important to attend Church. Worship causes us to
consider and appreciate God’s character and it lifts our perspective from the
earthly to the Heavenly.
4:11. Here we see the hymn of praise that sums up the entire scent. All
creatures in Heaven and earth will praise and honor God because He is the
Creator and Sustainer of everything. No other king or ruler could make such a
claim.
11-6-2022. Revelation 5:1-7 The Sealed Book and the Lion and the Lamb Revelation
5 continues the glimpse into Heaven with John seeing a vision of God holding a
scroll containing all that would happen to the world. Until around the second
century, essentially any reference to a “book” was actually a scroll. The
material used could be leather, parchment, or papyrus that was glued or sewn
together to provide sufficient length for the writer. The finished product was
rolled around a rod so the writing, which was in columns, could be read as the
manuscript was unrolled.
5:1. Shows us that God is in complete control, the only one with authority over
all rulers, historical events, and hostile forces. The scroll contains a full
account of what God has in store for the world as will be revealed in the rest
of Revelation. The seven seals indicate the importance of its contents, located
throughout the scroll so that as each one is broken, more of the scroll can be
unrolled to reveal another phase of God’s plan for the end of the world.
5:2. A strong angel was asking God who was worthy to remove the seals and read
the scroll. The strong angel could be Gabriel, whose name means “strong man of
God.”
5:3-4. When no answer was immediately offered as to who could remove the seals,
John cried. Perhaps, with all that he had been permitted to see, he felt sad
that no one was stepping forward who could open the scroll. But his crying
didn’t last for long.
5:5. One of the elders came over to John to reassure him that the “Lion of the
tribe of Judah” -- which is a symbol of highest honor -- would be the one to
open the scroll. Jesus is the Lion, the one worthy to break the seals and open
the scroll because He lives a perfect life of obedience to God, dying on the
Cross for the sins of the world, and rising from the dead to show His power and
authority over evil and death. Only He has conquered sin and satan so only He
can be trusted with the world’s future. “The Root of David” refers to the human
Jesus being from David’s family line, which fulfilled the promise of the Messiah
in the Old Testament.
5:6. John doesn’t see a Lion but rather a Lamb looking like it had been slain,
like the wounds experienced by Jesus on the Cross. Even though Jesus became our
sacrificial lamb, He will never be weak. He chose to be killed but now He has
God’s full strength and power. The seven horns symbolize total power. The eyes
represent total, perfect, pure, and complete illumination of all things
spiritual which make it possible for us to be drawn away from evil and false
doctrines.
5:7. Only Jesus has the credentials and authority to take the scroll from God
and open it. Those who trust in God’s power and love don’t need to fear the
future. We will never know enough to predict what will happen or to manipulate
God in any way, but we can trust Him with the outcome. If you follow Jesus, you
can rejoice that God knows you and loves you. Trust Him to guide you and protect
you forever.
11-13-2022. Revelation 5:8-14 Worship.
5:8. John shows us that after Jesus had taken the sealed book, the elders and
the four living creatures fell down before the Lamb and worshiped Him. Each one
had a harp, and were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers
of God’s people showing us that all the prayers that have ever come up before
God for things to be rectified are about to be answered.
5:9-10. We see that they also sang a song to Jesus telling Him that He is worthy
to take the book and open its seals. It is His death on the Cross that makes Him
worthy which also reminds us that salvation is made secure by the death of
Christ and applies to all people of the earth. Jesus can now gather all
believers into His kingdom to be made priests so they can have direct access to
God and participate in his work. In the future, believers will reign with Him.
5:11. Angels are spiritual beings created by God to help carry out His work on
earth. They bring messages, protect God’s people, offer encouragement, give
guidance, bring punishment, patrol the earth, and fight evil forces. There are
good and bad angels. The bad are aligned with satan and have less power than the
good ones and the bad ones will eventually pay the price for siding with satan.
John is showing all of the angels he saw around the Throne. There were so many
that they couldn’t be counted.
5:12-13. The angels are also saying that the Lamb is worthy to receive power,
riches, and wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessings. Because of our faith
in Him, we will receive all this as well. What Jesus did on the Cross guarantees
the defeat of satan and all his dark angels which will ultimately cleanse Heaven
and Earth forever.
5:14. John sees the elders and the four beasts falling down to worship Jesus.
This scene shows that every creature in Heaven, on the earth, and under the
earth will began to sing loud praises to Jesus, the Lamb solidifying that only
the Lamb, Jesus Christ is worthy to open the book. He holds the future, not
satan. Jesus maintains control and only He has the authority to set into motion
the events of the last days. We can be confident knowing we are in His hands.
11-20-2022. Revelation 6:1-4 The First and Second Seals. We know the scroll had
a total of seven seals. Here we see the first two of what will be a total of 4
using horses as symbols of what is to come.
6:1. We know that the Lamb is Jesus Christ. The opening of the seals will follow
the Rapture of the Church, but we aren’t told exactly how long after the Rapture
the Great Tribulation will begin. One of the four beasts, or living creatures
tells John with a voice like thunder to ‘Come and See,’ showing us that what is
going to happen is destined and cannot be avoided.
6:2. Here we see the first of what will be four horses, each of a different
color. As the first four seals are opened, we will see horse. Some believe
because the first horse is white it represents victory, and the rider must be
Jesus because He will ride to victory on a white horse. However, because the
other three horses relate to judgment and destruction, this rider on a white
horse is most likely not Jesus. The four horses represent the unfolding of God’s
judgment on the people for their sin and rebellion so for Jesus to ride in as
the conqueror at this point would be premature. This first horse most likely
represents humanity’s sinful desire for conquest which will result in the next
three Horses. This rider is likely the antichrist presenting himself to the
world as a prince of peace. While it says he will have a bow there is no mention
of arrows meaning he could be preaching peace but is actually preparing for war.
The crown represents the fact that he will conquer many countries first by peace
but will quickly move to war.
6:3. We see the second seal opened in verse 3 with another of the living
creatures again telling John to ‘come and see.’ It’s important to note that all
of the events that will happen on earth were decided first of all in Heaven.
6:4. The second horse is red which stands for warfare and bloodshed. It’s rider
was given power to take peace from the earth causing people to kill each other.
It is likely that more people will be killed during the time of the Great
Tribulation than at any other similar time frame in history.
The Great Tribulation has begun, and it is going to be very bad. But keep
remembering that it starts after the Rapture so we, like John, will be witnesses
of the events that will be unfolding.
11-27-22. Revelation 6:5-8. The Third and Fourth Seals.
6:5-6. John sees the third horseman released riding a black horse which
represents famine that always follows war. Instead of a lethal weapon, he is
carrying a pair of scales. This is a representation of famine and vastly
inflated prices for basic foods, which often happens after war. The reference to
the cost of wheat and barley shows that while wheat was preferable to barley,
barley is cheaper and could be stretched further with high prices and low
incomes. The reference to not damaging the oil and wine could indicate that
divine limits will be imposed on the extent of the famine or that when famine
hits in the Middle East, the grain crops tend to fail before the olives and
grapes. It also shows the world has rejected the Cross and now faces judgment.
6:7-8. With the opening of the fourth seal, we see something very scary. The
pale horse is named Death and with Hell following him, all who will die will
likely go to Hell. When they are done, one quarter of the world’s population
will be dead. The wars and famines will have taken their toll along with the
killing of people by violence in a lawless society and starving wild animals
wanting to survive. When the pale horse is let loose, the world will go from bad
to worse.
We don’t know if Death and Hades are on separate horses, but we do know these
are the four horsemen of the apocalypse. We see that God is still placing limits
on His judgment giving unbelievers time to turn to Jesus and away from their
sin. This limited punishment demonstrates not only God’s wrath on sin but also
His merciful love in giving people another opportunity to turn to Him before He
brings the final judgment. But be careful not to presume that God’s patience
will be long lasting. It's possible this portion of Revelation might be
chronological – given the one after another sequence of the riders. Interpreting
the four horsemen isn’t easy. Some think the events described will have already
happened, while others say it will happen in the future. If it’s past, we can’t
yet point to a specific time when a quarter of the population has died. Yet if
they are future events and we take them at face value, the math involved is
terrifying. We do see the horsemen are the spirits of conquest, war, famine, and
death. That said, we can also look to what Jesus told us in the Olivet
discourse: He said to be careful not to be deceived as many will come in His
name claiming ‘I am the Christ.’ We will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but we
need not be afraid because these things have to happen in the end. Nation will
rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and
earthquakes in various places and Christians will be persecuted and put to
death. Many will turn away from faith and betray and hate one another; and there
will be many false prophets that will deceive many people. When you look around
at this world today, there are many indications that the end times have begun
and its incumbent on each one of us to make sure our hearts are right with
Jesus, and we must do our best to live as He would have us live.
12-4-2022. Revelation 6:9-17 The Fifth and Sixth Seals. As the fifth and sixth
seals are opened by the Lamb, the scene changes dramatically. Rather than doom
and gloom on horseback, John has taken us to the spiritual world where we see
the results of some of the gory doings that have already taken place.
6:9-11. The altar represents the altar of sacrifice in the temple, but instead
of the animals’ blood at the base of the altar, John saw the souls of martyrs
who had died for preaching the gospel. The judgment and vengeance they are
calling for has begun. They were told that still more would lose their lives for
their belief in Christ possibly referring to those who do come to Christ during
the Tribulation. We see these martyrs call out to God for vengeance for their
persecution. As we continue through Revelation, we will learn more about the
coming judgment that will assuredly happen. Who are these Christ believers that
didn’t make it through the Rapture? Recall back in 2:11 the Church of Smyrna was
told that even though there were those who believed in Christ, He was still
upset with them because they also fell prey to the sins of the non-believers.
But through the death and destruction these martyrs kept firm in their beliefs
and continued preaching in the face of war, famine, persecution, and death all
around them. Now we see them rewarded with white robes (symbolizing the
Righteousness of the Saints). But they are also told that more would die for
their beliefs as they did. The opening of this seal is a wakeup call to
Christians now. You’re either all in or you are out. You can’t be a half-hearted
Christian. Being a Christian means leaving the ways of the world behind and
never looking back. For us today, as we see our world fall into the evils of
violence, war, and oppression, we are worn down by conflict and compromise. But
it’s critical that we remain strong in our faith and live our Christianity every
day by resisting compromising our beliefs.
6:12-17. The sixth seal takes us back to the physical world to a judgment that
affects the entire planet. There are going to be earthquakes powerful enough to
move mountains, meteorites falling and destroying the land, and winds causing
enormous damage throughout the world. There will be no hiding as those who think
they can take refuge in the mountains and caves but will soon find that they
can’t hide from the wrath of Jesus Christ. The Lamb of God is our Savior today
but will be the Judge tomorrow at end of the sever-year Tribulation. Perhaps the
concept of manmade climate change is satan at work before the Great Tribulation
occurs so that when the destruction begins, he will have planted the seed that
it is man who is responsible for this. All those who rejected God and fought
against Him will soon learn how powerful our God actually is.
