Revelation 14:6-11

The Three Angels

6Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. 7He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water."

8A second angel followed and said, "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries." 9A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, 10he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name."



Dig Deeper

In 1975, Elton John, a popular British singer released a song entitled "Philadelphia Freedom." The song quickly rose to number one and dominated the top of the charts for much of the year. In the song, John sings that the light of the Philadelphia Freedom will shine down on and enlighten the whole world. Partly because of the connotations of the lyrics themselves and the fact that the following year, 1976, was the bicentennial of the United States of America, most people thought and still do, that the song was a memorial to the freedom that the United States brought to the world, beginning in Philadelphia in 1776. The problem is that that is not at all what Elton John was writing about. The song was actually an ode to his friend Billie Jean King. He was very inspired by the work that she was doing as coach of a tennis team named the Philadelphia Freedom, which he felt was advancing women’s and, particularly, lesbian rights. This was what he thought would bring light to the world.


Understanding symbols and symbolic language can go awry pretty quickly when we either make assumptions about the symbols that are incorrect or let our imaginations run away while interpreting them. Recently I read an interpretation of Revelation that made a big deal of the fact that the Beast of 13:11 must be America because America originally had 13 colonies and she declared independence on July 4th, which is 7/4, which adds up to 11. This is quite creative but completely ignores the fact that chapter divisions weren’t introduced to the New Testament until the 13th century and verse distinctions weren’t added until the 16th century. Thus, this theory was quite imaginative but not based on any facts. As we continue to read John’s symbolic language when he talks of things like Babylon, the Beast, and the mark, we must take great care to correctly interpret these symbols grounded by the imagery of the Old Testament, which John uses so frequently. We simply cannot use wild speculation and imagination to make these symbols stand for whatever sounds the most exciting or even logical. Otherwise we can wind up being as off the mark as those who think Elton John’s song is about the founding of America.


14:6-7 - The remainder of this chapter is a series of seven visions that consist of three angels, a vision of the glorified Christ, and then three more angels. John is about to transition between the trumpet visions which are proclamations of judgment, and the bowl visions which are applications of judgment. In foreshadowing this, the first three angels in this section make special proclamations regarding the victory of the Lamb, while the last three angels perform actions that assist in this conquest.


John sees another angel flying in midair. This is the realm of the eagle that was crying woe to the earth (Rev. 8:13). The message of this angel is peace, as the coming judgment is not the end of all things it is part of the proclamation of the eternal gospel, which is the spreading of the message of the kingdom of God. The message of this angel is, in fact, a short summation of the message of the New Testament: Fear God (Luke 1:50; 12:5; Acts 10:35), and give him glory (Matt. 5:16; 9:8; 15:31), because the hour of his judgment has come. (John 12:23, 31-32; 16:8-11) Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of waters (Acts 17:24-31).


The angel has addressed this message to those who live on the earth (which literally says "those who sit on the land"). Those who live on the earth is the usual language for apostate Israel (Rev. 3:10; 13:8, 12, 14; 17:2, 8), thus, this message is focused on the authorities who sit in power over Israel. The basic message of the gospel had called for submission to Jesus Christ, but they had rejected him (Luke 19:14). The NIV here removes the word ‘and’ which should be placed after the earth and before the phrase to every nation, tribe, language and people. The omission of that one word is important because without it we lose that there is a distinction between these two groups. Every nation, tribe, language, and people is a reference to the Gentiles. Jesus said that this message would be preached to the world before the end (judgment) would come (Matt. 24:14). It was the gospel order that it should be preached first to the Jew, then to the Gentile (Acts 3:26; 11:18; 13:46-48; 28:23-29; Rom. 1:16; 2:9). Paul verified that the gospel was, in fact, preached to the whole world before the end came in 70 AD (Rom. 1:8; 10:18; Col. 1:5-6; 23). Despite the best efforts of the Dragon and his Beasts, the Church was successful in evangelizing the world.


14:8 - The second angel declares, Fallen! Fallen is Babylon, the Great. This is the first mention of Babylon in Revelation and is a foreshadowing a later full explanation. It is probable that the first readers of this book would have immediately understood that this was a reference to Jerusalem. Peter, in his first letter (1 Pet. 5:13) referred to the city from which he was writing as Babylon. Many have supposed this to be Rome, but it seems far more likely that it was Jerusalem from where he was writing. Jerusalem is where Peter lived and exercised his ministry (Acts 8:1; 12:3; Gal. 1:18; 2:1-9; cf. 1 Pet. 4:17). First Peter also sends greetings from Mark and Silas (1 Pet. 5:12-13), both of whom lived in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12; 15:22-40). It is also true that the Revelation has focused on Jerusalem and only mentions Rome to the degree that she is related to Jerusalem. As we will see in chapters 17 and 18, the evidence that Babylon is Jerusalem will become overwhelming. She has made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries. Israel was to be a light to the world, but has instead, seduced them into idolatry and a false view of God.


14:9-11 - Now the third angel declares that anyone who worships the Beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God’s fury. This is the same offense of Israel, the land Beast given in Rev. 13:15-18, giving a further clue that Babylon is Israel. Those who drink of Babylon’s cup of rejecting the true gospel will drink of the wine of God’s fury. Those who drink of the cup of Babylon’s state worship will drink from God’s wrath; drinking one will automatically bring the other. This also brings echoes of the fact that it was common in the ancient world to give prisoners a potion which would put them in a state of stupor to diminish their pain during execution. The fact that the Lamb is present at torment and suffering of the wicked has caused many a great deal of difficulty in explaining. The fact is, however, that this only seems inconsistent with the nature of Jesus, when seen through eyes that have created a ‘gentle and loving’ Christ contrary to the authentic person described in the New Testament. In a sad turn of fate, these people will have no rest day or night, which is in direct contrast of the righteous angels who are depicted as praising God day and night.



Devotional Thought

There is no mistake that the righteous in heaven engage regularly in worshiping God, while those who do not worship God will be tormented day and night. Who or what we worship determines where we will spend eternity. Are you consistent and sincere in your worship of God. Do you worship more than just on Sundays but with every area of your life? Keep a list today of things you do that bring glory, honor, and worship to God.

Revelation 14:1-5

The Lamb and the 144,000

1Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. 2And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 3And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. 5No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.



Dig Deeper

There is something very powerful about music for human beings. We can be inspired by music, soothed by music, agitated by music, mesmerized by music, etc. In Fact, people often split up into social groups, especially when they are in their teenage years, based on the type of music that they enjoy listening to. Music can bind groups of people together and give them an identity.


That is no less true when it comes to God’s people. John says that God’s people, those gathered under the New Covenant, have been given a new song that only they can sing. This song emanates from the place of God’s presence, heaven, and is symbolic of what joins God’s people together. Thus we have a beautiful picture of God’s people joining together under the New Covenant singing to instrumental music and glorifying God. Surely we when join together to worship God, we can engage together in praising and worshipping Him with hearts and music that glorifies Him with this new song.


14:1 - John looks and sees before him, the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion. This takes us back to Psalm 2, where it says "I have installed my king on Zion, my holy hill" (Ps. 2:6). The Beasts rose from the land and the sea, but the Lamb stands on Mount Zion, and is already installed as King of kings and ruler of all nations. There are many prophetic passages in the Old Testament that reference the restoration of the Mountain to the earth, which is a prophecy of restoring things to the original paradise that God intended His creation to be (Isa. 2:2-4; Dan. 2:32-35, 44-45; Mic. 4:1-4). This all points to the time when God’s Kingdom will fill the earth (Isa. 11:9). The Lamb standing on the Mountain is a symbol of Christ in victory over His enemies, with His people restored to a fellowship with God.


This means that the Lamb is not alone on Mt. Zion. With Him are 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads. The mark of God’s ownership (like the sealing of the true Israel - Isa. 7:2-8) is readily visible within God’s holy people, the remnant of Israel, the Church. We should remember from chapter 7, the 144,000 belong to the Church, the gathering of overcomers, but are also, specifically, the remnant-Church of the first century. So, while the specific application of the 144,000 is to the first century Church, in principle they are seen as the entire Church (which they were when John wrote this). This can be seen by comparing the descriptions of the 144,000 here and the redeemed in Rev. 5:6-11.


14:2-3 - Once again, John hears the familiar sound of the voices like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder, as well as harpists playing their harps. These are the familiar sounds that are associated with the glory cloud of God. The army of saints sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. As we saw in Rev. 5:9, the new song is the new form of worship and liturgy associated with this new epoch in history. This exultant worship belongs to the church alone (cf. Rev. 2:17). No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth (or literally, "purchased from the land). The saints have been redeemed out of Israel from the tyranny of the Beast. They are the only ones capable of worshiping God with this new song, in spirit and truth (John 4:24).


