Revelation Overview

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At the end of each book in the bible I take a look at all of the noteworthy verses at one time and try to take an overall view of what was contained within. Here is what caught my eye in Revelation. I've dispensed with grouping them according to good and bad, but looking over it there is basically nothing good in here unless you think the destruction of the "evil people" is positive thing.

--Afterlife--

Revelation 7:15 Heaven is serving God day and night

"Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple"

--Apocalypse--

Revelation 1:1,3 The end is near

"must soon take place", "the time is near"

Revelation 3:2,3 The end is near, although you can't be sure exactly when

"strengthen what remains and is about to die...I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you."

Revelation 3:10-11 Jesus is returning soon

"...I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon...."


Revelation 22:6,7,10,12,20 Jesus is coming back soon

"what must soon take place...I am coming soon...the time is near...I am coming soon...Surely I am coming soon"

--Blasphemy--


Revelation 13:5-6 Blasphemy is apparently the beasts biggest sin

"And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven."

--Deception--


Revelation 20:7-9 Satan allowed to trick people and get them killed by God

"when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them,"

Revelation 19:20-21 Killed for being tricked into following the beast

"And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword"

--Evil--

Revelation 2:2 Avoid or expose evil

"...how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false."

--Faith--

Revelation 2:19 Faith is a virtue

"I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first."

--Fear--

Revelation 14:7 Worship God out of fear

"Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come"

--Free Will--

Revelation 6:4 God messes with free will

"...Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another..."

Revelation 13:10 Even the beast is following God's plan

"If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain..."


Revelation 14:8 You are not responsible for your sexual immorality [x-post to sexuality]

"Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality."

Revelation 17:8 Whether or not we are saved was determined at the beginning of time [x-post to justice]

"And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast"

Revelation 17:17 God forced the kings to help the devil [x-post to justice]

"for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled."

--Justice--

Revelation 14:9-10 Have the mark required for commerce nets you God's wrath

"If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God's wrath"

Revelation 16:13-14 People are tricked into following Satan

"And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty."

Revelation 17:8 Whether or not we are saved was determined at the beginning of time [x-post to free will]

"And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast"

Revelation 17:17 God forced the kings to help the devil [x-post to free will]

"for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled."

Revelation 20:15 Eternal punishment

"And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."

--Lists-- 

Revelation 20:8 These things earn you hellfire

"But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."

Revelation 22:15 list of things that will keep you out of new Jerusalem

"Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood."

--Love--

Revelation 2:19 Love is a virtue

"I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first."

--Obedience--

Revelation 2:5 Worship God or else

"But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first [for God]. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first [worshipping God]. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent."

Revelation 2:10 Die for me and be rewarded

"Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life."

--Patience and Endurance--

Revelation 2:2,3,19 Patience and endurance are virtues

--Science--

Revelation 7:1 The Earth has 4 corners, where wind originates from

"After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree."

--Sexuality--

Revelation 2:14,20-22 Sex is bad

"But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality."

"But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works"

Revelation 2:23 God will kill you if your mother is a prostitute

"and I will strike her children dead..."

Revelation 14:4 Girls are gross

"It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins..."

Revelation 14:8 You are not responsible for your sexual immorality [x-post to free will]

"Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality."

--Violence--

Revelation 2:15-16 Worship God or he will kill you

"So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth."

Revelation 2:23 God will kill you if your mother is a prostitute

"and I will strike her children dead..."

Revelation 6:4,8 God is a violent monster

"...Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another...they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth."


Revelation 9:5-6 God loves Torture

"They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them."

Revelation 14:10-11 God wants to watch you suffer

"and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever"

Revelation 14:20 God's punishment is sick and twisted

"And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse's bridle, for 1,600 stadia. (about 184 miles)"

Revelation 19:20-21 Violent punishment

"These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.  And the rest were slain by the sword"

--Women--

Revelation 20:2 Women are commodities

"And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."

--Worship--

Revelation 4:11 God is worthy of our worship

"Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power..."


Revelation 5:13 Jesus is worthy of worship

"And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!"

Revelation 22: The End

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The River of Life (v. 1-5)

The river of life will flow through the streets and the tree of life will grow on either side with 12 kinds of fruit that grow every month. The leaves of the tree will be for the healing of the nations. There will be no night, the light of God will be your light instead of lamps or the sun.

I'm not really sure what the leaves part means, the rest of it sounds pretty good. I'm guessing that getting enough food was a problem back then, so having food year round coming off of these trees would sound like paradise. I'm also not really sure I understand the thing about light.