It’s clear the world as we know it will no longer exist. People will be
terrified at what is happening, praying for the mountains to fall on them, so
they won’t have to be judged by the Lamb. This suggests that they believe these
problems have a divine source. The bad news is that this isn’t the end. Things
are going to get a lot worse. This isn’t intended to frighten believers because
Jesus is a gentle Savior. But powerful people who don’t fear God and flaunt
their unbelief will find out how wrong they are, and they will face the wrath of
God. No one who rejects Him can survive this Tribulation. But if you belong to
Christ, you will be safe, and the events of these final day will not harm you.
12-11-2022. Revelation 7:1-8 144,000 Jews. Up to this point we have been shown
what will happen with the opening of six of the seven seals by the Lamb of God,
Jesus Christ. Chapter 7 takes a break from the opening of the seals and we see
John leaving descriptions in the spiritual world and taking us back to the earth
which also gives us a short break from the tremendous amount of death due to
war, famine, plagues, earthquakes, and other celestial and climatic happenings
before the opening of the seventh seal.
7:1-3. Angels at the four corners of earth the holding the four winds symbolize
judgment is being enacted on the world. This picture represents God’s total
omnipotence or infinite and complete power and shows us He is the Administrator
of all that happens from now on.
7:4. The number 144,000 is 12x12x1000 symbolizing God’s completeness. It tells
us all of God’s followers will be brought safely to Him with no one being
overlooked or forgotten. They’re sealed either by withdrawing them through the
Rapture or by giving them special strength and courage to remain faithful during
all of the terrible things happening around them. This seal won’t guarantee
protection from physical harm because many will die. But it does guarantee that
God will protect them from spiritual harm. No matter what happens, they will be
brought to their reward of eternal life because they didn’t turn from God in
spite of the persecution they had to endure.
7:5-8. Finally, we have a listing from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. This
list is not the typical listing of the twelve tribes shown in the Old Testament.
It is a listing of God’s true followers. Judah is mentioned first because both
David and Jesus, descended from Judah. Levi had no tribal allotment because of
the Levites’ work for God in the temple but here the tribe receives a reward for
faithfulness. Dan isn’t mentioned because it was known for rebellion and
idolatry, which are traits unacceptable for all God’s followers. The tribe of
Joseph was previously represented by Ephraim and Manasseh after his two sons but
are now called Joseph and Manasseh because of Ephraim’s rebellion. While it’s
true many Jews today don’t know what tribe the came from, God certainly does.
This all show us that even in turbulent times, God will always keep His
promises. And He is going to see a significant number of people through the
Tribulation to the end. In spite of the widespread natural disasters and intense
personal persecution, there will be survivors. The seal of God is what will
guarantee one’s survival.
12-18-2022. Revelation 7:9-17 Tribulation Saints.
7:9-11. Here we see a huge amount of people worshiping God and Jesus around the
throne. Who makes up this great multitude? We are told it includes Angels,
Elders and the four Beasts. As for the rest, some scholars say it’s the group
under the altar we learned about at the opening of the fifth sea in chapter 6:9.
Others say it’s the 144,000 sealed by God that we saw in last week’s reading.
Still others say it’s all who died believing in God and accepting Jesus
throughout the entire time of the Great Tribulation. Regardless, the important
point is that this huge crowd in Heaven is composed of those who remained
faithful to God throughout the generations. No true believer ever has to worry
about which group he or she will be in because God includes and protects all
true believers and guarantees them a place in His presence. The worshipers
specifically state that salvation comes only from God and the Lamb, who is
Jesus.
7:12-14. We see an interesting exchange where an elder asks John who are these
wearing white robes? John quickly turns the question back to the elder who tells
him “These are they who have come out of Great Tribulation and washed their
robes white in the blood of the Lamb.” Anyone who has ever done laundry knows
that something red can’t make something white. Yet here we see that the blood of
Christ can make robes white because it is the greatest purifier because it
completely removes the stain of sin. White symbolizes sinless perfection or
holiness that can be given to people only because of the death of the sinless
Lamb of God on our behalf. This is a picture of how we are saved through faith
as recorded in Isaiah 1:19 and Romans 3:21-26.
7:15-17. In verses 7:1-8 we learned about believers receiving a seal to protect
them through a time of great tribulation and suffering. Here we see them finally
with God in Heaven. All who have been faithful through the ages are singing
before God’s throne. Their Tribulations and sorrows are over – no more tears,
for sin, for all sins are forgiven. No more tears for suffering for all
suffering has ended, no more tears for death, for all believers have been
resurrected, never to die again.
The Great Tribulation has been explained in different ways. Some believe it
refers to the suffering of believers through the ages while others believe
there’s a specified time of intense Tribulation yet to come. Because this Church
believes in the literal interpretation of the Bible, we take the latter
position. That said, in either case, believers come through their time of
suffering by remaining loyal to God. Because they remain faithful, God gives
them eternal life with Him where all physical, emotional, and spiritual needs
will be met by God.
1-1-2023. Revelation 8:1-6 The Seventh Seal. After a slight break, John now
tells us about the opening of the seventh and final seal. Let’s just recap the
first six: One through four showed us the four horsemen of the apocalypse. First
was the white horse representing humanity’s sinful desire for conquest and
presenting the antichrist deceptively claiming peace but actually preparing for
war. Second was the red horse representing war and bloodshed with people killing
each other. Third is the black horse representing famine and severe inflation
which often happens with war. Fourth shows us the pale horse named death with
Hell following him meaning all who follow him are likely going to Hell. The
Fifth seal takes us back to Heaven where we learned not all Christians made it
through the Rapture giving all Christians today a wakeup call that belief
without living a Christian life won’t get you through. You must live out your
belief for all to see always representing Jesus. And the Sixth seal tells of
powerful earthquakes and destructive meteorites causing enormous damage all over
the world so bad people will pray for mountains to fall on them. Now on to the
seventh Seal. The opening of the seventh seal begins a new series of judgments
known as the seven trumpets. But the trumpet judgments, like the seal judgments
are only partial. God’s final and complete judgment has not yet come.
8:1. After the seventh seal was opened, all of Heaven was silent for half an
hour. The reference to the length of time is hard to judge because we know from
2 Peter 3:8 that Gods timetable is different than ours with a day like a
thousand years and a thousand years like a day. So, this half hour could be as
long as 21 years. On the other hand, a couple of minutes of sudden silence after
all the jubilant noise may have seemed much longer to John. The silence speaks
to the intense expectancy of what is about to happen in the world, warning that
if it has been bad up to now, the intensity of the judgment is about to increase
many times over.
8:2. Here we see seven Angels standing before God, each being given a trumpet
which will reveal the trumpet judgments. Like the seventh trumpet will announce
judgment, We will see the seven bowl judgments will do the same in chapters 11
and 16.
8:3-5. In addition to the seven Angels with trumpets, there is an eighth Angel
in this passage who is the first to act as he holds a golden censer which is a
saucepan-shaped metal container that holds incense while it is burning. During
worship, coals would be carried in a censer from the outdoor altar where animals
were sacrificed to an altar of incense inside the temple or tabernacle. There
incense would be poured on the coals, producing smoke symbolizing the prayers of
the people being taken up to God via the smoke. This Heavenly Angel throws the
censer down to the earth symbolizing the judgment of God released on earth in
answer to the prayers of the saints for justice for those who had oppressed and
killed them. It shows that judgment, vindication, and revenge are in God’s
hands, not ours. No matter how strong our desire is to exact revenge and
retaliate on our enemies, our job is to pray, asking God for His justice to be
done. The resulting thunder, lightning and earthquake also tells us that the
coming judgment will be something the world had never seen before.
8:6. After this, the seven angels will be getting ready to sound their trumpets.
Scholars believe that the events from the seven trumpet seal will take place two
and a half years into the Great Tribulation. The trumpet blasts have three
purposes: (1) to warn of certain judgment; (2) to call the forces of good and
evil to battle, and (3) to announce the return of the Messiah the King. These
warning also urge us to make sure our faith is firmly fixed on Christ.
In spite of all the devastation about to take place, the trumpet judgments are
preceded by a powerful image suggesting that the prayers of God’s people are
still being heard. It may not be too much of a stretch to consider that the
trumpet judgments are God’s response to a lengthy accumulation of prayers for
justice.
01-08-2022 - Revelation 8:7-13. The First, Second, Third and Fourth Trumpets.
Throughout the Bible Trumpets have been shown to have three purposes: (1) to
warn of certain judgment; (2) to call the forces of good and evil to battle, and
(3) to announce the return of the King. These warnings urge us to make sure our
faith is firmly fixed on Christ. In Judges 7 we see Gideon defeated a huge army
with a band of 300 men armed with trumpets, torches, and clay pitchers. King
Saul used a trumpet to assemble his troops as shown in 1 Samuel 13, and Ezekiel
the prophet was compared to a watchman whose job it was to sound a trumpet when
he saw trouble approaching. Paul writes of the resurrection of the dead summoned
by the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God in 1
Thessalonians 4. Jesus Himself speaks of His return preceded by angels providing
a loud trumpet call. So, trumpets are used by God throughout the ages. And the
Great Tribulation is no different.
8:7. The first of the seven trumpets released hail and fire mingled with blood
that resulted in the burning of a third of the earth, a third of the trees, and
all the green grass on earth. This fulfills the prophecy in Joel 2:30-32 and is
similar to the seventh plague upon Egypt that we see in Exodus 9:22. Even though
its only a third of the world, think about the affect this will have on food and
livestock as a large portion of the world will no longer be able to produce
fruit, vegetables, or meat. While this judgment will affect the whole earth,
some scholars believe the Middle East will bear the brunt of the destruction.
8:8-9. The sound of the second trumpet had a similar effect on the seas as we
see “a great mountain burning with fire” which is likely another meteor that
lands in the sea with a third of the sea turning to blood destroying everything
that lived in that part of the water, and a third of the ships on the sea
destroyed. We see another similarity to the plagues that happened in Egypt at
the time of the Exodus of Israel. If the scholars are correct about the Middle
East being the central point of these judgments, the meteor may fall into the
Mediterranean. But wherever they fall, we can only imagine the severity of
impact of these losses on the world’s food supply and commerce.
8:10-11. The sound of the third trumpet released another star – a meteor – from
Heaven, burning bright and again falling on a third of the rivers and the
foundations (sources) of the waters. This could be the waters of the old Roman
Empire area as shown in Daniel 7:7-8. This star was named Wormwood that produces
bitter flavored oil which means this meteor will have the same properties of the
Wormwood plant causing the polluting the world’s fresh water causing millions of
people to die from drinking the water.
8:12-13. At the sound of the fourth trumpet, a third of the sun, a third of the
moon, and a third of all the stars will be dark. Jesus spoke of this in Luke
21:25-26. There have been countless psychological studies that tell of the
importance of light to our wellbeing, so it’s not inconceivable that millions of
people in the world will be negatively affected by this. Particularly so when
the world will already be suffering from results of the first three judgments.
After this judgment, an angel will come to warn the people of earth that the
worst is yet to come from the sounding of the final three trumpets. We aren’t
told how this angel will be heard, but you can be assured that the world will
know because these judgements aren’t symbolic – they are literal. They will
happen just as John has written. He is showing us what the world will become
when God executes His judgment on the wicked sinners left behind after the
Rapture.