14:4-5 - John continues in his description of the redeemed as he says they are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. The imagery of virgins is extreme symbolism for the purity of the saints, it is not a reference to their literal virginity. The concept of virginity is used frequently in the Old Testament to describe the people of God (2 Ki. 19:21; Isa. 23:12; 37:22; Jer. 14:17; 18:13; 31:4, 21; Lam. 1:15; 2:13). The context of the passage also shows condemnation for the fornication committed by the nations in worshiping the Beast. There are numerous examples in the Bible with fornication and harlotry being used as metaphors for apostasy and idolatry (Isa. 1:21; Jer. 2:20-3:11; Ezek. 16:15-43; Rev. 2:14, 20-22).


The army of believers gathered around the Lamb, are chaste, faithful, and fully committed to Him. In fact, they follow the Lamb wherever He goes. The term ‘follow’ is a typical metaphor for being an obedient disciple (Matt. 9:9; 10:38; 16:24; Mark 9:38; 10:21, 28; Luke 9:23; John 8:12; 10:4-5, 27; 21:22). These followers were purchased from among men and offered as first fruits to God and the Lamb. The first fruits is an expression of sacrifice, the giving of the first harvest of the land to the Lord. These Christians have given themselves up, then, to the service of God because they have been purchased by the Lamb.


No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless. It is the Dragon who is the deceiver and the father of lies (John 8:44; Rev. 12:9). The children of the Dragon are characterized by lies, but the children of God are characterized by truthfulness. The basic lie that plagues human beings is idolatry. This the first lie that humans accepted and has caused the rift between man and humanity.



Devotional Thought

John writes that the the followers of the Lamb, had no lie found in their mouths. Does this describe you? Could it be said of you, that no lie was found in your mouth. Be honest this week, even when it is painful to do so. If you fail, be especially aware of your deceit and immediately appeal to God for forgiveness. Then go make your lie right with whoever you deceived. The more you focus on being truthful, the more you will be able to do so.

Revelation 13:11-18

11Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth.

He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a

dragon. 12He exercised all the authority of the first

beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound

had been healed. 13And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. 14Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 17so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.

18This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let

him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's

number. His number is 666.



Dig Deeper

There are several men from America’s Revolutionary War that have gone down in history as great men. Men like Washington and Franklin are revered, remembered, and honored. Another man, Benedict Arnold, also became famous from his actions during those years, but not for any reasons of honor. Arnold was a capable General in the American cause that was responsible for some brilliant early American successes at places such as Ticonderoga. Had he been killed in battle in 1778 or 1779, he would have gone down as another of America’s great heroes. Yet, Arnold became disillusioned over being passed over for several promotions and was angry that America sought help from France. Because of his own pride and own agenda, he decided to switch sides in the middle of the war and actually plotted to turn Westpoint over to the British. Those plans were exposed and Arnold barely escaped into the hands of the British where he joined their army as a Brigadier General. No one would have expect the great General Arnold to actually join forces with the hated British, but the unthinkable had happened.


The religious leaders of Israel for hundreds of years had seen themselves as the representatives of God’s people. They were the ones who led in the fight against evil and the great adversary of Israel’s God, the Dragon. No one would have ever expected them to join forces with God’s enemies against the true people of God, but this is exactly what John tells us has happened. The people of Israel had rejected God by rejecting Christ, and now, rather than serving God in the fight against evil and being the people of light, they were unwittingly joining together with the Dragon to stamp out the light. Rather than being the people of the Lamb, they had become the Beast, doing the bidding of the Dragon.


13:11 - Just as the Beast from the sea was in the image of the Dragon, so is this second Beast which arises from the land (as it should be translated rather than earth). This Beast had two horns like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon. This Beast came up from the land, which means that it came from within Israel itself. This second Beast is closely associated with the False Prophet (Rev. 16:13; 19:20) and in some sense, they are synonymous. This correlates to the false prophets that Jesus warned of (Matthew 24:5, 11). They parallel the antichrists, but where the antichrists had apostatized into Judaism from within the Church, these false prophets were Jewish religious leaders who sought to effect Christians from the outside. The Jewish false prophets appeared like lambs, as Jesus had warned of those who would come in sheep’s clothing (Matt. 7:15). In reality, however, they used deceptive, subtle speech like the Dragon.


13:12 - The Jewish leaders who had become false prophets because of their rejection of Christ, joined forces with the Beast of Rome. This Beast exercised all the authority of the first Beast, which means the second Beast is the agent and subordinate of the first Beast. Judaism had become completely subservient to the Roman Empire. They led all those on the land (rather than earth as it is translated in the NIV) to worship the first beast. The Jewish leaders had led Israel in worship of the Emperor, the first Beast, whose fatal wound had been healed (in a counterfeit resurrection of a counterfeit son). The resurrection of the Beast is given as one of the reasons for worship of the Beast, just as the Resurrection of the true Son of God is a reason for worship of Him.


13:13-14 - The second Beast performed great and miraculous signs, just as Jesus had said the false prophets would do (Matt. 24:24). The book of Acts records several instances of Jewish false prophets working miracles (Acts 8:9-24) and working under Roman officials (Acts 13:6-11). This is all just as Jesus had predicted (Matt. 7:22-23). The Church needed warning about this lest they think that these apostates were exercising God’s judgment against the Church. This Beast was clearly working, however, on the behalf of the first Beast rather than the Lamb. This second Beast ordered the people of the land, Israel, to set up an image in honor of the first Beast. The true act of Israel’s apostasy was the rejection of Jesus Christ and the obedience to Caesar. This rejection of Christ was tantamount to idolatry.


13:15-17 - The Beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first Beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. This is creation language. As God created man in His image and gave him the breath of life, so God did the same when He created Israel as His people and breathed life into them. Now, Israel was trying to re-create itself in the image of the Roman Beast rather than God. Those who fought against them could be killed, just as Christ had been. The charge against Christ, in fact, was that He was a rival to the authority of Caesar (John 19:12-15). The Beast forced six categories of people to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead. Without this mark, no one could buy or sell. Acts is full of incidents of organized Jewish religion serving the interests of Caesar by persecuting the Church (Acts 4:1-3, 15-18; 5:17-18, 27-33, 40; 6:8-15; 7:51-60; 9:23, 29; 13:45, 50; 14:2-5; 17:5-8, 13; 18:17; 20:3; 22:22-23; 23:12, 20-21; 24:27; 26:21; 28:17-29). The mark of the Beast is the Satanic counterfeit of the seal of God on the foreheads and hands of the righteous (Rev. 3:12; 7:2-4; 14:1; Deut. 6:6-8; Ezek. 9:4-6; Ex. 28:36). Israel has rejected Christ and is marked with the seal of Rome’s lordship.


13:18 - It was, no doubt, clear to John’s readers that the sea Beast was the Roman Empire. He now provides his readers with another form of identification, so there would be no mistake as to who the Beast is. Six is the number of man in the Bible, while seven is the number of God, completeness and wholeness. It was common in Greek and Hebrew to add up names to get a number of a person or thing. Jesus’ number in Greek was 888. The complete number of God then was 777. So, it made sense the number of the Beast, was the fullness of the number of man, 666. 666 was also explicitly mentioned in 1 Ki. 10:14 and 2 Chron. 9:13. That number marks the high point of Solomon’s reign and the beginning of his downfall into idolatry. From that point on, one-by-one, he broke the three laws of godly kingship recorded in Deut. 17:16-17. For Jews, the number 666 symbolized apostasy; the mark of a king and a kingdom in the Dragon’s image. John says that 666 is man’s number which it is. He says, though, that anyone who has insight will be able to calculate the number. What took wisdom was that, although the Revelation was written in Greek, the number had to be calculated in Hebrew. Although the Beast was the Roman Empire and its number was the number of man, it is also true that it is the number for the Hebrew form of the name, Nero Caesar. Caesar was not specifically the Beast, but was the human personification of the fullness of the Beast.



Devotional Thought

Sometimes we are hesitant to live openly Christian lives because we fear what others may think of us. This "persecution" often stops us from doing what we should, yet it pales in comparison to the real persecution that the First-century church endured. Thank God that you don’t have to endure that type of persecution right now. Look at the risks you face in being a Christian compared to the risks of the first-century Christians and think about how good we have it right now. Go out and be a bold Christian.

Revelation 13:5-10

5The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. 6He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.

9He who has an ear, let him hear.

10If anyone is to go into captivity,

into captivity he will go.

If anyone is to be killed with the sword,

with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.