According to Guzik, the Greek word that is being translated into "healing" can also mean "health-giving" or "therapeutic". I'm still not sure I really understand what that means.

Jesus Is Coming (v. 6-21)

Jesus is coming very soon, it says so 5 times in this short section.

It's hard to imagine that by soon he meant thousands of years. This is nothing new, we've been over this point a bunch of times.

We see the same justification for this, that the Greek word means suddenly not soon. Given the message here and the apparent urgency being used, I think this is a pretty unreasonable reading of the text.

Let the evildoer still do evil, the filthy be filthy, the righteous do right, and the holy be holy.

What do you mean "let the evildoer do evil"? I thought we were in the business of saving souls? In fact, this might be another time that demonstrates how close we are supposed to be to the end, it is so close you shouldn't even bother converting people any more.

There are some who are not allowed to enter the city gates and get to the tree of life: "the dogs and sorcerers, the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehoods."

This is pretty much the same list we saw before. One thing I find interesting, is that these people are even around on our new earth. If they didn't make it to heaven, shouldn't they be burning in the lake of fire? Are they on the new earth but just not in the city? This doesn't seem to match up too well to our picture of the afterlife.

But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers: What about those outside? We shouldn’t think that outside the walls of heaven multitudes will throng, longing to get in. “The verse does not intend to teach that in the eternal state all manner of wicked men will be living just outside the heavenly city. It simply describes the future with the imagery of the present.” (Mounce)

I'm sorry, but this is completely idiotic. It is clearly talking about the city gates of new Jerusalem. 

The words in this book are true, if anyone adds anything to it or takes anything away from it, you will take part in the plagues and be denied the tree of life.

A last ditch effort to tell people not to edit the book, seems like a reasonable request.

Finished!

Picture from run-nyc.com

Well, that marks the end of the new testament. I can't believe I've now read the whole thing. Now I just have to tackle the old testament =D

What lessons are in this chapter?

--Apocalypse--

Revelation 22:6,7,10,12,20 Jesus is coming back soon

"what must soon take place...I am coming soon...the time is near...I am coming soon...Surely I am coming soon"

--Lists--

Revelation 22:15 list of things that will keep you out of new Jerusalem

"Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood."

Revelation 21: The Streets are Paved with Gold

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The New Heaven and the New Earth (v. 1-8)

Then John saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old earth had passed away and the sea was no more.

It's funny, I didn't quite make this connection until the mention of the sea, during the time of the apocalypse, the sea was turned to blood. This made me realize why a new earth is needed, it's because God allowed the old earth to be completely screwed up during the apocalypse. It must have been easier to simply start from scratch that to fix the old one.

A nice new city, new Jerusalem, came down from heaven "prepared as a bride adorned for her husband" and God said his dwelling place is with man. He will be with them, he will wipe away every tear. Death, mourning, crying and pain will be no more, as these things have passed away.

Is this a description of heaven? No death indicates the immortality that we normally think of. And no pain, mourning or crying certainly fit well into my mental picture of heaven. And yet this somehow feels much different than the picture I have in my head, it seems much more physical maybe, I'm not sure. I always picture things being up in the clouds, could it be that my image of heaven is heavily influenced by lazy newspaper comic artists who want to get away with drawing clouds instead of landscapes?

Also, let's take a moment to look at the inherent sexism that is contained within the description of new Jerusalem. The bride being adorned for her husband sounds awfully like she's a commodity to me, being served up for his liking. Are we sure these are the people we want to take our morality from?

God says he will make all things new. He will give the thirsty the water of life without payment. For the one who conquers I will be his God and he will be my son.

It's funny to me that it says "without payment". There might be no money at this point in time, but getting here isn't free. If you were rich you had to get rid of all your stuff and sell it to the poor, if you lived through the apocalypse you had to not get the mark of the beast and forgo commerce for 3.5 years. There are countless other costs to get to this point. To say you are getting this water of life without payment is like saying the food on a cruise is free. Sure, I don't have to whip out my credit card at every meal, but I certainly pay for the food.

Not everyone will get this fate though, if you are among the following list, you will burn forever in the lake of fire and sulfur: cowardly, faithless, detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, liars.

If you take a close look at the list, the only really bad item is murder. Being a coward seems more of a problem for the person than for anyone else, certainly doesn't seem like a reason to burn someone for eternity. Being faithless is good. I'm not completely sure what detestable means, but I guess like being a coward, it seems like more of a personal problem than anything. As long as everyone consents sexuality is fine. Sorcerers and idolaters just show the time period this thing was written in. And finally liars, well if lying gets you thrown into the lake of fire then everyone will be in there together, because everyone lies from time to time.