1-15-2023. Revelation 9:1-12 The Fifth Trumpet.
9:1. A star will fall from Heaven that isn’t a meteorite but is likely the
fallen angel satan who is given the key to the bottomless pit. While there is
some question about if this is satan or Jesus, in Luke10:18 Jesus said, “I
beheld satan as lightening fall from Heaven.” Jesus was seeing into the future
during the Great Tribulation. This fallen angel will operate under God’s control
and authority. The bottomless pit is the place of the demons and satan, the king
of demons. It’s also referred to in other Bible passages as the Abyss which
comes from the Greek word abyssos, which means bottomless, and will be a of
holding cell for evil spirits.
9:2-12. The bottomless pit will be opened causing the sun and sky to go dark by
smoke and allowing demon locusts to escape with power like that of scorpions.
Regular locusts were feared in biblical times because one large swarm could
strip away crops in a matter of minutes, allowing famine to follow. Females laid
large quantities of eggs deep in the soil which would hatch in the spring,
eating of whatever had grown back. But these locusts won’t attack plant life.
They are fallen angels who will join satan in his rebellion by tempting people
to sin and join satan’s rebellion. But God will limit what that actually can do,
and they will work tirelessly to prevent, destroy and destroy relationship
between God and people. They will attack humans with a sting that, while not
fatal, will cause five months of great pain so bad the victims will wish they
were dead. And they will only attack people that don’t have the seal of God on
their forehead. They will look like horses prepared for battle with gold crowns
on their heads, hair like women, and teeth like lions wearing breastplates of
iron. The sound of their wings will sound like chariots with horses running to
battle. And their tails will be like scorpions that sting. The leader of this
locust army is the Angel of the Bottomless pit with the name of Apollyon which
means Destroyer.
After all the destruction first four trumpet judgments, the world is going to be
in a bad place that only gets worse. Remember we read last week there was an
angel who shouted Woe, Woe, Woe. Referring to the 5th, 6th and 7th trumpet
judgements. The locusts will be the first of the last three.
1-22-2023. Revelation 9:13-21 The 6th and 7th Trumpets. Last week we covered
what the locust will do, this morning we will look at the second woe released by
the sounding of the 6th trumpet and see how horses will execute God’s judgment.
9:13-14. It starts at the Golden Altar in the temple which had four horns as
each corner where a voice came from God to let loose the four angels bound in
the Euphrates river. These aren’t good angels but fallen angels or demons who
will be tremendously evil and destructive. But they won’t be able to release
themselves to do their evil. They will be released by God at a specific time
doing only what He allows them to do.
9:15-18. These horsemen will command an army of 200 million demons. Sounds like
a lot but remember as early as 1965, China bragged they had an army of 200
million soldiers. Just as the horses of the locust were described as nothing
like horses as we know them, these along with their riders will be equally
frightening. Their heads will look like lions and fire, smoke and sulfur will
come from their mouths that will kill a third of the population. This is a lot
of people.
9:19. It’s not only their mouths that will do harm. Their tails will look like
snakes with heads that will hurt people. Some scholars say that John was giving
his best description of machinery such as tanks, missiles, or some other tools
of war that he would have no other way of explaining except by making them
analogous to animals. But if they will be literal animals, both the locusts and
horses will be some kind of mutants. Does it matter? No. What matters are the
results that will come about by the unleashing of God’s judgment on the world.
9:20-21. The people of the world will have become so hard hearted that even
plagues won’t drive them to God. They will stop at nothing to continue their
sinful life of crimes against God.
An important takeaway from this passage is that people don’t usually fall into
immorality and evil suddenly. They slip into it a little bit at a time hardly
realizing what has happened. By then they are irrevocably mired in their wicked
ways. Any person who allows sin to take root in their life will end up in this
predicament. Temptation entertained today becomes sin tomorrow, a habit the next
day, then comes death and separation from God forever. When you think you could
never become this evil, you have made the first step toward a hard heart. The
message is always to acknowledge your need to confess your sins before God.
1-30-2023. Revelation 10:1-11 The Mighty Angel. This is another break in the
trumpet judgments.
10:1-4. This mighty angel had a face like the sun telling us the degree of glory
God has given him. He had a rainbow forming a crown signifying peace and mercy.
He was clothed in a cloud, and his legs were like fiery pillars. He had one foot
on the sea and the other on the earth and had power over the earth. This angel
is also holding a little open book. His voice like the roar of a lion is a
reference to God’s power and victory. When this angel spoke, seven other voices
loud like thunder were heard but we aren’t told what was said by them. John was
about to record what they said but the angel forbids him to include their words
in Revelation. For anyone to speculate what may have been said is useless.
Recall back in Daniel 12:9 the angel told Daniel that some visions he saw were
not to be revealed to everyone. And Jesus told His disciples in Mark 13:32-33
that the time of the end is known by no one but God. God has revealed all we
need to know to live for Him now. In our desire to be ready for the end, we must
not place more emphasis on speculation about when the last days will come then
on living for God while we wait.
10:5-6. Here we see the angel raise his hand to Heaven swearing by God and
stating that there should be time no longer. God has a definite plan and is
going to put it into action. Whether the news will be good or bad for a
particular individual will depend on that person’s relationship with God. The
angel is confirming that the world belongs to God the creator and that time on
earth is coming to an end.
10:7-8. The angel tells John that the seventh angel trumpet will show that the
mystery of God will be finished. By saying the mystery will be accomplished in
the days when the seventh agnel sounds his trumpet the angel was telling John
that God will remove all evil and the final exaltation of Christ as Lord will
happen on earth. This will bring fear to God’s enemies but for Christians, it
will bring hope and peace. Believers will see God’s justice carried out and His
plan fulfilled.
10:9-10. When the angel tells John to take the little book he is holding and eat
it, it’s probably not literal that he should. It’s more likely this is what’s
known as an idiomatic expression meaning the words used don’t have their typical
meaning. A familiar example is ‘kick the bucket’ meaning dying. The angel is
telling John to read the book and commit its contents to his heart and mind. Its
contents are both sweet and bitter. The words of the book are sweet because they
bring encouragement but sour the stomach because of the requirement to warn
unbelievers of the coming judgement.
10:11. The angel is telling John to share this message with the world, which he
has done by leaving us his writings in the Book of Revelation.
2-5-2023. Revelation 11:1-13 The Two Witnesses. We’re still on a break before
the seventh Angel Trumpet. We saw how John has just been told to absorb the
little book that contained good and bad information regarding God’s judgment yet
to come. He is still with the mighty angel who is guiding his thoughts and
actions. Now we will see events that will occur during the second half of the
Tribulation.
11:1-3. John is told to measure the temple and the altar where there will be
worshipers, but not the outer court because it will be occupied by Gentiles.
This is likely telling us that worshippers inside the temple will not be
forgotten by God and the Gentiles have been destroying the city and attacking
the Jews for the last 3 ½ years. This time refers to the period that will end
the ‘times of the Gentiles’ recorded in Luke 21:24 where Jesus talks of great
distress on God’s people carried out by the Gentiles. And recall from our study
of Daniel that there will come a time when the covenant to live peacefully that
the antichrist made with Israel will end. We’re coming to that time – the second
half of the Tribulation. This is signified by the appearance of two witnesses
sent from God to prophesy for 1,260 days – the next three and a half years.
Exactly who these witnesses are we aren’t told but some scholars suggest they
might be Moses, Enoch, or Elijah. Moses oversaw the plagues in Egypt, and
neither Enoch nor Elijah actually died; they were translated. Moses and Elijah
were present with Jesus during the Transfiguration but doesn’t matter who they
actually are.
11:4-6. The reference to two olive trees and two candlesticks standing before
God speaks of the two witnesses and fulfills the vision given to Zechariah in
Chapter 4 of his Old Testament book. The witnesses will be protected by God and
will be given the power to kill anyone who tries to hurt them or stop their
preaching. John speaks of death by fire, so it won’t be pretty. They will be
given the power to stop the rain and turn water into blood, and bring plagues
that will include but won’t be limited to sickness, diseases, insects, and frogs
when necessary. They won’t be popular among the masses. But the job of a prophet
is to call the sinful masses to repentance.
11:7-13. At the end of three and a half years (ironically is the length of the
ministry of Jesus), the witnesses work will be done as they will be killed by
the Beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit. This is a satanic angel and
may be the antichrist himself. Instead of burying their bodies, they will be
left in the street for all the world to see likely broadcast on television. But
after three and a half days God will bring them back to life and will call them
back to Heaven with a loud voice. Again, the whole world will see them ascend to
Heaven in a cloud. This will cause a great earthquake destroying one tenth of
the city of Jerusalem and signify the end of the Great Tribulation so the
remnant of those believers will praise God. But before that happens, there’s
still the judgment of the seventh trumpet and three and a half years to get
through.
2-12-2023. Revelation 11:14-19 The Seventh Trumpet. The break from the judgments
is over and now we see the sounding of the Seventh Angel Trumpet. The two
witnesses have been killed by the demonic angel, but God brought them back to
life and then back to Heaven in a cloud.
11:14. This is the third of the three woes spoken by the angel after the Fourth
trumpet judgment.
11:15. We see the Heavenly angels declaring the kingdom of this world has become
the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. Those familiar with Handle’s Messiah
will recognize this quote from the Hallelujah Chorus and it announces the
anticipated arrival of the King at the end of the second three and a half years
of the Great Tribulation. But there are still the final judgments of God to
come, and they are no longer partial. They will be complete in their
destruction. God will unleash His full wrath on the evil world that refused to
turn to Him and acknowledge His righteous rule. When His wrath begins, there
will be no escape.
11:16-17. We see the 24 elders in Heaven again; this time falling on their faces
and worshiping God as they pronounce Him as the Eternal One who has taken His
power and has reigned. This is the anticipation of what will happen at the end
of the Tribulation. We’ve gone from exact chronological events to mixing of
current and future events.
11:18. By this time the nations are angry at all that has happened but so is
God. His great patience and tolerance of sinful mankind has just about reached
its end. Those who have rejected Him will be punished and those who belong to
Him will be blessed. This could be a reference to the coming of the final battle
of Armageddon. It will certainly be a time where all – saints and sinners -- are
judged.
11:19. We’re told that Heaven will be opened, and the Ark of His Testament will
be seen. The Ark is very important to the Jewish people as it was the place
where God resided. \How this will happen is unknown, but this event will likely
be accompanied by lightning, thunder, hail, and an earthquake just as we learned
in the Old Testament that when God was present on the earth these types of
phenomena occurred.
2-19-2023. Revelation 12:1-6 The Sun-Clad Woman and the Great Red Dragon. We
have been through the Seven Angel trumpet judgments and so far have seen a lot
of death and destruction. God’s two witnesses have returned to Heaven and now
the antichrist is going to ramp up satan’s last stand of evil on the earth. Our
reading takes us to a portion of Revelation that is clearly symbolic. As I told
you last week, we are seeing a mixture of past, present, and future occurrence
now.