Dig Deeper

In the Roman world, citizenship was viewed a bit differently than it is today. Today, if we are citizen of a certain country, the expectation is that we will live in that country and enjoy the life of that country. Roman citizenship was a bit different, however. Being a citizen of Rome didn't mean that your goal was to move to and live in Rome one day. The goal of extending Roman citizenship to other people was to extend Roman life. Roman citizens were encouraged to move to newly forming colonies and show the people around them how to live like Romans. They were spreading Roman influence, power, and culture, and were thus, living 'in Rome' in a place that had previously not had access to the life of Rome.


This is the way that John is thinking as he talks of those who live in heaven. Certainly there are those who have died in Christ and are in God's presence in heaven awaiting the resurrection and the renewal of all things (Matt. 19:28). More of what John has in mind, though, is the type of citizenship that was common in Rome. Paul put forth the idea of Christians beings citizens of heaven (Phil. 3:20), by which he meant being people who understood that their allegiance, culture, and way of thinking emanated from heaven by doing God's will on earth. As the Christian community does God's will on earth as it is done in heaven, we truly become people who live in heaven, spreading the influence of heaven to a lost world, and show the world what it means to be people who live in heaven, unswayed and undeterred by the trials of the world around us.


13:5-7 - The Beast continued to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for the now familiar, forty-two months. Specifically,

the Beast blasphemes the name of God and His dwelling place (His tabernacle), and those who live (or tabernacle) in heaven. This makes sense because the citizenship of the saints comes from heaven, the place of God's presence (Phil. 3:20), we are enthroned in heaven in Christ (Eph. 1:20; 2:6), and the Church's official worship takes place in the heavenly realms, with angels in assembly (Heb. 12:22-23). Those who reject Christ dwell on the land in the Revelation, but the New Covenant people gather around the Throne of God.


According to Alexander Schmemann in, For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy, "The early Christians realized that in order to become the temple of the Holy Spirit they must ascend to heaven where Christ has ascended. They realized that this ascension was the very condition of their mission in the world, of their ministry to the world. For there, in heaven, they were immersed in the new life of the Kingdom; and then . . . They returned into the world, their faces reflected the light, the joy and peace of that Kingdom and they were truly its witnesses. . . In church today, we so often find we meet only the same old world, not Christ and His Kingdom. We do not realize that we never get anywhere because we never leave any place behind us." In other words, Christians today need to learn how to spiritually ascend into the heavenly realms the way the early church did, the way we are called to. It is in this kind of worship that we will transform the World.


The Beast was given authority to make war against the saints and to conquer them for only forty-two months. Again, this is a number that symbolizes trouble for a limited amount of time. It signifies a time when the enemies of God are in power or God's judgment is being poured out. Interestingly, Nero's persecution of the Church lasted from November 64 to the beginning of June 68, a period of forty-two months. Although this is typically a symbolic number, the real time period did, apparently, correspond to the symbolic number in this case. During this time, the Beast was also given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. This was true of the Roman Empire as well as Satan, who ruled all the kingdoms of the world (Matt. 4:8-9).


13:8 - Everyone who dwells on the earth (literally 'land'), those who reject Christ, will worship the Beast. Worship comes in two types. It can be official, liturgical worship in a service, or the everyday, practical allegiance and obedience. The Jews had chosen the idolatry of Caesar as lord over Christ. Those who worshiped the Beast will have names that have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world. In a true piece of sad irony, the Jews who have worked to excommunicate and cut off the followers of the Lamb have been themselves locked out of the Covenant.


13:9-10 - John takes a quick moment to make sure that his readers pay close attention to what comes next as he says, He who has an ear, let him hear. He declares that the followers of the Beast, those who dwell on the land (earth) are doomed. He says if anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This is a loose quotation from Jeremiah 15:2. This verse is from a longer passage that details God's rejection of Jerusalem. Jeremiah is told not to pray for the nation because they have been destined for destruction. That there will be no place to go to hide from the judgment is God's declaration that John paraphrases here. In making reference to this passage, John is emphasizing the certainty of the coming judgment on the apostate Jews of the first century who have thrown their lot in with the Beast, in opposition to the Lamb. This judgment will come absolutely. This aspect of patience is referred to by John as the patient endurance and faithfulness of the saints.



Devotional Thought

Although we usually think of worship as something we do on Sundays in church, the biblical concept of worship also includes the way we live our everyday lives and to whom we give our allegiance and obedience. Who do you worship throughout the course of your days? Is it Christ, yourself, or Satan? Make an effort this week to worship God with your life.

Revelation 13:1-4

1And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea.

The Beast out of the Sea

And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. 4Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?"



Dig Deeper

There are many people these days who make a big show of saying that they read the Bible literally. This is generally accompanied by the condescending insinuation that people who don’t read the Bible the way they do, don’t read it literally. To read something literally, however, is not usually what most people think. If I were to tell you, for instance, to "chill out," and you dutifully walked into a freezer, you would not really be taking me literally. That would be more of a wooden literalism that actually takes what I said out of context, rather than doing what I meant, which would be to relax in this example.


Passages like this are a wonderful reminder that to be responsible readers we must read passages of Biblical literature according to the type of genre they actually are. In other words, we have to read them in the way that they were intended to be understood, rather than whatever fanciful and exciting interpretation jumps into our head or sounds exciting and helps sell books. John is clearly not communicating that we should one day expect to see a massive seven-headed beast come up out of the sea. To do so, in fact, would be to miss John’s point altogether.


13:1-2 - Previously, John had been before God’s throne. Now he is moved to the shore of the sea. The biblical symbolism of the sea is fairly familiar. The sea is commonly associated with the enemies of Israel (Isa. 57:20; Isa. 17:12) as well as symbolically representing the Abyss (Rev. 9:1-3). The Beast is both the enemy of God’s people and arises symbolically from the demonic Abyss. The Beast has ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns. In chapter 17, an angel will explain to John some of the imagery of this passage. The ten crowned horns (which represent power) of the Beast are

explained to be kings of imperial provinces (17:12), while the seven heads are shown to be the line of the Caesars (17:9-11). Nero, who will be discussed further in a moment, would be one of those heads. In contrast to the biblical High Priest who wore the name of God on his head (Ex. 28:36-38), the Beast has a blasphemous name on each head. The Caesars were gods in Roman theology. The name Augustus means ‘One to be worshiped’ , and they also took the names divus (god) and even Deus or Theos (God). Nero, for instance, commanded absolute obedience and even erected a 120-foot-high statue of Himself.


John says that the appearance of the Beast was like a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion . The Beast, then, is the Roman empire and is pictured as a ravenous, ferocious animal. These are the first three beasts (in reverse order) used to describe the three of the four great world empires in Daniel 7:1-6). Rome, the fourth empire, encapsulates all of the beast-like aspects of the other three, but is far worse (Dan. 7:7). The passage in Daniel is also where John derives the imagery of the ten horns and seven heads. Clearly, John intends to show his readers that the Beast is not some mysterious figure that looms in the future. It is not the Pope, Osama Bin laden, or some other world figure, despite the fanciful speculations of many so-called prophecy writers. The beast is the Roman empire that combines in itself all of the terrible features of Daniel’s other three empires, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece, but is far more ferocious. Although, the Beast is Rome, it is also personified by the Emperor Nero. The empire was embodied and represented by the reigning emperor. Nero was so violent that he was referred to by contemporaries as ‘the Beast’. He murdered many members of his own family, was apparently bisexual, reportedly enjoyed watching people suffer in horrifying ways as an aphrodisiac, dressed up as a wild beast in order to attack and rape male and female prisoners, burnt Christians at the stake to light up his garden parties, launched the first imperial persecution of Christians at the instigation of the Jews, and was the emperor of the most powerful empire on earth.


13:3-4 - John says that one of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed . This led to the whole world being astonished and resulted in them following the Beast. The Beast resembles, does the bidding of, and is is connected to the Dragon. This should remind us of the promise that Christ would one day crush the head of the Dragon, the serpent (Gen. 3:15). Likewise, Daniel has prophesied that the Kingdom of Christ would crush and replace the Satanic empires. And so it was that the people of all nations began to flow toward the mountain of the Lord’s House, the Kingdom of God. Members of Caesar’s own household had become believers (Phil. 4:22) and, according to early church father Tertullian, Tiberius Caesar even made a formal request to the Roman Senate to acknowledge Christ’s divinity.


It seemed that the Beast would, indeed be crushed by Christ’s Kingdom. Quickly, however, the tables were reversed as heresy, apostasy, and persecution by the Jews and Roman Senate began to cause great masses of Christians to fall away (1 Tim. 1:3-7, 19-20; 4:1-3; 6:20-21; 2 Tim. 2:16-18; 3:1-9, 13; 4:10, 14-16; Tit. 1:10-16; 1 John 2:18-19). The impression given in the New Testament is that many churches fell apart and abandoned the faith in the face of Nero’s persecution. The Beast had received a head wound but still lived. The reality was that Christ had already defeated the Dragon and the Beast, but the implications of his victory had yet to be worked out. The Saints had yet to overcome and take dominion. We learn that the whole world was astonished and worshiped the Dragon and the Beast. The word rendered ‘world’ here should be translated ‘land’ , which then lets us know that this is Israel. Israel was given a choice between Christ and Caesar and had chosen the way of Caesar, echoing the words of the chief priests from the time of Christ, "we have no king but Caesar" (John 19:15).



