REVELATION

The Book of Revelation

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• Faithfulness in Testimony - (The Assembly in Smyrna has persevered faithfully in its testimony and faith even if doing so means impoverishment and death - Revelation 2:8-11)

• Babel Rises Again - (In the Bible, Babylon is both a historical kingdom and a symbol of the recurring rise of the World Empire)

• The Ancient Conspiracy - (The Beast from the Sea is the latest incarnation of the ancient creature, the Dragon, that has stalked the seed of the woman since the sin of Adam)

• The Beast from the Abyss - (The first appearance of the “beast” was at its ascent from the “Abyss,” when it arrived to make war on the “two witnesses” – Revelation 11:7)

• The Short Season - (The Devil will be granted a final “short season” during which he will persecute the people of the Lamb - Revelation 12:12)

• An Ancient Beast - (The “Beast from the sea” is the latest incarnation of an ancient creature that has stalked the “seed of the woman” since the fall of Adam)

• The Beast at War - (In Revelation, the language of war is used metaphorically to describe the persecution of believers by the Beast from the Sea)

• The Abyss - (The Abyss is the source of satanic attacks against the people of God, though it remains under the authority of the Lamb)

• The Beast from the Sea - (The Dragon began his war on the “seed of the woman” by summoning his “seed,” the beast from the sea – Revelation 13:1-5)

• The War Against the Saints - (The Beast from the sea is authorized to wage war against the “saints” for its overlord, the Dragon – Revelation 13:6-10)

• The Forty-Two Months - (The “forty-two months” and “1,260-days” both refer to the same prophetic period when the saints are persecuted)

• The Inhabitants of the Earth - (The “inhabitants of the earth” represent the men and women who are excluded from the “book of life” by their own decisions)

• The Persecuting Beast - (The “Dragon” and his earthly vassals wage war against the saints, the followers of the Lamb, and not against other nation-states)

• Beast from the Earth - (The beast from the earth mimics the Lamb. It is the mouthpiece of the Dragon, and the propagandist for the first beast)

• Beastly Economics - (The False Prophet employs economic pressure to coerce men and women to render homage to the “beast from the sea” – Revelation 13:16-14:5)

• Embracing Leviathan - (The “inhabitants of the earth” willingly venerate the Beast and receive its mark, although Christians are not immune from its allure)

• Counterfeit Christ - (The “beast from the earth” mimics the Lamb and presents a counterfeit of the true faith – Revelation 13:11-18)

• Priestly Company - (The 144,000 “males” on Mount Zion are the “first fruit” of the final “grain” harvest, the priestly company that “follows the Lamb”)

• The Mark of the Beast - (All men who refuse to follow the “Lamb” will render homage to the “beast” and take its “mark”)

• Everlasting Gospel - Final Harvest - (Whether one follows the Lamb or the Beast, one will reap everlasting consequences in the final harvest)

• Fall of Babylon - (Angels announce judicial sentence on “Babylon” and the “inhabitants of the earth,” but “rest” awaits the faithful followers of Jesus)

• Final Grain Harvest - (Two different harvests will occur at the end of the age – the reaping of the “grain” and the ingathering of the “fruit of the vine”)

• Song of the Lamb - (Having “overcome” the Beast and its “mark,” the saints stand on the Sea of Glass while singing the song of the Lamb)

• The Dragon's War - (In Revelation, the language of “war” is used metaphorically to portray the attacks of the “beast” against the saints)

• The Mouth Speaking Great Things - (The mouth speaking great things in Daniel appears in Revelation in the description of the Beast from the sea and its war against the saints)

• The First Four Bowls of Wrath - (The first four bowls of wrath destroy the economic infrastructure of the “beast,” and punish those who took its mark)

• Throne of the Beast - (The first four “bowls” destroyed the economic structure of the World-Power; the fifth “bowl” targets the political dimension)

• Armageddon, the Sixth Bowl - (The sixth “bowl of wrath” causes the final battle between the “Lamb” and the forces of the “Dragon” – Revelation 16:12-16)

• The End - (The New Testament moves inescapably from the life and death of Jesus to the last hour when God judges the wicked and vindicates the righteous)

• Babylon, Then and Now - (The story of Ancient Babylon’s demise is reflected in the Sixth Trumpet and the Sixth Bowl of Wrath in the Book of Revelation)

• Babylon Exposed - (Babylon is unveiled as a bejeweled and seductive harlot dripping with the shed blood of martyred saints – Revelation 17:1-6)

• The Church in Revelation - (In Revelation, the one people of God is composed of the men purchased from every nation by the blood of the Lamb)

• The Third Temple? - (Jesus is the Final Habitation of God, and Revelation says nothing about a rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem during the Thousand Years)

• 666 - Issues - (When we compromise with the values and ideologies of the existing world order, we begin to take the Mark of the Beast - Revelation 13:16-17)

• The Beast's Number - (The Number of the Beast, 666, is based on the dimensions of the great image erected by Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon)

• The Son and the Dragon - (War breaks out in Heaven and the Dragon is poised to destroy the messianic Son as soon as he is born – Revelation 12:1-6)

• Overcomers are Blessed - (Through a series of seven beatitudes, Revelation summons believers to faithfulness despite hostility, tribulation, and persecution)

• Counterfeit Religion - (The Beast from the Earth, the False Prophet, mimics the Lamb and presents a counterfeit of the true faith of Jesus and his Apostles)

• Absolute Lord - (The New Testament applies messianic promises in the Psalms to the present reign of Jesus who possesses all authority in Heaven and on Earth)

[Stormy Beach - Photo by Brian Sumner on Unsplash]