12:1-2. The women about to give birth represents God’s faithful people of Israel
who have been waiting for the Messiah to come. The crown of 12 stars represents
Israel’s 12 tribes. Some scholars say she is a representation of the 144,000
Jews who we saw in Chapter 7 will be saved in the first part of the Great
Tribulation.
12:3. Then we see the red dragon, with his seven heads, ten horns and seven
crowns which represents his power and the kingdoms of the world that he rules.
Red could be a representation of the coming bloodshed.
12:4. The stars that satan sends to earth is a representation of the original
rebellion of Lucifer against God where a third of the angels chose to join him
against God. Even though angels left to serve satan, God still has twice as many
good angels serving Him. Satan is seen as ready to devour the child to be born
showing his hatred for those who will come to Christ in the first half of the
Tribulation.
12:5. The child is born and will be one who will rule the world with an iron rod
which tells us this child is the Messiah who will come to rule the world at the
end of the Tribulation.
12:6. Now the women or the nation of Israel has escaped to the wilderness to a
place prepared by God. She will be taken care of for 1,260 days – or the last
half of the Tribulation. It’s clear that the final battle of good versus evil is
about to ramp up.
The wilderness throughout the Bible often represents a place of spiritual refuge
and protection from satan. Since God facilitated the woman’s escape, we can be
sure that He will offer safety and care to all true believers. satan has and
always will attack God’s people, but God keeps them spiritually secure. Some
will experience physical harm, but all will be protected from spiritual harm.
And God will never allow satan to take His true followers from Him. Some believe
this place will be the ancient city of Petra located in Jordan. If you know
anything about ancient archeology or have seen the Indiana Jones movie, you know
that Petra is a beautiful city hidden in the wilderness with no people.
2-26-2023. Revelation 12:7-12 Michael.
12:7-9. Here we see fulfilment of the prophesy from Daniel 12 with the angel
Michael and his army of angels fighting against the dragon – or satan and his
army. This time they will all be thrown out of Heaven forever. We don’t know a
lot about the relationship between God and satan after satan’s original
rebellion. Sometimes there seems to be outright warfare and other times there is
a period of peace with satan moving in and out of Heaven and talking with God
such as in the Book of Job. God has given him freedom to operate but always with
conditions. Throughout time, people have been warned to beware of him and never
trust him because he never has our best interests in mind. He prey’s on
believers who are weak and vulnerable in their faith because of his pride and
jealously of God. With the death and resurrection of Jesus, he knows he is a
defeated entity but his goal before his final destruction is to take as many
with him as is possible. Here we see the beginning of the end of his reign of
terror and until the absolute end, he will fight hard to exact his revenge.
12:8-11. Now that satan’s access to God and Heaven has been completely taken
away, he will only ramp up his activity on earth. His destruction and
persecution of believers will be worse than before. He will work to lead the
whole world away from God to join him in Hell.
12:12. We see those in Heaven rejoicing in satan’s defeat. Not only angels but
those who have gone to Heaven before the Tribulation. They have a front row seat
to all that is happening and will return to earth again when God sends Jesus to
set up His earthly kingdom.
3-5-2023. Revelation 12:13-17 Persecution.
12:13-14. Based on belief in the Rapture, there is some disagreement on who the
woman represents. Is it the remnant of Israel, new believers since the start of
the Tribulation, or just the Church. The doctrine of this Church says the
Rapture will happen. Regardless, what is perfectly clear is that satan is aiming
his fury at her. He is prevented by God from getting to her indicated by the
“two wings of a great eagle flying her to a place in the wilderness where she
will be nourished for three and a half years or the last half of the Great
Tribulation away from the face of the serpent or satan. Now that satan has been
tossed out of Heaven, the antichrist, who is satan’s puppet on earth, breaks the
covenant with Israel where he was to have restored the temple and allowed them
to resume worship and sacrifices.
12:15-16. As the serpent chased after the woman, we see him try to drown her by
creating a flood. This symbolizes satan’s intent to utterly destroy Israel, but
we see in verse 16 that he fails to do so because God stepped in to dry up the
flood.
12:17. Satan is angry that Israel has escaped him yet again so now he goes to
terrorize the rest of the world. Remember he knows he is going to be defeated
and this is his last effort to take as many with him before he meets his own
end.
3-12-2023. Revelation 13:1-10. The antichrist. Revelation 13 introduces satan’s
dragons – two evil accomplices - the beast out of the sea and the beast out of
the earth. Together with him, these three evil beings form an unholy trinity in
direct opposition to the Holy Trinity of God the Father, God the Son, and God
the Holy Spirit. In order to rule the world, satan tried to tempt Jesus in the
wilderness by wanting Him to turn stones into bread. But he failed to rule the
world then when Jesus refused to do what satan wanted. Now, he will use the two
beasts described in Revelation 13.
13:1-2. The beast of the sea (sea meaning people not a body of water) will use
political power to exact satan’s evil. His 7 heads and ten horns and seven
crowns represent the seven empires that persecuted Israel in the past and the
horns represent ten nations of the future. He is given the name blasphemy
because satan is in control of the empires and the nations. He is described
looking look a leopard with the feat of a bear, and the mouth of a lion who is
given his power and authority from satan. This relates back to Daniel chapter 7.
The description is symbolic because the beast is a popular and powerful figure.
This beast was initially identified with Rome because the Roman Empire in its
early days encouraged evil lifestyles, persecuted believers, and opposed God and
his followers. Whoever it may be symbolizes the antichrist and satan’s false
messiah. Not satan himself, but someone under his power and control.
13:3-7. The healed deadly wound on one of the heads could represent the Grecian
Empire under Alexander the Great. Recall from Daniel, that once Alexander died,
the breakup and takeover of the empire happened very quickly. This beast will
hold power three and a half years and convince many to follow him blindly
because they will see him as unstoppable. He will ridicule and denounce anything
having to do with God and anyone who believes in Him. This will lead to massive
persecution with imprisonment and killing of all believers in God. Nevertheless,
God is still in control and has placed limits on his time in power. He may kill
believers physically, but he will never harm them spiritually.
13:8. All in the world will worship this beast. That is all, all who’s names
aren’t in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
The only way your name can be placed in the Book of Life is by acceptance of
Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, and what He did for you at the Cross.
“From the foundation of the world” refers to the fact that the doctrine of Jesus
and Him Crucified is the foundation doctrine of all doctrines. Every doctrine of
the Bible is built on the foundation of the Cross of Christ. Otherwise, its
false. This applies to the past, to today and until the end of the Great
Tribulation. If you haven’t made that choice, please do it now before it’s too
late. Look around and you will see that time is running short.
13:9. The phrase “If any man have an ear, let him hear” refers to the ability to
hear spiritually and to hear properly in this manner. We know from the Gospels
that Jesus used this term any times in throughout His ministry. It’s simply
telling us to remember what Jesus taught and stand true in the midst of
persecution and even death.
13:10. Being faithful to Christ in the Tribulation will bring persecution,
imprisonment and even execution. Some will be tortured or killed. But the beast
and his followers will only be able to harm the believers’ earthly bodies
because the Lord will resurrect His followers, give them new bodies, and they
will enter God’s presence perfected and purified by the blood of Jesus.
While the word ‘antichrist’ isn’t found in most translations of Revelation it is
mentioned in other places. All interpreters essentially agree that this beast
seen here is what our culture has come to call the antichrist. He is unleashed
by satan, and his purpose is to fool and manipulate people around the world to
denounce God.
3-19-2023. Revelation 13:11-18 antichrist continued. Here we learn of the second
beast will come from the earth and his role is that of the false prophet. He
will imitate the holy spirit who seems to do good, but he will actually work to
deceive the world through his miracles.
13:11-12. He is described as having two horns like a lamb, which speaks of the
intentional deceit, and a voice like a dragon indicating that he is specifically
chosen and put into power by satan. Between the two beasts, the antichrist will
claim to be Jesus Christ while the false prophet will fill the role of the holy
spirit in the unholy trinity of satan, antichrist, and false prophet. His power
is equal to that of the antichrist (beast #1) which he will use to get the world
to worship the antichrist. Again, we see reference to the healed deadly wound
reminding us the false prophet is likely the fallen angel who helped bring the
Grecian Empire into power then was locked in the bottomless pit and now is
released by satan during the Tribulation. We learned about this in Daniel 7.
13:13-15. Throughout the Bible we see miracles performed as proof of God’s
power. But this false prophet will perform what appears to be miracles from
Heaven in order to deceive the world into thinking the antichrist is Jesus and
that they need to build an image of him who had a life ending wound but was able
to survive suggesting that an assignation attempt will be carried out against
the antichrist. Once this statue is built, satan’s power will allow this image
to speak and then kill all who refuse to worship before it.
13:16-17. Loyalty to the antichrist will no longer be voluntary as all people
will be required to be marked either on their right hand or their forehead. This
mark will either be the name or number of the antichrist and anyone without it
will not be able to participate in the world’s economy. So, at first the
seduction of the antichrist will be of a religious nature then it will become
economic. The mark of the beast copies and mimics the seal that God places on
His followers. The beast will mark his people to save them from the persecution
that satan will inflict on God’s followers. All who accept the mark of the beast
show their allegiance to satan, their willingness to operate within the economic
system he promotes, and their rebellion against God. To refuse the mark means to
commit entirely to God, preferring death to compromising one’s faith in Christ.
13:18. We learn a bit about the number 666 which has long been associated with
satan. The meaning of this number has been discussed more than any other part of
the book of Revelation. The three sixes have been said to represent many things
including the number of a man or the unholy trinity of satan as god, the
antichrist as the messiah, and the false prophet as the holy spirit. If three
sevens represent God’s complete perfection, then 666 falls completely short of
perfection. Whatever specific meaning the number has, it symbolizes the
worldwide dominion and complete evil of this unholy trinity designed to undo
Christ’s work and overthrow Him.
Today’s passage is a stark reminder that Christians everywhere always need to
maintain a healthy skepticism about society’s pleasures, ideals, values, and
rewards. Educational, economic, and civic structures provide benefits and
rewards with participation in their programs and policies. That said, Christians
should always support everything good and healthy about their society, but they
must actively stand against anything that tries to prevent them from worshiping
Jesus as their ultimate Lord and Savior. In some cases, such as satan’s system
we just looked at, the system or structure becomes so evil that cooperating with
it will be impossible for those who truly follow Jesus. Always look out for
false prophets. They are real and they are operating all around us with the
power of satan. This won’t start with the Great Tribulation. The Tribulation
will only intensify satan’s work against God.
3-226-2023. Revelation 14:1-5 The Lamb. At this point in Revelation, we are
reaching the time when in spite of all of God’s love, patience, grace, and
mercy, He is going to take action on those who refuse to acknowledge Him. It’s
no longer disciplinary action like we are told in Hebrews 12:4-11 that God
disciplines people he loves for their own good and spiritual growth. Those who
have chosen to have nothing to do with God are about to discover His wrath for
their inability to reel in their inappropriate behaviors and attitudes.
Revelation 13 describes the onslaught of evil that will occur when satan and his
helpers control the world. Revelation 14 gives a glimpse into eternity to show
believers what awaits them if they endure.