Devotional Thought

Even though Christ had defeated the Dragon, many Christians fell away from their faith in the face of persecution. We can fall prey to the same pressure in our time. Satan has already been defeated, but we often don’t act like it. Do you act like Christ has already gained victory for us or do you act more like the Dragon, Satan, is an enemy that is powerful enough to get us to leave Christ and live an ungodly life? How would your life look differently if you began to live everyday with the knowledge that Satan has already been crushed by Christ.

Revelation 12:13-17

13When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth,

he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.

14The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so

that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert,

where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a

time, out of the serpent's reach. 15Then from his mouth the

serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and

sweep her away with the torrent. 16But the earth helped the

woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that

the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17Then the dragon

was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against

the rest of her offspring—those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.



Dig Deeper

Recently we have taken to watching a show on the history channel entitled, Gangland. This show documents and recounts the history and development of major national street gangs, particularly as it relates to efforts by the authorities to stop and limit the gangs. If you watch the show regularly, you will see a sort of a pattern emerge with the development of the gangs. In almost every case, the authorities, once they became aware of the gang, made concerted efforts to squash the gang before it could spread. Their ultimate goal was to annihilate the gang once-and-for-all. In every case (at least for those gangs being documented), the efforts failed. Yet, the authorities did not just give up and accept the spread. They renewed their efforts to try to fight the second and third generations of the gang that are now spreading into cities all over the country. They had failed in their initial attempts, but the war would continue.


In this section, we have a similar situation going on. The enraged Dragon tries to completely annihilate the Church before it can really get going, but he is unable. Rather than just giving up, though, he renews his effort by going off to make war against the Church in all the places that she is rapidly spreading.


12:13 - Now that he has concluded the brief interlude describing the war in heaven, John returns to the woman’s flight from the Dragon. As a direct result of his defeat in the heavenly war and the realization the he had been hurled to the earth , the Dragon turns his attention toward the woman who had given birth to the male child . This was a key point for John to make sure that the early church understood. The persecution that would endure was taking place precisely because the Dragon had already been defeated by Christ. All of Satan’s attacks on the church should serve as a reminder to the church that, although they are very real and dangerous, Satan has already been conquered. Also, don’t miss the fact that the persecution of the church, symbolized by the woman, happens first on the land, which is a symbol of Israel. This is the first place that the Dragon would seek to destroy the Church.


12:14 - Rather than being destroyed, the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert. This imagery borrows from the book of Exodus in which the people of God are saved by God in the wilderness. Moses says that God protected them, "like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions" (Deut. 32:11). In verse 10, it says that God found them in a howling waste. Curiously, there is only one other time that "hover" and "waste" are used together in the entire Pentateuch (first five books of the Old Testament). That place is Genesis 1:2 which describes the earth as a waste or "without form" and says that the Spirit was "hovering". It is likely that Moses was drawing attention to the fact that the salvation of Israel was a creation event. John, then, is tying these things together, indicating that the formation and protection of the Church is also a creation event. This is why so much of the language in the Revelation that describes the coming of the New Covenant is cataclysmic and creation-related language. The reason for the woman being in the desert is not that she has been abandoned, but is evidence that is being taken care of during the time of the tribulation. This is reminiscent of Job who questions the treatment of the donkey in the wilderness, comparing it to the plight of the poor (Job 24:5). God’s answer is that the donkey is precisely where God wants him to be and

is being taken care of (Job 39:5).


12:15-16 - Just as the Israelites were trapped between their enemy, the satanically-inspired Egypt and the Red Sea, so is the woman trapped by the Dragon and the water like a river that was spewed out of his mouth. The idea of a menacing river flowing from the mouth of Israel’s enemies, seeking to destroy God’s people is a familiar one (Ps. 18:4, 16; 124:3-6; Isa. 8:5-8; 59:19; Jer. 46:7-8; 47:2; Hos. 5:10). Once again the Church escapes as a result of divine protection. The earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river. John uses the imagery here from Numbers 16:28-33, when the leaders of a rebellion against Moses were swallowed up by the earth. The point is clear: regardless of what the Dragon does to attack the Church, she is protected by the power of God and will not be destroyed.


12:17 - The Dragon failed to destroy the Church during the short time that he had (Rev. 12:12). Frustrated from that attempt, he turns his anger towards the rest of her offspring. Milton Terry, in Biblical Apocalyptics: A Study of the Most Notable Revelations of God and of Christ in the Canonical Scriptures, explains this distinction between the woman and her offspring. "These distinctions are easily made and maintained. The Church, considered as an institution and an organic body, is distinguishable from her children, as Isaiah 66:7-8 and Galatians 4:22-26 clearly show. . . We accordingly observe that the Church is in one point of view the totality of all her members of children; in other ways, familiar to the Scripture, her individual members are thought of as related to her as children and mother." Having failed to destroy the mother and offspring, Satan turns toward the rest of the primarily Gentile Christian Church. The Saints overcome the Dragon by the word of their testimony and their faithful obedience (Rev. 12:11). This is not meant as a strictly chronological passage as if Satan will only attack the Church after the Jewish War. This is, instead, the culmination of events of the ‘last days’, symbolized by the flight of the woman.



Devotional Thought

Does the thought that Satan will attack you and your church discourage you. Don’t forget John’s point to the church. The very reason Satan attacks the church with such ferocity is because Christ has already defeated him. Remember that the next time you feel like you are under attack from Satan. Christ has already defeated him and has given us the power and authority in His name to resist Satan and defeat him when he attacks.

Revelation 12:10-12

Revelation 12:10-12


10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

"Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God,

and the authority of his Christ.

For the accuser of our brothers,

who accuses them before our God day and night,

has been hurled down.

11They overcame him

by the blood of the Lamb

and by the word of their testimony;

they did not love their lives so much

as to shrink from death.

12Therefore rejoice, you heavens

and you who dwell in them!

But woe to the earth and the sea,

because the devil has gone down to you!

He is filled with fury,

because he knows that his time is short."



Dig Deeper

While studying the years during the Civil War, I had many students over the years ask why John Wilkes Booth would assassinate Abraham Lincoln after the war was virtually over. That's an interesting question, actually. Nearly everyone else in the country at the time believed that the war had, for all intents and purposes, come to an end. That's why history has largely recorded Booth's act as an unnecessary and violent act of vengeance that didn't need to happen. Yet, during the brief time that he was on the run following the assassination and before he was finally killed, Booth left a short written diary of sorts that explained that he killed Lincoln precisely because he didn't think the war was over yet. He sincerely believed that if he could kill Lincoln it might invigorate the South and his beloved rebels might have a chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. History, though, has proved him wrong. Despite his act, the South had been defeated and even the successful assassination of President Lincoln wouldn't turn that around.


The pages of the Revelation reveal very clearly that the Dragon, the accuser, has been definitively defeated. Yet, it also promises that he has made his way into the present age in a desperate attempt to stop what has already been determined. We don't know if his motivation is the same sort of unrealistic delusion that overtook Booth or if it is the type of rage that comes when someone knows they are going down and are determined to take as many with them as possible, but one thing Revelation makes clear. The Dragon is defeated but he is still dangerous. He is filled with fury and was about to vent that rage on the people of the first century.


12:10-11 - In response to the previous part of the vision, John hears a call to worship from a loud voice in heaven. The assembly is told to praise God for His incredible work in defeating the Dragon. The voice pronounces four results of God's victory: salvation has come, power has come, the kingdom of our God has come, and the authority of Christ has come. The Kingdom has come and Christ has been given dominion over the earth because the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. Don't miss the point here. The greatest battle in all of history has already been fought and won by the Lord Jesus Christ. The Dragon has been defeated and we also learn that the martyrs did not die in vain. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. They were victorious because they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. These first century heroes understood that in this age the person who loves his life would lose it, but the one who would hate his life would keep it in the 'age to come' (John 12:25). The victory over the Dragon was won through the blood of the Lamb. This demonstrates that this is not some future battle at the end of the world. The victory was won in the middle of history by the event in history, the death and resurrection of Jesus. Satan had been left powerless (Heb. 2:14-15), and so, Paul could assure the believers in Rome that "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet" (Romans 16:20). The illegitimate ruler of the world was defeated by the coming of the true ruler, Jesus Christ.


