Revelation

Jesus tells the Philadelphians that he knows them (3:8) as he had told the other churches. He begins recounting this knowledge by saying that he knows they have limited strength. In that, Jesus is not comparing them with the people of other churches. The...

Jesus promises reward to the Thyatiran overcomers of authority over the nations. The Greek translated authority is often translated as right (e.g., I Cor 9:6). It doesn’t mean here ruling mastery of subservient vassals. The authority granted here means...

As with the other letters, the message to Pergamum ends with Christ’s urging to listen and promise to those who overcome. The victor here is promised hidden manna. Manna was the food—the sustenance—that helped the children of Israel survive through their...

The letter to the church in Smyrna is next. The letter begins in form as did the one to Ephesus—providing one of the descriptions of Jesus. Here he is spoken of as “the First and the Last, the One who was dead and came to life.” Theses terms speak of control. Of...

As John sees Jesus in 1:12–16, just as OT prophets did during their visions, he collapses before him in worship. And just as the OT messenger often did (Dan 10:8–10), the messenger here (Jesus) reaches out to touch him, giving him strength and encouragement. Jesus...

We have viewed the entire book from the time John was called through the door of Heaven in the first verse of chapter 4 through the last chapter. We have seen the sun darkened, colored horses coming forth, a serpent, a prostitute, a beast from the sea, 10 horns on...

Overwhelmed by the image of relationship with God in the marriage and feasting scene and by the angel’s urging John to write that those invited are blessed, John falls before the angel in worship. This is one of the angels of the bowl judgments that has been...

We discussed what the fall of the Prostitute is—the failure of human-focused society’s belief that it can satisfy self with truth, goodness, and beauty. We also talked about when this occurred. In the same way that the Christ’s victory over sin and death was won at...

With the encouragement to see things clearly from God’s view (“the mind with wisdom”), the angel proceeds to explain the imagery and what will occur. The first mention is of the seven heads of the beast. It is hard to turn aside from the notion that this describes...

Even with the overwhelming sorrow and disbelief we may have regarding those who sorrow and disbelieve in the bowl judgments, it is Chapter 17 that is the heart of this section on the human-focused. It is here that we see the story of our age explained most fully....

Chapter 15 ends with the angels who are carrying the bowls of wrath exiting the sanctuary of God. The Bible tells us the sanctuary was filled with smoke and no one could enter it until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed. Of course, the smoke...

Here is the chiasmus again as an outline for how we are proceeding through this section.1. Angel Message 1: Eternal Gospel (14:6–7)   2. Angel Message 2: Babylon Fallen (14:8)      3. Angel Message 3: Beast Followers Drink Wrath...

The battle of this age that we find in Revelation 14:6 through chapter 19 provides characterization and boundary through its separate sections arranged in chiasmus fashion:1. Angel Message 1: Eternal Gospel (14:6–7)   2. Angel Message 2: Babylon Fallen...

The three aspects of humankind’s distorted attempt to satisfy its desire for truth, goodness, and beauty lie in (1) the never-ending yearning for satisfaction in TGB apart from God, (2) the belief that satisfaction of TGB will come from our own essence—the...

In John’s chapter 12 presentation of images of the woman, he speaks of one instance (verse 6) during which she is fed for 1260 days. Tying it to Daniel, the woman is fed for those 3.5 years following Christ’s ascension. And indeed, Israel the faithful was fed on...

Elijah’s story of the three and a half year drought gave us certain principles of how God works in our sinful world. God has been accomplishing his plan of redemption ever since the fall. But Elijah’s story shows us that as evil dominates, God judges. The good will...

The story of Revelation 12 begins with the coming of the Messiah. Israel—representing God’s redemptive plan—gives birth (through the life, death, and resurrection—the atonement) to the Redeemer. That Redeemer is said to shepherd. The word shepherd is sometimes...

Revelation is a book about the redemption story. From what has bee discussed so far throughout this Revelation series, we see the outline of the book clearly. Just like a book, it has the beginning information--a prologue or preface—and an ending after the...

The action of measuring the city means the same thing that measuring, in its figurative sense, always means in the Bible. We saw John being given a measuring rod in Revelation 11 to measure the sanctuary. In measuring the sanctuary, he was identifying and defining...

Beginning in verse 9 of chapter 21, the focus shifts slightly. The New Jerusalem had appeared in the first section of the chapter as the accomplished goal of God’s redeeming purpose and work. Verse 9 begins a subsection bringing greater detailed clarity of that New...

Following the presentation of the scroll in this third and last scroll section, the results of the whole scroll sequence are realized. The scrolls, remember, are John’s way of organizing this book highlighting the revelation of Jesus Christ as the Kinsman Redeemer....