14:1. John once again sees the Lamb Jesus standing with 144,000 people who have
God’s name – not the mark of the beast -- written on their foreheads. This is
likely the number of Jews we saw earlier who came to Christ in the first half of
the Great Tribulation.
14:2-3. These 144,000 appear to be very happy, singing a new song that only they
could learn. It sounds like rushing water and thunder, but also like harps
playing their instruments.
14:4. Speaks of how the 144,000 refused to corrupt themselves with idolatry.
Faith in anything other than Christ and the Cross is the same as spiritual
idolatry. Millions in moder Churches today are guilty of this sin due to their
misunderstanding of it means to be a Christian. Think back to the letters to the
seven Churches and how Jesus admonished them for letting the true reason for
their faith lapse. It’s a reminder that everyone will be accountable.
14:5. This is a reference to believers being justified by faith; meaning that
all who accept Jesus will be redeemed and worthy because their sins are absolved
before God by having accepted Jesus as their Savior.
4-2-2023. Revelation 14:6-13 The Angels. Here we see three more angels and what
they have to say clearly shows that God’s patience has run out and now it’s time
to pay the price for rejecting the Lord.
14:6-7. The first of the three had a mission preach to all who were in the world
that they are to fear God, give glory to Him and worship Him as creator of
Heaven, earth, the sea and its fountains. The antichrist is claiming to be the
creator of all things by this time, so this angel is reminding mankind just who
the Creator is. Many scholars believe that this is no longer a call to salvation
but instead a warning that because of what is happening throughout the earth,
God’s judgment is about to happen.
14:8. The second angel announces the fall of Babylon the Great, which will be
made up of all the nations who joined with the antichrist and has devolved into
a rampant sinless society with no morals and no conscience.
14:9-10. The third angel announces that anyone who worships the beast and his
image, accepts his mark, and operates in the world economic system will receive
God’s judgment. The reference to fire and brimstone refers to what life in
eternal hell will be like.
14:11. This verse gives a description that says there will be a conscious
existence for all of eternity to those banished to hell. No rest day or night
means the torment will be constant with no break. All hope of forgiveness will
be lost to them.
14:12-13. While most of the inhabitants of the world will follow the antichrist,
there will be some who resist and remain faithful to God. They will need
‘patient endurance,’ but during these end times death for them will be
preferable than life with the mark of the beast. Life for them will become more
than difficult. But there will come a time when they too shall rest from their
labor – but only after they are dead.
Money, fame, and belongings can’t be taken with us to eternity. But God’s people
can produce fruit that survives even death. God will remember our love,
kindness, and faithfulness; and those who accept Christ through our witness will
join us in the new earth. We must ensure that our values are completely in line
with God’s values and decide today to produce fruit that will last forever.
4-9-2023. Revelation 14:14-20 Armageddon. This passage is our first look at the
Battle of Armageddon.
14:14-16. Shows us what the start of God’s judgment or the Battle of Armageddon
announced by a fourth angel will be like. Christ is separating the faithful from
the unfaithful like a farmer harvesting his crops. This will be a time of joy
for the Christians who have been persecuted and martyred as they will receive
their long-awaited reward. Remember that things in the prophecy are told from a
perspective of past, present, and future. This great battle happens at the end
of the Tribulation. After reading this, we can see the clear meaning of the
words of the Battle Hymn of the Republic.
14:17-18. A fifth angel repeated the task of the prior angel who tells us the
significance of what will happen and that it will have a catastrophic effect on
the earth. It also shows us that God’s angels will have a significant role in
the final battle to defeat evil.
14:19-20. The Bible often uses the wine press as a symbol of God’s wrath and
judgment against sin. This river of blood will extend 1600 furlongs/stadia or
about 180 miles which is the approximate length of Israel from north to south.
This is going to be a vicious battle.
Most of us are unaccustomed to vivid descriptions of God’s anger in judgment so
these are disturbing images. People dislike the idea of other people, even evil
ones, being trampled like grapes. The trail of the blood flow is a sickening
scene of the immensity of God’s judgement. Unless we face the necessity of God’s
judgment, we will never see our desperate need for His mercy. A god with only a
grandfatherly kindness would not inspire our repentance, obedience, or worship.
God has promised a harsh harvest of those who reject Him. Those who know God
well enough to fear His wrath also know God well enough to want His grace. Make
no mistake, the crushing wrath of God will come. That said, Christians need not
fear the last judgement. Jesus said in John 5:24: “whoever hears My word and
believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be judged but has Crossed
over from death to life.” The crushing wrath of God will come one day. But those
who have had their sins forgiven and lead others to God’s mercy will be blessed
beyond what our human mind can fully understand.
4-16-2023. Revelation 15:1-8. The Seven Vials and The Temple. God’s wrath that’s
about to be poured out on the earth in this passage is Him taking care of
unfinished business. From the perspective of the righteous people both in
Revelation 6:9-10 and those in the contemporary Christian Church, God never gets
angry without reason. His full wrath (or anger) will be in direct response to
specific actions that have had painful and wicked results. And after being
expressed, according to this passage, God’s wrath will be over and done with.
15:1. The seven last plagues are also called the seven bowl judgments and we
will see them actually beginning when we get to Chapter 16. Unlike previous
plagues which described partial destruction, these will be worldwide and
complete. They will culminate in the abolition of all evil and the end of the
world as we know it.
15:2-4. Again, John speaks of a “sea of glass” with those standing on it this
time appearing to be peaceful and tranquil with harps knowing what is about to
happen. We were previously shown the sea of glass spreading out before God’s
throne in Revelation 4:6. This group of people may or may not be those standing
before God’s throne in 7:9-17 but whomever they may be, they are clearly
identified as ‘those who had gotten the victory over the beast and his image
over the number of his name.” They are no longer on earth but in heaven which
suggests that they died at the hands of the antichrist and his minions, and they
are now celebrating their victory with the song of Moses and the song of the
Lamb. The song of Moses is the song that celebrated Israel’s deliverance from
Egypt (Exodus 15), and the Song of the Lamb celebrates the ultimate deliverance
of God’s people from the power of satan.
15:5-8. The imagery in verses 5-8 brings us back to the time in the wilderness
after the Exodus when the Ark of the Covenant (where God resided with the
people) was in the Tabernacle. The angels’ garments are reminiscent of the High
priest’s clothing showing that they are free from corruption, immorality, and
injustice. The smoke that fills the temple displays the manifestation of God’s
glory and power. Nothing will escape this judgment.
John is privileged to see what is going to take place both in heaven and on
earth. He sees the seven angels being prepared prior to going into action. The
angels come out of the heavenly temple dressed in dazzling white linen and
golden sashes. One of the four living creatures (first seen in Rev 4:6), hands
out golden bowls filled with the wrath of God. The temple then fills with smoke
symbolizing the glory, power, and holiness of God. God’s glory reveals not only
His strength but also His perfect moral character. Nothing immoral can be part
of God. This reassures us that we can trust Him, yet it also places a demand on
us. Our desire to be holy, meaning dedicated to God and morally purse, is the
only suitable response. Our eternal reign with Christ will begin when God
destroys all evil according to His timetable.
4-23-2023. Revelation 16:1-11. Five of Seven Vial Judgments. We saw that God has
reached the end of His patience and was ready to release His final and complete
judgments on the earth: the 7 Vial Judgments. The earth has come to its end.
Seven Angels have been tasked to do this. Now we see the first five.
16:1. The angels are called out of the temple to release the vials of the wrath
of God on the earth.
16:2. The first will be poured on the land targeting all who had the mark of the
beast and worshiped his image. Their bodies will break out with painful, ugly,
festering sores.
16:3. The second vial will be poured into the sea and turn it into blood like
that of a dead person and causes all the sea life as well as those in ships on
the sea to die.
16:4. The third vial will e poured into the rivers and springs underground and
above ground and also turned to blood.
16:5-7. The angel of the waters praises the righteousness of God and His justice
in dealing with those who have killed believers. A lot of people have a hard
time believing that if God is loving, He would never cause harm or destruction.
But in a morally good world, God must ultimately oppose and destroy evil. Those
who join the revolt against Him will suffer along with their leaders. Those who
think God won’t exact harsh judgment are guilty of trying to fit God into their
ideas of what is fair and kind in His dealings with humanity. Such a view of
justice merely projects the human idea that all belief systems, personal values,
and lifestyles are equally valid and acceptable. Those who believe this was
assume that God must play by their rules. The reality is that God created
everything, He owns everything, and He sets the true standard of justice. He
uses His power according to His own moral perfection which means that whatever
he chooses, or decrees will always be fair, even if we don’t understand it or
like it. Those who rebel and reject God are not rejecting a lifestyle option,
they are rejecting truth and justice itself. The significance of the alter in
verse 7 is that everyone and everything will be praising God, acknowledging His
righteousness and perfect justice.
16:8-9. The fourth vile will be poured onto the sun which will cause people to
be scorched with its fire. This is the true meaning to global warming. People
will be burned by the increased heat of the sun, causing them to curse God.
16:10-11. The fifth vile will be poured on the throne of the beast and his
kingdom will be full of darkness. At this point people were chewing their
tongues because of the pain from the sores of the first vial and lack of water.
At this point, the world is in darkness cursing God. The cumulative effect of
the five vial judgments has left them with painful sores, crisis-level sunburn,
and thirst, and proving once and for all they have no intent to repent of their
sins. As bad as it is at this point, it’s not over yet.
4-30-2023. Revelation 16:12-16. The Sixth Vial Judgment. At this point the earth
and its inhabitants are suffering from ugly sores, severe sunburns, and lack of
drinkable water due to the previous judgments enacted on God’s commands. Things
are not going so well for the antichrist and his minions.
16:12. The angel pours the sixth judgment on to the Euphrates River causing it
to completely dry up. This river was a natural protector from the empires of the
east (Babylon, Assyria, and Persia), With this river now dried up, there is
nothing to hold back invading armies. The “kings from the east” symbolize
unhindered judgment and is a precursor to the Battle of Armageddon. The Greek
manuscript actually says “the kings of the sun-rising” which could also includes
the armies of China and Japan plus others which will join the antichrist in the
coming battle.
16:13-14. Next John describes froglike figures he calls spirits of demons
performing miraculous signs. These froglike creatures which come from the unholy
trinity of satan the dragon, antichrist the beast, and the false prophet. It is
believed their purpose is to call together the parties who will participate in
the final battle against God. Scholars say these creatures have been functioning
invisibly at the will of satan since the fall to cause disruption throughout out
the world. Given the condition of the world by this point, satan knows he must
now marshal his forces to fight the forces of God.
16:15. This is a reference back to what Jesus said about returning to earth. He
will return unexpectedly so remaining believers and even us today must be on
alert and always ready by standing firm against temptation and committed to
God’s truth as we find in His Word.