12:12 - The voice continues to exhort the congregation to rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell (or literally tabernacle) in them! Who is it that dwells in heaven? John has already told us that the Church's worship takes place before the heavenly throne of God (Rev. 4:4-11; 5:8-14; 7:9-17). Believers in Christ are seated in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6), where we have our true citizenship (Phil. 3:20). Those who dwell in the heavens and rejoice are the members of the Church. We have followed Christ in His ascension (Eph. 1:20-22; 2:6) and have become His Temple (cf. 7:15; 13:6).


Christ's defeat of the Dragon does not mean that he has been annihilated. In fact, like an injured and cornered animal, he fights all the harder. The voice says woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short. The seventh trumpet has sounded and now the third woe has arrived. The domain of the Dragon is now the land and the sea but he has lost forever the right to have dominion over the world. This is why John sees two great beasts. The Beast from the sea is symbolic of the pagan nations (this will be seen clearly in 13:1-2). The second Beast is from the land, which represents apostate Israel. Thus, the voice is prophesying that both Israel and the Empire of Rome will become the pawns of Satan in his frenzied attempt to hold on to the remains of his domain. He is filled with fury, knowing that his time is short to bring about the destruction of the Church while it is still connected to old Israel. Satan first tried to stir up the land and sea to destroy the Church, and then provoked them to war against each other in an attempt to crush the young Church between them. Satan knows that his time is short but thinks that perhaps he can destroy the fledgling Church before she can take full root.




Devotional Thought

What an incredible thought to realize that despite all of Satan's attacks and best efforts, that God will keep us safe and bring us into the 'age to come' if we are obedient. Spend some time today reflecting on the 'age to come' (see Is. 11 for a symbolic description of it) as well as God's power in protecting us from the great accuser.

Revelation 12:5-9

5She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.

7And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.



Dig Deeper

When I was younger, one of my absolute favorite things to do was to wrestle and fight with my dad. This was always a dangerous proposition for me as he had attended the Air Force Academy was rather skilled in the fighting arts, possessing the ability to render me motionless in a split second. Because of this, my strategy switched to sneak attacks rather than trying to take him head on, which would only result in me lying on my back, completely controlled by my thumb. One time, as I was getting ready to pounce, my dad became aware of my treachery and, without looking, said, "don’t write a check that you’re butt can’t cash." In other words, he was warning me that if I attacked him, the outcome was going to be my defeat. It was the only possible outcome.


Clearly the battle that John describes between the child and the Dragon are not nearly as good natured as those between my dad and I, but they do have one thing in common. The result was already determined. Regardless of what the Dragon did and how ferociously he attacked, he would lose. This is the empowering truth that John ultimately wants to convey here. The Dragon is gong to attack, but he’s simply writing a check that his butt can’t cash.


12:5 - John appeals to one of his most used texts, Psalm 2 for the imagery here, as he says the woman gave birth to a son, a male child . The male child is, quite obviously, Jesus Christ, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter . He is the child of Israel, born to rule the nations. John views the history of Christ with a telescopic lens, as he combines Christ’s birth and ascension, almost as if they happened all at once. He goes right from the birth of the child to ruling the nations as he is snatched up to God and to his throne. John is not discounting the atonement and resurrection by going right from the birth to His ascension, rather he seems to be stressing that the child will completely escape the power of the Dragon. This also follows the order of Psalm 2, which speaks of the birth of ("I have begotten you") Christ and then moves directly into His exaltation to the heavenly throne. Satan had no power to stop Christ from going straight from His Incarnation to the throne of Heaven. Theologically speaking, they are one event in John’s eyes.


12:6 - John will go into this more later in the chapter, but to suffice it to say right now, the woman’s flight into the desert to a place prepared for her by God is a picture of the flight of the Judean Christians from the destruction of Jerusalem. As a result of this flight, the wrath of the Dragon will be visited on apostate Israel rather than the faithful Church. The woman is taken care of for 1,260 days , while fleeing to the desert. This is the symbolic three and a half years that John makes much use of (Rev. 11:2-3; 13:5). During this limited time when Satan seem to be dominating history, the church will be protected. John also draws here on imagery of Elijah’s sojourn in the wilderness during the three and a half years of drought when he was fed by ravens (1 Ki. 17:3-6), Israel’s flight into the wilderness to escape the Egyptians, and Mary’s flight into Egypt to escape the wrath of King Herod (Matt. 2:13-21).


12:7-9 - John begins a brief interlude here, as he describes a war in heaven . This scene shows why the woman had to flee into the wilderness, then he will return to the flight of the woman. This is another aspect of the child’s conflict with the Dragon, and would chronologically fit between verses 5 and 6. The language is clear that this war is initiated by Michael and his angels . Michael, the captain of the angelic army, is a symbol for the seed of the woman, the Son of God. The Son of God is no longer represented as a child but as Michael, the warrior and protector who leads the armies of heaven in spiritual battle. This is not an accident, John carefully reveals Christ in terms of the specific biblical connotations associated with Michael (Dan. 10:12-13, 20-21). Michael is the guardian over God’s people during their time of tribulation (Dan. 12:1). Paul also makes this association between Christ and the archangel as he says that Christ will shout with "the voice of the archangel" (1 Thess. 4:16). The archangel is the leader of God’s army, so the imagery here casts Christ as the one leading the charge with His apostles, who are symbolized by the angels. Phillip Carrington, in The Revelation of St. John, says that viewing Michael as a symbol for Christ "makes sense of the chapter. . . A Woman who is pictured as the Bride of the Lord bears a Son; she is the new Eve, and therefore her son is to crush the Serpent; she is the Virgin of Isaiah, and therefore he is a warrior king. There follows a war with the Serpent, in which an opponent casts him out of heaven; the Serpent then went off to make war with the rest of the seed of the woman. Clearly, then, the person he had first fought with was also the seed of The woman."


In response to the attack by the work of Christ and His apostles, the Dragon and his angels fight back. They were not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven before finally being hurled down to earth. Jesus described this idea when He said that the gates of Hades would not prevail against His church (Matt. 16:18). The Church is not pictured as a city under siege by the dragon, rather it is an army that is attacking the city of the enemy and breaking down his gates. Satan’s forces are not strong enough and cannot hold back the onslaught of an obedient Church. John confirms for us, just in case we don’t already know, that the Dragon is the ancient serpent, the devil, or Satan. Satan is the father of lies, who leads the whole world astray . All of the accusations made against the Church and the persecution that was befalling the Church was instigated by the Dragon.



Devotional Thought

The Church is to attack the strongholds of Satan and his kingdom for they are not strong enough and will not withstand our attacks. What an exciting thought! What can you do this week to attack Satan’s strongholds in your school, place of work, or other places?

Revelation 12:1-4

The Woman and the Dragon

1A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born.



Dig Deeper

There is a great series of scenes in the classic movie, Karate Kid, in which the aged and wise teacher, Mr Miyagi, agrees to teach young Daniel karate. Daniel comes over to Mr. Miyagi’s house, eager and expectant, ready to learn the exciting elements of karate. Instead he finds himself doing menial tasks such as painting his house, sanding his deck, painting his fence, and waxing his many cars. Day after day, these menial tasks continue until Daniel finally explodes in anger, feeling that he has been taken advantage of and not really taught karate at all. Mr. Myiagi then asks him to mimc the movements that he made during the long hours of painting, waxing, and sanding, showing him that those were actually important karate movements that he has now mastered without even realizing it. The truth was, he didn’t see the big picture, but suddenly Mr. Miyagi has revealed that everything he was doing was leading up to the final goal of him learning karate.


In this passage, John draws on many different areas of symbolism and imagery having to do with women and the people of God from throughout the Old Testament. On the surface, none of these elements seem to be related or to really have been leading anywhere, but John now makes it clear. All of the Old Testament did have a point. It was leading towards, giving birth, in a sense, to the Messiah. He was the whole point all along.


12:1-2 - That this is called a great and wondrous sign that appeared in heaven alerts us to the fact that we ought to pay careful attention to the subject of this vision. We are to think carefully about the meaning and impact of this sign. ‘Woman’ is a familiar biblical image for the Church or the people of God. The clearest image here is that the woman refers specifically to the Old Covenant Israel. The first readers of Revelation, no doubt, would have though of Old Testament prophetic uses of the woman as representing the people of God (Isa. 26; 49-50; 54; 55; Jer. 3-4; Lam. 1; Ezek. 16; Hos. 1-4; Mic. 4). Many of the old Testament allusions to Israel as a woman are not very flattering, but here the woman is a glorious vision of the people of God in her purity as the wife of God. She is in the image of Her husband (Ps. 104:2; Rev. 1:16; 10:1), clothed (the same word translated ‘robed’ in 10:1) with the sun (Isa. 60:1-2). We are also told that she has the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. This confirms the image of glory and dominion.