The last few verses of chapter 20 speak of final judgment. The sea gives up its dead. Death and Hades personified give up their dead. Death and Hades themselves are said to be thrown into the lake of fire—the second death. And in fact, the climax is that all who...

Revelation 20:1-10 emphasizes again for us in pictorial form what we already know preached throughout the rest of the New Testament. Revelation is a difficult book to understand only when we insist that it must be something new and different from what God has shown...

Christ’s kingdom is one that concentrates on love relationship resting in the infinite and ultimate truth, goodness, and beauty of God. In fact, we may also say it in reverse—that God’s truth, goodness, and beauty necessarily rest on love relationship. Truth,...

In the last part of Revelation 11, the seventh trumpet is blown, and we are told that the kingdom of the earth has become the kingdom of the Lord and his Messiah. Surely, however, this was already so, was it not? We had been reading in chapter 11 of our current...

As 2 Corinthians 6:14-16 tells us, we are the sanctuary of God. Yet, Revelation 11:1 is not meant simply to inform us that the measuring has to do with individuals getting saved in this interadvental age. That first verse instructs John to go measure, not to build....

Verse 2 of chapter 10 tells us that the angel plants one foot on the land and one on the sea. Continuing with the understanding that this angel is none other than Christ himself, we must find his firm stance as meaningful. Remember that at this point the seals have...

While the sixth trumpet represents the torment of search for satisfaction in self as did the previous trumpet, the fifth had done so regarding relationship with God while the sixth focuses on broken relationship with humanity. The order shown from fifth to sixth...

As Satan opens the abyss, smoke belches out of the great furnace, blocking out the sun. The imagery here is clear. The sun is normally associated with illuminating light of revelation. God gives light, and the sun then represents that brilliancy of truth, goodness,...

Another reason for the silence upon opening the seventh seal can be that it is heaven’s reaction to the event taking place. Remember, the actual activity is not seals opening. This opening of seals and horsemen coming forth and sky rolling up and mountains moving...

The first four seals established the atmosphere of the world moving toward God’s redemption. The gospel was injecting itself into the sin-cursed environment of broken relationship. But God’s progressive revelation would necessarily result in two groups: those who...

You will notice as we begin each summary, I will review the major division in which we find ourselves in this study. It is important to keep a constant hold on the framework—the meaning of the scroll passages—of Revelation or we will get swept off our feet in the...

One adjustment is necessary for the general outline given last time for the book of Revelation that should clear up a misdirection. Each scroll presentation chapter (5, 10, and 20b) lies between a prequel and sequel of contrasting elements. As noted below, the...

A review is in order. We have taken a decidedly different approach to the study of this book. Rather than starting at the beginning and moving through verse by verse (as we normally do), we have been jumping around here and there to try to point out some...

Although we have now identified the major parts of Revelation, we still need to thread them together. Revelation has often been seen as a disjointed mingling of end time events. It is neither disjointed nor is it only about the end times. As we have discovered, the...

We have now discussed two of the three appearances of the scroll, but I am going to quickly recap them so that we can see the progression. In Revelation 5, a scroll appears in the right hand of God. It is sealed with seven seals. From our OT review and the prior...

The closer kinsman sealed the agreement with Boaz concerning redeeming the land by giving him his sandal. At the time of the writing of the book of Ruth, that custom had already changed as the text implies. The story of Ruth took place in about 1200 BC. By the time...

Following the deaths of Elimelech and his sons, the action in Ruth turns to Naomi, Elimelech’s wife, and her two daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah. Naomi represents Israel. Ruth represents believing Gentiles. And Orpah represents unbelieving Gentiles. Israel knew...

Having discussed the prologue and epilogue to Revelation, we will do well to keep those in mind as we try to fill in the rest of the book. The purpose for the book was clear: it is the revelation of Jesus the Rescuer—Jesus the Redeemer. That revelation is seated...

Revelation’s purpose, as we’ve discussed, is primarily to reveal Jesus, God’s anointed rescuer. Verse 3 of the prologue offers blessing to the one who hears/reads this book, but that blessing is very much associated with the book’s purpose. It is to those who read...

Revelation’s author identifies himself as John. Although he writes to specifically seven churches, the book as a whole gives the impression that it is the revelation of Jesus for all God’s people. From that (and other stylistic details to be discussed later) we...

There can be no pretending—Revelation is difficult to understand. Its difficulty rests not only in its genre—apocalyptic literature in which sign and symbol are intended as the means to develop the story/theme—but also in the fact that of apocalyptic works,...