16:16. This is confirmation of where the final battle of Good v. Evil will take
place. At this point most of the world will be united against Christ and His
followers. Armageddon is a Hebrew word that identifies the location as Mount
Megiddo is in the northern portion of Israel and is southeast of the modern port
of Haifa. There is a large plain at the foot of the mountain in the Valley of
Jezreel where several biblical battles were fought. Deborah and Gideon each saw
victory there. Kings Saul, Ahaziah and Josiah lost their battles because they
didn’t listen to God. Egyptian pharaohs fought there fifteen centuries before
Christ and as recently as 1917 the British won a decisive battle over the Turks.
We see the stage being set for the final battle where God will meet evil and
destroy it once and for all. As long as we are committed to Him, we are on the
winning side. We all have to look within ourselves to ensure our lives show we
are ready and if not, make the necessary change to prepare for the return of
Jesus. There will be no warning to allow for needed changes. We must be ready
now and stay that way until we have a death or are Raptured, or if left behind,
stick it out until the final battle is won.
5-7-2023. Revelation 16:17-21 – The Seventh Vial.
16:17. After seven seals, seven trumpets, and six vials of wrath, we get to the
final vial and an acknowledgement that “It is done!” reminding us of when Jesus
said “It is finished” before He died on the Cross.
16:18. This judgment is in the form of an earthquake the likes of which the
world hasn’t seen up to this point. Today earthquakes are measured using the
Richter Scale beginning at 1 and rising based on intensity. Each number
represents an increase of 32 times the released energy of the previous number.
This will be the worst the world has ever experienced so there is no telling how
high the intensity number will be.
16:19. Babylon was the name of both an evil city and an immoral empire, as well
as a world center for idol worship. Since the building of the tower of Babel
(Gen 11:1-9), Babylon has stood for rebellion and opposition to God’s
directions. Babylon ransacked Jerusalem and took the people of Judah into
captivity. Just as Babylon was the Jews worst enemy, the Roman Empire was the
worst enemy of the early Christians. John, who probably didn’t dare speak
against Rome openly, applied the name of Babylon to the enemy of God’s people --
and by extension, all of God’s enemies of all time.
16:20-21. Because of the destruction caused by the earthquake, every island and
mountain will disappear. Hail with stones weighing as much as 100 pounds will
fall, causing further destruction and many deaths of those who have survived the
previous destruction. We are told how people will curse God for all that has
happened to them. Interesting that they would this the time to do this and not
think of asking forgiveness and turn back to Him. Cursing God when you are
facing death may seem like you’re getting the last word over Him but we will see
that God will try again to address the rebellious humanity and in fact, He will
have the last word.
5-14-2023. Revelation 17:1-7. The Great Prostitute. In the last couple of
chapters, we have been shown the wrath of God. As we continue, keep in mind that
what we are seeing in the Book of Revelation is the culmination of God’s wrath
after thousands of years of love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness. Now in chapter
17 we are going to get a view of the world the way God sees it using a lot of
symbolism. When Jesus came to earth, He spent time with prostitutes and sinners,
hugged lepers, shushed His disciples when He wanted to play with children, and
treated everyone with the utmost love and acceptance to show people what God is
like. So, if God appears to be harsh in His dealings with people in the last
days, we are about to get His perspective on what is going on to see that maybe
He has a reason for His wrath.
17:1-2. One of the angels with the seven vials comes to John to show him how the
great prostitute is going to be punished. This prostitute is a symbol of all of
the empires and religions devised by mankind throughout history as a substitute
for Jesus Christ and His crucifixion for sins. The “many waters” symbolize the
multitudes of people involved in those religions who along with the leaders are
labeled “spiritual fornicators” for corrupting the work of Christ on the Cross.
17:3. John see a vision in the wilderness, which again is a symbol of anything
that goes against Christ and the Cross. The woman on the scarlet beast
represented organized non-Christian religions and the scarlet color indicates
blood pertaining to the persecution of Christians. Her blasphemy represents her
opposition the God’s plan for salvation. The seven heads and ten horns of the
beast represent the seven empires of Egypt Assyria, Babylon, Medo Persia, Greece
and Rome who persecuted Israel. The ten horns represent the future nations that
will come out of the old Roman Empire territory and persecute Israel. This
foundation was laid in Daniel.
17:4. The purple and scarlet clothes worn by the woman pertains to Israel and
later the Church Age with purple representing the dominion of these religion
over the nations and the scarlet color representing the persecution of Israel.
The gold and precious stones indicate that these nations and religions have
always been very rich, and the golden cup symbolizes that these religions the
ability to allure believers in spite of their abomination including child
sacrifice and filthiness.
17:5. The forehead symbolizes these empires and religions are from man and not
God. Her name ‘Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother of Harlots and Abomination
of the Earth’ represents the content of the “golden cup” -- even though it looks
wonderful on the outside. If it’s not Jesus Christ and Him Crucified, then it’s
labeled by the God as harlots and abominations. Think back to the letters to the
seven Churches and how they were chastised for forgetting about the Cross.
17:6. John is amazed at what he is being shown. The blood of the Saints
symbolizes the empires and their false religions who persecuted Israel up to the
time of Christ as well as the millions in the Church Age who gave their lives
for the cause of Christ.
17:7. The angel knew that John would be amazed at the scene he was being shown
and that he would need an explanation.
5-21-2023. Revelation 17:8-18. Continuing with the Great Prostitute.
17:8. We are still into a lot of symbolism. We first learned of the dragon [satan]
in chapter 12 and the beast [antichrist] in chapters 14-16. The Book of Life
which we saw in chapter 3 is where all the names of believers through all time
who stood firm in their faith are registered. It symbolizes God’s knowledge of
who belongs to Him. The phrase ‘was, and is not, and yet is’ tells us tells us
the beast was not functioning in John’s time, but it will be released from the
abyss, and there will be a point where it will die and come back to life.
17:9-11. Here is a reference to seven empires and symbolizes all evil in the
world including people, religions, groups, governments, or structures that
oppose Jesus. It indicates the climax of satan’s struggle against God as He
halts the power of evil and sends the beast to perdition, which is eternal hell.
17:12-15. These verses speak of the leaders of the ten nation group that will
form at the time of the Great Tribulation with the antichrist being in the lead.
They join in power and strength and allegiance to the antichrist and attack
Israel and all who believe in God and Jesus at the final of Battle Armageddon.
17:16. These nations will turn on the prostitute and total destroy her meaning
those who have served the antichrist will eventually be destroyed from within
because evil, destructive by nature, discards its own adherents when they no
longer serve a purpose to satan and the antichrist.
17:17-18. These verses are reminding us that no matter what is going to happen
we must always trust that God is still in charge, that He rules all the plans
and action of satan and the antichrist, and that His plans will happen just as
He says they will. God sometimes uses people opposed to Him as tools to execute
His will. While He allows evil to permeate this present world, the new earth
will never experience sin or evil.
5-28-2023. Revelation 18:1-8. Warning to Escape Babylon’s Judgment. Babylon was
the name of both an evil city and an immoral empire, and a world center for idol
worship. It is also a metaphor for all evil societies throughout history. Since
the building of the tower of Babel (Gen 11:1-9), Babylon has stood for rebellion
and opposition to God’s directions. Babylon ransacked Jerusalem and took the
people of Judah into captivity (2 Kings 24; 2 Chronicles 36). Just as Babylon
was the Jews’ worst enemy, the Roman Empire was the worst enemy of the early
Christians. John, who probably didn’t dare speak against Rome openly applied the
name Babylon to this enemy of God’s people – and, by extension, to all God’s
enemies of all times – past, present, and future. The message is clear:
Everything that tries to block God’s purposes will come to a violent end.
18:1-3.The angel in verse 1 is different from the two angels John saw of chapter
17 in that he is greater than any of the seven vial judgment angels because we
are told that he has great power, the earth was lightened with his glory, and he
had a mighty and strong voice. It is possible it could be Gabriel or Michael.
This angel is speaking of the Babylon of old, the Roman Empire and all future
kingdoms, empires, cities, and lifestyles warning of the evil and sinful
pleasures of society that appeal to the people’s desires for money, sex, and
power.
Evil has been and will continue to take advantage of people’s most vulnerable
and powerful temptations to enrich themselves since the fall of man in the
garden right up until the time the antichrist is in control. John is warning
people to recognize and resist the evil that is all around them and instead live
a Christ-like life of service, giving, self-sacrifice, obedience to God’s Word
and His truth.
18:4-8. Then there is another voice from Heaven that is giving a warning
specifically to believers through all time to resist the not participate in the
evils offered by the world in order to avoid the coming plagues, torture, grief,
death, mourning, famine, and fire. We learn that God has a long memory and will
not forget unrepented sins of the past and will exact His retribution to those
who turn away from Him. Retribution will be exacted twice that of the sins that
have been committed against Him. Satan, through the antichrist, will boast of
his great strength so the Lord will show the satan, the antichrist, and the
world what strength really is.
Believers who think they can live in the world and participate in its’ evil ways
will be judged the same as nonbelievers. We can’t have it both ways. We must
either be for God and have eternal life with peace and complete satisfaction, or
against Him and live for eternity in hell with the punishments exacted on satan
and his followers.
6-4-2023. Revelation 18:9-24. Babylon’s Fall. The voice from Heaven is showing
John the fall of Babylon which is the symbol of what has been created in the
world by satan and the antichrist, along with all of the destruction caused by
God. What we see now is from the human point of view.
18:9-10. Those who control or benefit from the various parts of the economic
system will mourn when it all falls apart. The fall of the corrupt world system
will affect all who enjoyed and depended on it. No one will remain unaffected.
Those who are tied to the world’s system will lose everything when it collapses.
What they have worked to build up will be destroyed in a moment. A reminder that
those who work only for material rewards will have nothing when they die or when
their possessions are destroyed.
18:11-20. The voice from Heaven continues to speak against the greedy merchants.
The luxury they longed for is gone. We see a list of merchandise that shows the
extreme materialism of this society with mostly luxuries and few necessities.
There is no mourning for lost souls, only lost possessions and lifestyles. This
tells us how truly depraved society will be at the end.
18:21-24. In the end, we are told that a mighty angel throws a large boulder
into the sea with such violence that the city will be thrown down causing it to
be completely gone. It is believed this will cause an earthquake that wipes away
the city. In the end, complete and utter destruction will come to all who oppose
God.
6-11-2023. Revelation 19:1-10. Praise. Praise is a heartfelt response to God
from those who love him. The more we get to know God, the more we realize what
He has done for us resulting in us giving Him more praise. John is showing us
the Heavenly praise for God’s defeat of satan.
19:1-3. John hears the loud voices of people in Heaven praising God and His
righteous judgments, the defeat of the corruption in the earth, and the
vengeance He exacted for all of His servants who have been persecuted for their
faith.
19:4-6. The 24 elders represent all the redeemed for all the ages and the four
living creatures represent the creation of God and how it can now serve its full
purpose as originally intended. This is the signal of the end of all evil and
the beginning of all righteousness. The “great multitude” consists of every true
believer who will praise the Lord and will do so continually. John is describing
the sound as that of many waters and mighty thunder.