The woman is pregnant and about to give birth to none other than Christ. Although this includes Mary, we have already been told that this is a sign or symbol, so we must see the deeper meaning beyond just Mary. This image goes all the way back to what is called ‘protevangelium’. This refers to Genesis 3:15 when God revealed that through the woman, the redeemer would come that would crush the Serpent one day. This motif is seem several times in the Old Testament, where for example in the story of Jael and Sistera (Jud. 4:9, 17-22; 5:24-27) and the redemption of Israel by Esther. The definitive fulfillment of Gen. 3:15, however, was the birth of Jesus, a fact that Mary clearly recognized (Luk. 1:51-55). In fact, John’s words in verse one, a great and wondrous sign, are a very faithful quotation (in the original language) of Isaiah’s promising of a sign in Isaiah 7:14. John, then, is brining together all of the Old Testament imagery of the woman, as she labors to bring forth the Messiah. This was the culmination of all of Israel’s history, to bring the Messiah to the world.


12:3 - John is shown another sign that appeared in heaven: an enormous red Dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. The Dragon, of course, is the Serpent, the devil, Satan, the ultimate enemy of the people of God. He is the power behind the imperial powers of the ancient world. Like the four beast-empires of Daniel, the Dragon has seven heads and ten horns (Daniel 7:3-7). Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome were stages in the Dragon’s attempt to destroy the people of God and take dominion over the world. John, then, wishes to tie this vision into Daniel’s which shows us the series of beasts that would exercise dominion over the world. As Daniel’s prophecy continues, though, he sees that this dominion lasts for only an appointed period of time. He then sees the "Ancient of days" giving authority and power over all peoples of the earth. Daniel says: "His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed" (Dan. 7:14).


12:4 - John shows us that the Dragon swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. We would do well to remember that this is theology not astronomy. John has already associated stars with angels (Rev. 1:20), now he symbolically represents the fall of Satan and his angels (John, himself, will tell us this more directly in verse 9). The Dragon stands before the woman, waiting to devour her child the moment it was born. All throughout history Satan tried to either keep Christ from being born or kill Him as soon as He was. This can be seen throughout the Bible as Satan attempts to corrupt the seed through which the Messiah will come: Cain was inspired to kill Abel, who was then replaced by Seth (Gen. 4:25; Nearly all of Seth’s descendants were corrupted by fallen angels until Noah was found "physically blameless" or "perfect in his generations" (Gen. 6:1-12); This struggle continued with the Dragon’s attacks on the seed and potential seed of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. It continued on through the attempt in Egypt to have all of the male Israelite children killed (Exod. 1); Again, Satan worked to try to kill David several times; The story goes on an on through the Old Testament. This all came to a dramatic climax with the birth of Christ. Satan finally thought he had succeeded at the Cross, but he didn’t understand God’s hidden wisdom and would not have inspired it if he would have truly understood the consequences (1 Cor. 2:7-8). In wounding the Seed’s heel, the Serpent really was crushed.



Devotional Thought

In a few short verses, John recaptures nearly 5,000 years of history that led up to the coming of the Messiah. As we read the Old Testament carefully, we begin to see the care and and incredible planning that God put in to bringing about the Messiah. Do you go through such careful thought, attention to detail, and concern in your own life to serve God? Take some time today to come up with a plan as to how you can be a light to the unsaved people around you.

Revelation 11;15-19

The Seventh Trumpet

15The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:

"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ,

and he will reign for ever and ever." 16And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17saying:

"We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,

the One who is and who was,

because you have taken your great power

and have begun to reign.

18The nations were angry; and your wrath has come.

The time has come for judging the dead,

and for rewarding your servants the prophets

and your saints and those who reverence your name,

both small and great—

and for destroying those who destroy the earth."

19Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm.



Dig Deeper

The other day my wife, oldest son, and myself went to get a litany of shots in preparation for a trip we are taking to South Africa soon. I'm certainly not afraid of shots but I'm not necessarily fond of them either. The one that really loomed as ominous for me was the tetanus shot. I hadn't had one of those since I was a teenager, and for some reason I have a memory of it being particularly painful both during the shot itself and after. I probably have exaggerated the pain in my mind since then, but by the time we got to the office to the have the shot, I was full of expectation of the pain that was going to accompany that shot. As I sat in the chair, I braced myself, took a deep breath, and as I went to close my eyes, I noticed the nurse turning around away from me. I had literally missed the shot. I had not even felt it. In fact, had I not asked, I would simply not have known because all I felt was her hand on my arm. It was not at all what I had expected.


Although we certainly could not claim that anyone would have completely not noticed the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD at the time it happened the way I didn't notice the shot, it does seem that people miss the significance of it now. At His death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus' Kingdom was officially brought to bear upon the earth and He promised His followers that the proof of who He was and their vindication as the true people of God would come before that generation had passed away completely (Matt. 12:41-42; 23:36; 24:34; Mark 13:30; Luke 11:30-32; 11:51; 17:25; 21:32). So many people though, and this continues to this very day, expected something else. Some other sign that God's Kingdom was here; something, perhaps more grand and tangible than the people of God worshipping God, doing His will, and taking part in the ministry of reconciliation. Because so many people have other expectations, they think that the Christ has yet to take reign and started ruling in His Kingdom. They're simply misreading many biblical passages and expect something different than Jesus' resurrection, ascension, and the destruction of the Temple as the signs that He was the son of God and is now ruling in the Kingdom of God. They're still waiting for it to come as though that hasn't already happened. True, Christ is yet to return to the earth to renew all things (Matt. 19:28) but when that happens his Kingdom will be fully consummated not initially instituted. The great inauguration of the Kingdom of God and the vindication of the Son of God have already happened, as passages like today's reading makes clear.


11:15 - The destruction of apostate Israel has placed the Jews and Gentiles on equal footing when it comes to the Covenant. God has now created a new nation and a new Temple. Thus, John says that the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ. This consummates Jesus' words recorded in Matthew: "the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit" (Matt. 21:43). Later, Jesus told His disciples about the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky" (Matt. 24:30). The wording in the NIV demonstrates the bias of the futurist view. The actual wording should say "at that time will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven." It was the destruction of and judgment upon Jerusalem that would be the sign that Christ was reigning in heaven. It was not that a sign would appear in the sky or the physical clouds, the judgment of Jerusalem was the sign. The destruction that befell Jerusalem signaled the full beginning of a new, world-wide kingdom, marking the final separation between the Christian Church and Judaism.


Daniel's "fifth kingdom" prophesied in Dan. 2 is realized as the voices in heaven shout the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ. In other words, the world is no longer completely ruled by the Kingdom of Satan, or the kingdoms of men, but the Kingdom of Christ, the only Kingdom that will last forever.


11:16-18 - The twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones, signifying that they are ruling with Christ, now fall on their faces and worshiped God. The word for give thanks is eucharisteo, which is the same word used quite often to indicate the communion or Lord's Supper. John has shown us that the pattern of God's redemptive action in history is the same as that acted out on every Lord's Day: The Church, having died and resurrected in Christ (v. 7-11), ascends amid judgments to heaven at the divine command (v. 12-14). Surrounded by the heavenly host singing praises (v. 15), the Elders fall down before God's majesty, proclaiming we give thanks (eucharistoumen).


They continue praising him because, as they say, you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. Christ had poured out judgment on Israel by allowing Rome to attack them. As it says, the nations were angry, and your wrath has come upon apostate Israel. Jerusalem would now feel the brunt of both the angry nations and the wrath of God. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints an those who reverence your name. God's prophets would be vindicated and rewarded in the coming judgment. This does not refer to the final judgment on the last day, but the historical vindication of the martyred saints at the hands of a rebellious Israel. The song closes with the realization that Christ has served the purpose of destroying those who destroy the land. Israel had defiled the land, and so, had to be purged (see Lev. 18:24-30).


11:19 - The significance of the fall of Israel meant that God's temple in heaven was opened. The earthly Temple, which was just a shadow anyway, is gone, and now only the true Temple remains. God's Temple has been shown to be His Church, and now within that Temple is the ark of his covenant. The Ark contained the Ten Commandments and was "hidden" in the sanctuary, where no one was allowed access. In the New Covenant, all believers are saints, and saints are someone who has access to the sanctuary. In the New Covenant, the mystery has been opened through Christ. With the sounding of the seventh trumpet, the revelation is complete and definitive. What was a mystery has now been revealed. Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, "Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him" (Romans 16:25-26). For this reason, all the signs that had been associated with the glory cloud in the Old Covenant are now spoken of in relation to the Church including flashes of lightning and an earthquake. Through the Church, the door to heaven and "the age to come" has opened up to us. The end of old Israel was not the beginning of the end, but the sign that Christ's worldwide Kingdom has begun and that we could begin to live in the "age to come" now.



Devotional Thought

One day Christ will return again and set all of creation to rights. Because of Christ's atonement at the Cross, however, we have access, through the Church, to live out the "age to come" in the present world. This is the radical call of the Kingdom of God. In what ways are you living out the "age to come" now? By your actions are you more interested in living in the glorious "age to come" now, or the present age? Are you in the world but not of it, or are you in it and of it?

Revelation 11:7-14

7Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. 8Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. 10The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.

11But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. 12Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.

13At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

14The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon.



Dig Deeper

During the early days of what we now know as World War 2, things seemed bleak for the countries that had aligned themselves against Germany, Japan, and Italy. In fact, it seemed almost inevitable that Germany was going to roll through Europe. Those opposed to the Nazis and their allies seemed to be defeated and as good as dead. Then, of course, as we all know, the United States entered the war and the hopes of the Allies suddenly came to life through the United States armed forces. What had seemed dead, the hopes of those opposed to Hitler, were now very much alive, and, in fact, were soon to be victorious.


Celebrating prematurely is always a danger. John depicts a scene in this passage in which those animated by the Beast will begin to celebrate because of their apparent defeat of those who would represent God. They are dead and defeated, at least that’s what it seems. But suddenly, John begins a description of the hopes of the two witnesses coming to life, so to speak, in an entirely new way. What the world thought was dead and defeated was, in actuality, far from it.


11:7 - A shocking thing happens to our two witnesses. The Beast from the Abyss attacks, and we are told is able to overpower and kill them. This is the first time that the beast is mentioned, but it is as if John assumes that his readers will already know who it is. The Beast is actually a familiar theme in the Bible. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and allowed sin into the world by listening to the beast (the Serpent). They became less than human by being separated from God, as they became beasts themselves, complete with the mark of rebellion that would be visible on their foreheads (Gen. 3:19). A later picture of the Fall is seen in the life of Nebuchadnezzar who was, like Adam, given the power, strength, and glory of the kingdom. Yet, due to his pride, he was judged and became a beast (Dan. 4:33).


Man’s rebellion against God is also depicted in the Bible as the rebellion of beast against man. The persecutors of Christ at the crucifixion are called "dogs," "bulls of Bashan," and likened to "roaring lions." In the Old Testament, all unclean animals represented rebellion against God. Under the symbolism of the Covenant, beasts represent the Satanic nations, and were strictly forbidden to be eaten. To eat unclean animals was to eat the Satanic lifestyle. The prophets often described pagan nations as terrifying beasts making war against the people of the Covenant (Ps. 87:4; 89:10; Isa. 51:9; Dan. 7:3-8, 16-25). The enemy of God’s people, then, has always been the beast; this was nothing new to first-century Jews. All of this will be combined together in John’s depiction of the beast, who is ultimately connected to the age-long enemy of the Church, the Dragon that is Satan. In a way, then, the ultimate identity of the beast is Satan, the great Dragon. Later on, the beast will be given a more specific identity, but the ultimate animating force behind the Beast is Satan, while the specific identity is less important.


11:8-10 - The bodies of the Old Covenant witnesses lie metaphorically in the street in the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt. This is, obviously, Jerusalem, the same city where the Lord was crucified. To some, this may seem like a new comparison, that of Israel being compared to Egypt. Although it is never directly stated, this concept is screamed throughout the New Testament. Jesus is the new Moses (Acts 3:20-23; Heb. 3-4), the new Israel (Matt. 2:15), the new Temple (John 1:14; 2:19-21). In a way, Christ was a living representation of the entire history of the Exodus (1 Cor. 10:1-4, also, for example, Jesus went into the wilderness to face temptation for forty days, mimicking Israel’s forty years and he chose twelve disciples to mimic the twelve tribes of Israel). Then, we have the Revelation itself, which speaks of the Egyptian-style plagues being poured out upon Israel. The once holy city of Jerusalem has now become like the great pagan power, Egypt. With the seeming death of the prophets, and thus Israel itself, the inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate. Burial in the promised land in the Old Testament was a sign of believing in the pledge of future resurrection (Gen. 23; 27:29-31; 49:28-33; 50:1-14;, 24-26; Ex. 13:19; Josh. 24:32; 1 Sam. 31:7-13; Acts 7:15-16; Heb. 11:22). Thus, the pagan nations refused to to bury them, mocking them in the process. In fact, the nations will send gifts to one another, because the death of the city on a hill has brought them temporary peace in their own eyes.


11:11-12 - After a limited time represented by three and a half days, the witnesses are resurrected as the breath of life from God entered them. This resurrection is that of Christ. The Witnesses did not survive the persecutions, but they rose to power in the Resurrection of Christ. The witnesses, who have now been revived by Christ, himself, have been called to come up and join the Father in the holy sanctuary to take dominion with Christ.


11:13-14 - At that moment, there was a severe earthquake. Scripture connects Christ’s birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, the outpouring of the Spirit on the Church, and the wrath upon Israel as one theological event. As soon as Christ was born, Israel’s fate was doomed. Thus, at that very hour, there was a severe earthquake (Rev. 6:12; Ezek. 38:19-20; Hag. 2:6-7; Zech. 14:5; Matt. 27:51-53; Heb. 12:26-28). For purely symbolic reasons, we are told that seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake. Many more than that would be killed by the coming of the New Covenant and the end of the Old, but this symbolically, is the exact opposite of the 7,000 that remained faithful in Elijah’s day (1 Ki. 9:18). Both citations are a symbolic number, representing completeness (seven) multiplied by many (1,000). The rest were terrified and gave glory to God, which is biblical language for conversion.



Devotional Thought

God’s judgment is poured out on the unrighteous, but it also leads to the conversion of those who humble themselves and have the fear of God. Which category do you fall into? Do you respond to God’s Word by holding tighter to what you want, or do you respond to His Word with fear and humility? How you respond makes all the difference.

Revelation 11:1-6

The Two Witnesses

1I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, "Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there. 2But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. 3And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth." 4These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. 6These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.



Dig Deeper

We’ve all had one of those days. You know the type of day where everything seems to be stacking up rather quickly and demonstrating the fact that you are going to have a bad day. From the moment you wake up, one thing after another goes wrong and everything that happens seems to point to the fact that you are going to have a bad day. You might wake up late, your spouse seems to be in a bad mood, the kids are running amuck, you can’t find your keys, you spill your coffee on your light-colored pants, and on and on it goes.


In a much more profound way, this is something of the point of this part of John’s vision. John describes two witnesses which signify the totality of the Old Covenant prophets. The vision is making clear that everything that happened during the Old Covenant and in the lives and ministry of the prophets were pointing ahead to what was currently breaking into the world. The bad things that happen at the start of the day may or may not actually be signs of a bad day, but the events of the lives and ministry of the prophets were clearly all pointing ahead to and culminating in the outpouring of the New Covenant.


11:1-2 - John is given a reed like a measuring rod and is commanded to go and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and count the worshipers there. This imagery is borrowed from Ezekiel 40-43 where the angelic priest measures the ideal Temple, which is the New Covenant people of God. The writer in Hebrews tells us that the sanctuary in heaven is the original pattern for the copy and shadow which the Jews built on earth (Heb. 8:5). The heavenly sanctuary is the true sanctuary (Heb. 9:24). This heavenly sanctuary belongs to the people of the New Covenant. We are given a clue as to what the Temple is when the author of Hebrews says the heavenly sanctuary was cleansed (Heb. 9:23), or made fit for use. It was Christ who cleansed it for the "church of the firstborn" (Heb. 12:23). In other words, the Church is, in some sense, the heavenly Temple. John has made this clear as much of the action in this book has taken place in or originated from the inner sanctuary. Those who worship at the incense altar are priests (Ex. 28:43; 29:44), and John has already told us that we are a kingdom of priests (Rev. 1:6; 5:10).


Measuring is a symbol in Scripture used to separate the holy from the profane, and thus, to indicate God’s protection from destruction (Ezek. 22:26; 40-43; Zech. 2:1-5; Jer. 10:16; 51:19; Rev. 21:15-16). It is, in Scripture, the priests who do the measuring, which is, of course, judging. The act of measuring is guarding the Temple from the profane. Between the sixth and seventh seals, the 144,000 saints were protected from the coming judgment (Rev. 7:1-8). That protection is paralleled here in the act of measuring the inner sanctuary between the sixth and seventh trumpets. John is a priest of the New Covenant, and is given the authority to cast out the profane unbelievers. Jesus had already warned the Jews that very few would receive the Kingdom, while the Gentiles would stream in (Luke 13:24-29; Matt. 7:13, 14; 8:11-12).