19:7-8. This scene is the culmination of human history – the judgment of the
wicked and the wedding of the Lamb and His Bride, the Church. We are shown the
rejoicing of the Redeemed (the Bride) who are about to be joined in Holy
Matrimony to the Lamb who had saved them, This will likely take place in Heaven
immediately before the second Coming. The New Testament often refers to the
Church as the Bride of Christ. We are seeing the culmination of this in the
wedding or the joining of the redeemed with the redeemer – Jesus Christ. Fine
linen is symbolic of the righteousness which was given to them by what Christ
did at the Cross.
19:9-10. We don’t know exactly who is speaking to John, but the word Lamb is
used to signify that this is possible because of the Cross. We see John falling
down to worship someone who he thinks is Jesus, but who tells John he is a
fellow servant and his brother who has the testimony of Jesus. John sees this
individual in a glorified form which could be a hint of what we all will look
like in the new kingdom. Also, the angel is telling us that our worship is only
to be for God and Jesus and He did for us on the Cross.
As we read Revelation it’s important that we look past the details of the
amazing visions and focus on the overarching theme in all of them which is the
ultimate victory of God and Jesus Christ over all evil.
6-18-2023. Revelation 19:11-14. The Second Coming. Up to this point most of
God’s judgment on the earth will be in the form of natural, or supernatural
disasters. Throughout all that is to happen John was told and instructed to
record what was going to take place.
19:11. John is seeing a vision of Heaven opening and Jesus will appear not as a
Lamb but as a warrior on a white horse symbolizing victory. He first came as a
lamb to be a sacrifice, but will He return as the conquering King to execute
Judgment. The name “Faithful and True” is to contrast with the faithless and
deceitful Babylon that we saw described in chapter 18.
19:12. He will be seen as someone with eyes blazing like fire which represents
Judgment. He will be wearing many crowns showing Him to be Lord of all the
realms. He will have a name written that is known only to Himself. We know that
Jesus has always had many names: Faithful and true, Word of God, King of Kings
and Lord of Lords, but in truth no name can do Him justice. He transcends any
description or expression the human mind can ever devise or fully understand.
19:13. His robes dipped in blood symbolizes the holiness and perfection can only
be given to mankind through the blood the sinless Lamb Jesus shed on the Cross.
19:14. When Jesus returns, He will be with the army of Heaven also on white
horses wearing fine white linen which symbolizes purity and sinlessness.
06-25-2023. Revelation 19:15-21 – Armageddon.
19:15. This is a graphic display of God’s wrath. It shows His anger and judgment
against sin and against those who have constantly rejected Christ as the means
of forgiveness and reconciliation. God’s wrath exists alongside His mercy. In
each generation, there must be balanced preaching and teaching about God’s grace
and His anger against sin. In modern times there has been a lot of teaching
about God’s love. Acceptance has become so predominant that God’s anger seems to
be mythical. But seeing God in this light doesn’t warn people away from sin.
Studying about God’s wrath may be watered down by some, but it is still real and
will be terrible for those who have steadfastly refused Him. We must study to
learn of both His mercy and His wrath.
19:16. The title of King of Kings and Lord of Lords indicates sovereignty. At
this point in time most of the world will be worshiping the antichrist believing
he has all power and authority. But when they see Jesus suddenly appear out of
Heaven along with His army of angels, they will learn how wrong they were and
what true power and authority really are.
19:17-18. The “great supper of God’ is a stark contrast with the wedding supper
of the Lamb with the faithful. One pictures the ultimate celebration with joy
and happiness, the other shows total devastation. Those who refused God will be
devoured with no consideration of their station in life. Some scholars think
this is a symbolic description and not an actual killing of nonbelievers. But
either way, the fate of nonbelievers will be dealt with by the power and wrath
of God. If they die by the birds or die by being cast into Hell after the
judgment, all who sided with satan and the antichrist will end up in the same
circumstances.
19:19-21. The battle lines are now set for the greatest confrontation in the
history of the world. Satan, the antichrist, and the false prophet along with
the armies of all the nations of the world under the rule of the antichrist are
now gathered to defeat Jesus and His angels. The armies of the antichrist
believe they are there out of their own desire to support the antichrist but in
actuality they have been summoned by God so He can destroy them. The fact that
the world presumes that they can defeat God shows how their pride and rebellion
have destroyed their thinking. There will be no real fight because Jesus won
when He died on the Cross and rose from the dead. The evil leaders will be
immediately captured, sent to their punishment in the Lake of Fire, and the evil
forces will be annihilated. This battle will be carried out with the sword that
proceeds out of the mouth of Jesus, meaning all He has to do is speak in the
Battle of Armageddon for the destruction to unfold thereby ending the conflict
between good and evil on the earth.
7-2-23. Revelation 20:1-10. The Millennium and satan. The battle of Armageddon
is now over, and Jesus has prevailed. The antichrist and the evil leaders under
his control are all in the lake of fire and evil has been banished. But what
happens to satan?
20:1-2. We see another angel come down from Heaven, showing us angels are very
prominent in the Plan of God for this world, and he is holding a heavy chain and
the key to the bottomless pit (previously mentioned in Rev 9:1 where locusts
came from). This time, instead of creatures coming out of the pit, the dragon,
who is satan, will be chained up and thrown into the pit, or the abyss.
20:3. satan will be a prisoner there for 1,000 years, no longer able to work his
evil in the world. But, in a twist we would not have expected, after 1,000 years
God will let satan out of the abyss where he will once more work evil in the
world for what is termed “a little season.” We aren’t told how long this “little
season is” but we do know that he will not succeed. Also, we aren’t told why God
releases him again. Perhaps it’s to finally expose those who still rebel and
confirm those who are truly faithful, resulting in the final destruction of all
evil for all of eternity.
20:4. Meanwhile for the 1,000 years that satan is gone (referred to as the
Millennium), we see the Tribulation saints who were beheaded for speaking about
Jesus and refusing to take the mark of the beast or worship him or his image
during the Tribulation period. Those sitting on thrones are judging them. We
aren’t told who these judges are, but some scholars say it is the 24 elders who
represent the entire plan of God that pertains to the Redeemed through all the
ages.
20:5-6. We are told there will be two resurrections and a second death. There
are two views regarding the two resurrections: (1) Some believe the first
resurrection takes place spiritually in our hearts at the time of our salvation
and then the Millennium is our spiritual reign with Christ between the first and
second comings. During this time, we are priests of God because Christ reigns in
our hearts. Whereas the second resurrection will be the bodily resurrection of
all people – good and bad -- for final judgment. (2) Others believe the first
resurrection occurs after satan has been set aside where the physical bodies of
believers will then reign with Christ on the earth for a literal 1,000 years.
Then the second resurrection will happen at the end of the Millennium where God
will judge all unbelievers who have died from the beginning of time until the
present. The second death is where all non-believers who have died since the
beginning of time until the end of the Tribulation will be thrown into the lake
of fire for all of eternity. Regardless of what is true here, there will come a
time when all of this will be made very clear.
20:7-9. The end of the Millennium is where satan will again walk the earth for
“a little season” trying to deceive people. The reference to Gog and Magog
symbolizes all the forces of evil that band together to battle God. It includes
all nations which is described as the four corners of the earth. Those who are
affected will be those who did not accept Christ during the Kingdom Age – or the
Millennium. When they start their work the fight won’t last long because God
will destroy this evil force with fire from Heaven, ending their attempt at war
and the destruction of God’s people.
20:10. Finally, it will be satan’s turn to be tossed in the lake of fire and
brimstone forever ending his influence in the world where, along with the Beast
and False prophet, he will be tormented day and night for all eternity.
Regarding the Millennium, There are different interpretations among scholars of
exactly what will take place. The three most prominent ideas are: (1)
Postmillennialism looks for a literal 1,000 year period of peace on earth
ushered in by the Church. At the end of the 1,000 years, satan will be unleashed
once more but then Christ will return to defeat him and reign forever. Christ’s
second coming will not occur until after the 1,000 period. (2) Premillennialism
also views the 1,00 years as a literal time period but hold that Christ’s second
coming will initiate His 1,000-year reign and that this reign will occur before
the final removal of satan. (3) Amillennialism sees the 1,000 year period as
symbolic of the time between Christ’s ascension and His return. This Millennium
is the reign of Christ in the hearts of believer and in in His Church;
therefore, it is another way of referring to the Church Age. This period will
end with the second coming of Christ. These different views about the Millennium
need not cause division and controversy in the Church because each view
acknowledges what is most crucial to Christianity: Christ will return, defeat
satan, and reign forever. Whatever and whenever the Millennium is, Jesus Christ
will unite all believers; therefore, we should not let this issue divide us. All
we need to be concerned with is that our hearts are right with God, that we
trust His plan for us and the fate of the world, and that we have accepted Jesus
as our personal Savior.
7-9-2023. Revelation 20:11-15. Great White Throne of Judgment.
20:11. We see in verse 11 that Jesus is sitting on the throne ready to pass
judgment on those who refused Him.
20:12-13. At the final judgment, the books will be opened. The Book of Life
contains the names of those who have put their trust in Jesus Christ to save
them. These books also contain the recorded deeds of everyone, good and evil.
Everyone’s life will be reviewed and evaluated. No one is saved by good deeds,
but deeds are seen as clear evidence of a person’s actual relationship with God.
Jesus will look at how we have handled gifts, opportunities, and
responsibilities given to us. God’s gracious gift of salvation does not free us
from the requirement of faithful obedience and service. Each one of us must
serve Christ in the best way we know how and we must live each day knowing the
books will one day be opened for all of us to be judged.
20:14-15. Death and Hell will be thrown into the lake of fire where God
completes His judgment. The lake of fire is the ultimate destination of
everything wicked – satan, the Beast, the False prophet, the demons, death,
Hades, and all those whose names are not recorded in the book of life because
they did not place their faith in Jesus. John’s vision does not allow any gray
areas in God’s judgment. If by faith we have not identified with Christ,
confessing Him as Lord, we will have no hope, no second chance, no other appeal.
It is made very clear that waiting until the point of judgment to accept Jesus
as Lord will be too late. Anyone who hasn’t done so in life will not have a
second chance and will be lost for all eternity. After what we have learned in
Revelation, there appears to be different states of existence after death: a
spiritual state at first, followed by a bodily resurrection. And it appears that
not all the resurrections of the dead take place at the same time. Yes, it is
all confusing. But it doesn’t matter if we don’t understand all the details
completely. What matters is that we prepare ourselves during this life and as
soon as possible if you haven’t yet done so, to meet whatever will happen when
we pass from this life into the next. Live a life that shows Jesus is Lord and
no matter what happens, you will be fine because your will be written in the
Book of Life.
7-16-2023. Revelation 21:1-8. The New Heaven and New Earth.
21:1. The earth as we know it will not last forever, but after God’s great
judgment, He will create a new earth. He also promised in Isaiah that He would
create a new and eternal earth. He will remove the oceans, which in John’s time
were viewed as dangerous and changeable. We saw in Revelation 13:11 that it was
also the source of the beast. We don’t know exactly how God’s new earth will
look but we do know that God and His followers – those whose names are written
in the Book of Life will be united and live there forever.
21:2-4. We learn God will change His headquarters from Heaven to Earth. He will
come down to be with us just as He became a man in Jesus and lived among us.