Apostate Israel has been excluded from the Temple as it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. Forty-two months is equal to 1,260 days, or a 3 and a half years. It is taken from Daniel 7:25, where it symbolizes a limited period during which the wicked will be triumphant. Seven, symbolizes wholeness and completeness, while three and a half seems to be a broken seven that indicates death and destruction. The periods of time in the trumpets section are arranged chiastically, which further indicated the symbolic nature (chiastic is a pattern of "ABCCBA" or "123321"). In this section we see 42 months (11:2); 1,260 days (11:3); 3 and a half days (11:9); 3 and a half days (11:11); 1,260 days (12:6); 42 months (13:5). In his gospel, Matthew goes out of his way to describe the list of Christ’s ancestors as adding up to 42; 14 each between Abraham and David, David and the exile in Babylon, and the exile in Babylon to Christ. There were 42 generations between promise and fulfillment. John tells us that we don’t have to wait another 42 generations. The time has been shortened to 42 months. The Church will be saved through the coming tribulation, while apostate Israel will be destroyed at the hands of the Gentiles.


11:3-4 - Before Jerusalem is destroyed, John hears more testimony of its guilt, focusing on the persecution of the prophets throughout the history of the nation. The two witnesses are clothed in sackcloth, which is tradition prophet clothing symbolizing mourning over national apostasy (2 Kings 1:8; Isa. 20:2; Jon. 3:6; Zech. 13:4; Matt. 2:4; Mark 1:6). John returns to imagery of Zechariah’s prophecy of the lampstand. The lampstand symbol stands for the Holy Spirit’s filling and empowering work in the leaders of His covenant people. This meaning is demonstrated in Zech. 4:6 which says, "Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit." In the same passage, we are told the two olive trees, on either side of the lampstand, are "the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth." The two witnesses he was referring to are Joshua, the priest, and Zerubbabel, the king. Zechariah is telling us about an olive tree/ lampstand, symbolizing the officers of the covenant. These two figures represent the royal house and the priesthood (a recurring theme in the Revelation). John, then, connects two shining lampstands which are two oil-filled olive trees, which are two witnesses, a king and a priest. They all represent the Spirit-inspired prophetic testimony of the Kingdom of priests. These witnesses, as evidenced by their clothing, are members of the Old Covenant.


11:5-6 - John now turns the imagery of the two witnesses to images of Moses and Elijah, representing the law and the prophets. He says if anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This brings to mind fire coming down from heaven at Moses’ word, consuming the false worshipers who had rebelled against him (Num. 16:35). Fire also fell from heaven and consumed Elijah’s enemies at his word (2 Ki. 1;9-12). John goes on to say that these two have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the 1,260 days, the same amount of time of the drought caused by Elijah (1 Ki. 17). The witnesses also have the power, like Moses in Egypt to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague. Both of these prophets pointed beyond themselves to Jesus Christ (Mal. 4:4-6; Matt. 11:14; 17:10-13; Luke 1:15-17). Malachi had declared that Elijah’s ministry would be recapitulated in John the Baptist. Like Moses, John’s ministry would be succeeded by a Joshua, Jesus (Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua) the conqueror who would lead the people into the promised land. The two witnesses, then, summarize all the witnesses of the Old Covenant, culminating in the witness and life of John the Baptist.



Devotional Thought

John shows that the lives of Moses and Elijah pointed ahead to one greater than them, Jesus Christ. Everything about their lives pointed to the one who is to come. For us, Jesus has already been here, yet, our lives should be pointing to Him as well. In what ways does your life point others to Jesus. Thank God for the ways He has allowed you to be a light to those around you.

Revelation 10:5-11

5Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. 6And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, "There will be no more delay! 7But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets."

8Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: "Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land."

9So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey." 10I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. 11Then I was told, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings."



Dig Deeper

Not long ago, I experienced something that probably most people have in one form or another at one time or another in their life. We were at a restaurant and I ordered some Mexican food that was particularly tasty. It was sweet with just a perfect bit of spice and it was so good that I probably ate a little more than I should. Yet, what was so good to my taste buds, as I was soon to find out, was rather sour to my stomach. My mouth had enjoyed it but it did not sit well with my stomach, which is never a good thing.


This is the common imagery that John borrows from the prophet Ezekiel to make his point in this passage. The Revelation that he is being given, like that of Ezekiel, is bittersweet. It will announce the justification and vindication of the Christian community on one hand, but the final judgment of God on the Covenant people of Israel on the other hand. The same document that offers hope and joy also brings judgment and punishment. This was truly a bittersweet moment for a Jewish Christian. It was, in fact, like food that tastes so good and sweet going down, but actually upsets your stomach once it gets there. Yet, as sour as it may have seemed to John, he must announce it, both the sweet and the sour.


10:5-7 - Christ now shows his purpose in appearing in such a manner, as he raised his right hand to heaven. This is the gesture of a witness in a court of law (Gen. 14:22; Ex. 6:8; Deut. 32:40; Ezek. 20:5-6; Dan. 12:7) as he raised his right hand and swore an oath by him who lives for ever and ever. Some have argued that this cannot be Christ for the reason that this is below the dignity of Christ and out of the character of God to swear an oath. Yet, there are many example in Scripture of God swearing oath by Himself (Gen. 22:16; Isa. 45:23; Jer. 49:13; Amos 6:8). This is exactly what Christ does here.


Serving in the role of witness, Christ announces that there will be no more delay! But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, declares the witness, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets. The mystery here is not a mystery in the way that the modern world would understand this word. It does not mean an enigmatic item that cannot be explained. Rather, mystery means something previously hidden that is now being revealed. What is the mystery? Is some sense it is the joining together of Jews and Gentiles, but in the fuller sense it is referring to full instillation of the Kingdom of God and the life of Christ available to those who would die to self and enter in. The Kingdom had begun at Pentecost, but it is more fully revealed as the Old Covenant is officially ended once-and-for-all. It is the revelation that through the death of Christ, heaven and earth will now overlap, not at the Temple, but in the Church, and in the life of each believer. Christians have the ability to look forward into time, so to speak, and grab the age that is to come , living it out in the present time through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ that each believer can enter at baptism (Rom. 6:3-4).


This is a revelation of earth-shattering proportions. God, through Christ Jesus, has begun the process, one person at a time, to set things right in the universe; this is a process that will be completely finished one day when Christ returns to make all things new. What we have here, then, is a picture of Jesus Christ standing with His pillar legs planted on Israel and the nations, swearing an oath by the Creator, proclaiming the message of the New Covenant and the age that is to come that can be lived out now in the confines of the Kingdom of God. This announcement of the New Covenant brings with it, in no uncertain terms, the implication that the Old Covenant is ending and Jerusalem will soon be destroyed.


10:8-10 - Just as Ezekiel was commanded to eat the scroll that symbolized the prophetic denunciation of rebellious Israel (Ezek. 2:8019; 3:1-3), so John is told to take the scroll and eat it. This ties the scroll that John is seeing, which is essentially the book of Revelation itself, with Ezekiel’s scroll. This is another identifier that the Revelation is largely a denunciation against apostate Israel. Just like Ezekiel’s experience, John finds this scroll as sweet as honey to his mouth, but it turned his stomach sour. The reasons for this should be pretty obvious. The covenant lawsuit of Revelation is sweet as it announces the victory of the Church and of the Kingdom of God. Part of that victory, however, was the final condemnation of the house of Israel. What is salvation for one, is judgment and destruction for the other. The same judgments that deliver us also destroy the enemies of God. While John would enjoy the victory of God’s people, he would also lament the destruction of the once holy city, the mountain of God. The day of the Lord would bring both blessing and unspeakable horror (Amos 5:18-20).


10:11 - The angel of the Lord was identified in the Old Testament as the original prophet (Ex. 23:20-23; Deut. 18:15-19). He raised up and gave commission to other prophets in His image, reproducing Himself, in a sense, in them (Ex. 3:2; 33:14; 34:5; 29-35; 2 Ki. 1:3, 15; 1 Chron. 21:18). The prophets, for this reason, were often referred to as messengers (angels), and expressed their direct representation of God (2 Chron. 36:15-16; Hag. 1:13; Mal. 3:1). This pattern is followed here as Christ, the angel-prophet, commissions John to prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings. Christ has announced the universal revelation of the Kingdom, and now John is to extend that proclamation to all the nations.




Devotional Thought

Just as John and the other early Christians were given the revelation that the age to come could be accessed and lived out now in the Kingdom of God, and were told to proclaim it to the world; so, we are given the same charge to share that proclamation with the world. With whom can you share this message today. Find someone that you can tell about God’s willingness to reconcile between the world and Himself, here and now.