Wherever God lives and reigns, there is peace, security, and love. This new
Jerusalem will be where God will take away all our tears because there will be
no more death, sorrow, or pain. No matter what problems you may be experiencing
now, there will come a time when they will all be gone. We will experience
eternal fulfillment and joy in this new earth. We may not know or fully
understand just how it will happen, but what we do know is that we can believe
that eternity with God will be more wonderful than we can imagine now.
21:5. God was the Creator at the beginning. Everything was new then as we learn
in the majestic description written Genesis. Now at the end of the age, we see
how He concludes with the creation of the new Heaven and new Earth. This
knowledge gives us hope and tremendous encouragement. When we will be with God,
with our sins forgiven and our future secure, we will be like Christ. We will be
made perfect like Him and we’ll have new bodies, new hearts, and a fresh desire
for worship. We will be with millions of brothers and sisters, some of whom we
already know and others we have not yet met. Because of our faith, we can look
forward to living forever with God in this glorious new place He will create for
us.
21:6 Just as God finished the work of creation and Jesus finished the work of
redemption, the Trinity will finish the entire plan of salvation by inviting the
redeemed into a new creation.
21:7-8. The ‘cowardly” are the fearful ones who abandoned Jesus at the threats
of the beast – antichrist. They feared persecution so badly that they choose
temporary personal safety over eternal life with God. As a result, they will be
dealt with the same as all unbelievers and immoral evil people. In contrast,
everyone who is victorious and “stands firm to the end” will receive the
blessings that God promised. To follow Jesus requires the boldness and bravery
to stand for Him when oppression occurs. We all need to pray for the courage to
do just that no matter what pressures we may face. The second death will be a
spiritual death, meaning either eternal torment or destruction. In either case,
it means permanent separation from God as was show to us previously in 19:30 and
20:14.
7-23-2023. Revelation 21: 9-15 - The New Jerusalem and the Holy City.
21:9-11. John is writing how he encountered one of the 7 vial angels who then
took him to show him the descent of the new Holy City of Jerusalem from Heaven.
His description says the city will have a brilliant shine like a jasper gem that
is clear as crystal. This description describes the radiance of God’s Glory
because God will reside in the new city.
21:12-13. The Holy City will also have a high wall surrounding it with twelve
gates, each one with twelve angels. The twelve gates (three on each of the four
wall surrounding the city) signify the twelve tribes of Israel reminding us how
important and precious the people of Israel are to God. The twelve angels at
each gate speak of the glory of God and His government of the new earth He is
creating.
21:14-15. Because the way of salvation was originally shown to the Jews, the
names of the twelve tribes will be written on each of the gates. But the
foundation of Salvation is built on the Cross so the city will be built on
twelve foundations, each named for the twelve apostles; reinforcing for us that
salvation’s message is based completely on Jesus and the Cross. Then John tells
us his guiding angel had a golden measuring stick.
Here we are being shown that the new Jerusalem embodies the wonder of God’s
future home for His people. The twelve tribes of Israel likely represent all the
faithful from the Old Testament Times and the twelve postles represent the
Church – both believing Jews and Gentiles who have been faithful to God. All
believers will live together in the new earth.
7-30-2023. Revelation 21:16-22 – Measurements. The City’s measurements show us a
place that will be large enough to hold all of God’s people.
21:16-17. The angel with the golden stick measured each side of the city to be
12,000 furlongs which is translated to be 1,400 miles per side. The city will be
four square, meaning 1,400 miles long, 1,400 miles wide, and 1,400 miles high.
When you add it all up, the size is astounding and will be about half the size
of the United States. This will certainly dwarf any manmade skyscraper. The
surrounding wall, which will be only ornamental as there will be no need for any
protection, will be 144 cubits or 216 feet thick. The city’s measurements reveal
a place large enough to hold all God’s people. The measurements are all
multiples of twelve, the number for God’s people. The twelve tribes of Israel
and the twelve apostles who started the Church. The new Jerusalem will be a
perfect cube which is the same shape as the Most Holy Place in the temple as
described in 1 Kings 6:20. These measurements tell us that our new home will be
perfect for each one of us.
21:18-21. We are being shown that the city will be built with precious stones
and gold The wall will be jasper, which is a gem of several colors. The city
will be pure gold that will appear to be clear glass. The foundation of twelve
layers will be made of a gems: of jasper (multicolored), sapphire (blue),
chalcedony (milky gray), emerald (green), sardonyx (white), sardius (red),
chrysolite (yellow), beryl (aquamarine), topaz (yellow green), chrysoprasus
(green), jacinth (multi colored), and amethyst (purple). The flood of color is
hard to imagine but the city will be exquisite. The twelve gates will each be
made of pearls. Each gate will be about 216 feet tall, all covered with
thousands of pearls with every third or fourth gate being made of one single
gigantic pearl. And the streets of the city will be pure gold that will appear
as transparent as glass.
The size and description of the new Jerusalem will be a place of purity and
durability and it will last forever. The descriptions offered surely can’t come
close to describing the beauty of it all.
8-6-2023. Revelation 22:1-5 – The Rulers. Now that John is being shown what is
inside the glistening city, he describes for us what could be the Main Street in
the new city.
22:1. First he speaks of a river containing the Water of Life. This reference is
found throughout the Bible, and every time, it speaks of eternal life. The
Garden of Eden also had a river running through it as did Ezekiel’s vision found
in 47:7-12 of his book, that also included trees growing beside it symbolizing
the refreshment of the Holy Spirit and the blessings of salvation. The river
will come directly from the throne of God and of the Lamb Jesus. There are
arguments about whether or not this is literal or symbolic. But the truth is, it
can be both.
22:2. The Tree of Life described here reminds us of the Tree of Life in the
Garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve sinned, they were forbidden to eat from that
tree because they couldn’t have eternal life as long as they were under sin’s
control. Now because of the forgiveness of sin through the blood of Jesus on the
Cross, this city will be free from evil and sin allowing every resident to eat
of it freely now that God has removed the control of sin from the world. We also
see the number twelve again, this time in the form of twelve fruit trees. Here
it signifies the government of God. As for the healing properties of the leaves
of the trees, why is this necessary when there will be no sickness or death?
This goes back to Ezekiel’s prophecy where John quotes from Ezekiel 47:12 where
the water flowing produces trees with healing leaves. He is implying that the
water that feeds the trees produces health and strength wherever it goes.
22:3. There is no more curse because there is no more sin. Everything in the
presence of God must be free from the curse of sin. This environment in the new
city will be possible because of what Jesus did on the Cross. This is another
fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy found in Zechariah 14:11.
22:4. All who inhabit the city will see the face of Jesus and will bear His name
on their foreheads. This means that they will have a close personal relationship
with Him and proudly bear His name because of the blood He shed on the Cross.
22:5. We also learn there will be no more night. No power failures or electric
bills. Why? Because the light will be provided by God Himself where He and the
Lamb Jesus will reign forever.
8-13-2023. Revelation 22:6-13 – Alpha and Omega.
22:6. This verse merely a confirmation that all of the astounding and
extraordinary things that are written in the book are absolutely true and that
God sent his messenger to show to him everything that he has been written. When
John speaks of ‘the things which must shortly be done’ does not mean it will be
done in his time. He is referring to things that will be done immediately after
the Rapture of the Church – which will be the Great Tribulation.
22:7. These are words of Jesus speaking of His return at the Battle of
Armageddon. The Book of Revelation is the only book in the world that gives a
preview of the future. Here, believers are being warned to study the book as
much as they do any other Book of the Bible so we can be aware of what God’s
plans are for us and the entire world.
22:8-10. At this point we see that John is overwhelmed with what he has been
told and bows down to worship at the feet of his messenger. Recall in Rev 9:10
that John made this same error before. John is again told not to worship the
messenger because he is a servant of God just as John and all believers who
eagerly await the fulfillment of the prophecies that are shown here are. Unlike
Dainel was told, John is directed to make his vision known to the world ‘for the
time is at hand.’ The end times began when Jesus ascended to Heaven which
started the Church Age. It is important that all who come to know Jesus as
Savior be aware of what is going to happen so they can be ready to enter into
the Kingdom Age at the Second Coming of Jesus.
22:11-12. This is a reference to the fact that all of mankind is building up
their destiny by the actions and habits of their lives. Those who have chosen to
reject God and Jesus will continue to do so and those who have chosen to believe
will continue to believe and live for eternity in the new earth created by God.
Whatever choices people make in life will be judged and rewarded – for good or
for bad – accordingly.
22:13. Jesus is telling us that He is the Alpha and Omega (first and last
letters of the Greek alphabet), meaning He is first, last, and everything in
between. It doesn’t mean that Christ as God had a beginning and end because He
doesn’t. Jesus said I and my Father are One so like God, He always was and
always will be. He is the beginning of all things, and the end of all things.
8-20-2023. Revelation 22:14-21 – Blessing and Invitation.
22:14-15. There are many scholars that believe this verse should have been
translated as “Blessed are they who have washed their robes in the Blood of the
Lamb.” Because when you read the Greek manuscript and many others, that were
used to create the King James Bible, this is what John actually wrote. Take note
that Jesus is speaking to John in verses 12-16. What does it mean to wash your
robes in the Blood of Jesus? You have accepted Him as your personal Savior
because He willingly died on the Cross to pay the dept for your sins. If you
haven’t done that now is a good time to take that step. We have seen what will
happen to those who have and to those who refuse. Jesus is confirming that those
who have not asked forgiveness and chosen not to follow Him will not be allowed
to receive the benefits that true Christians will be given.
22:16. Again Jesus is confirming that He existed long before David and as a
human, He is one of David’s direct descendants. As our Messiah, He is the
‘Bright Morning Star,” which is the light of salvation to all who accept Him.
His reference to the Churches includes not only the original seven but all
Churches for all time.
22:17-19. John is telling us that it is the responsibility of both the Holy
Spirit and the Bride of Christ – the Churches – to share the Word of God to all
people, particularly what he has written in Revelation. He also gives us a
warning that anyone who purposefully tries to distort it in any way will
experiences the plagues that are shown in this prophecy and God will take their
names out of the Book of Life denying them the ability to experiences the new
kingdom.
22:20-21. We don’t know the day or hour that Jesus will come but it will be soon
– at any moment - and unexpected. That is why we must always be ready so we will
have nothing to worry about. Those who aren’t ready will get a terrible shock.
Revelation closes human history as Genesis opened it – in a place of paradise.
Eden began as a place where Adam and Eve walked and talked with God daily.
Revelation shows us that those conditions will return and there will be no more
sin or sorrow. Jesus is coming back, and it is our prayer that He may come
quickly.
This study began on 8-7-2022! What we have studied this past year shows us that
God is in charge, and He will fulfill all of the promises He has made for our
future. Nonbelievers will say if He was coming back, it would have happened by
now so none of this can be true. But don’t fall for that. Remember time is a
human constraint and 2,000 years to God is seconds to us. That’s why it’s
important that we be ready at all times.
Recommended additional reading: Perfect Ending – Why Your Eternal Future Matters
Today by Dr. Robert Jeffress, who pastor’s the First Baptist Church of Dallas
Texas.