The New Jerusalem (v. 9-27)

An angel took John to a high mountain where he could see new Jerusalem coming out of the sky. A ridiculous amount of detail is given about the city, including the fact that it is made of transparent gold. Also, the city was a cube, measuring about 1380 miles long, wide, and tall. The city gives off light, so it doesn't need the sun to shine on it.

It's funny, I was told as a child that in heaven the streets were made of gold. I haven't thought about it in a long time, but it was one of the earlier things set off my bullshit detector. I remember thinking it was obviously a simplified way you would tell a stupid person that heaven is great, but there is no way it would literally have streets made of gold. I always assumed it was some nonsense made up later by some Sunday school teacher who was having trouble communicating the majesty that heaven must really be. It's kinda funny to see it actually in the bible.

What lessons are contained in today's reading?

--Lists-- (I hate these stupid lists and never know how to categorize them)

Revelation 20:8 These things earn you hellfire

"But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."

--Sexuality--

Revelation 20:2 Women are commodities

"And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."

Revelation 20: Satan Tricks More People

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The Thousand Years (v. 1-6)

An angel came down from heaven, scooped up Satan, threw him in the bottomless pit and sealed it over so that he couldn't deceive the nations any longer...for a thousand years. After that he must be released "for a little while".

This is awesome. It seems to show that there is no permanent punishment. If the devil himself needs to get released after a while, you would think that your average sinner would not have to spend eternity in hell. This is obviously not what people think though, I wonder where that line of reasoning breaks down. [Note from later: permanent punishment is coming, there is just a strange 1000 year period of intermediate punishment before the permanent punishment...why?]

From Guzik

God could easily stop Satan’s activity at any time. Yet God allows Satan to continue, because even in his evil, he indirectly serves the purposes of God.

Once again, we see this point. And I agree with it completely, but where Guzik sees this as a good thing somehow, I just see it as a demonstration of what a monster God really is. He lets Satan do evil things to fit according to God's plan even though it causes problems for so many people. And it makes God ultimately responsible for everything Satan does.

Another point made is that this is a parallel of Jesus. Satan tried to imprison Jesus but he escaped in 3 days. On the other hand, Satan was imprisoned successfully for 1000 years.

Anyone who does not have the mark of the beast and instead followed God will be resurrected and reign with Jesus for a thousand years. This is the first resurrection. Everyone else will be resurrected at the end of the thousand years.

See, once again, eventually everyone gets resurrected. It would seem this also supports my previous point, no punishment is forever.

I guess one other thing I should mention here. I'm guessing they chose 1000 years because it sounds like it is so long it's basically forever. And yet it has been 2000 years an no apocalypse has happened yet. I just find that...interesting.

The Defeat of Satan (v. 7-10)

After a thousand years, Satan will be released from prison. He will deceive the nations of the 4 corners of the earth  and gather an army as numerous as the sand of the sea. They will surround the camp of the saints but fire will come down from heaven and consume them. Then the devil will be thrown into the lake of fire with the beast and the false prophet where they will be tormented day and night forever.

There we go. I thought that the beast was Satan, so him being thrown into the pit for a thousand years must have included him being released from the lake of fire, or alternatively, the lake of fire and the pit both really meant the same thing. But I was wrong there. Satan and the beast are different. Satan was thrown in the pit first for a while, then allowed to sucker a bunch of other people to die with him, THEN he was thrown into the lake of fire forever. So we clearly can't take this to mean that no punishment is forever, oh well.

I'd also like to highlight that Satan is being allowed to deceive a bunch of people and get them killed here. Why not just throw him into the lake of fire in the first place? Why does God let him screw over all of those people and get them killed? I'm guessing it's because they are evil anyway, so what's the difference! Screwed up logic.

There is a bunch of talk in the commentary about the message being contained in the fact that there is another battle. What does it mean? It demonstrates mans rebellious nature. It shows that deep down people will reject God if they aren't in his presence. It shows that even if the environment is great (god set up a world without the devil) the heart of man is really evil. So plenty of people who were born and raised in this time will still want to go to war with God. 

All of these explanations seem to miss the fact that they are being tricked. Verse 8 explicitly says that Satan deceived the armies to follow them. If they really wanted to rebel or whatever, then why was it necessary for Satan to trick them?

Judgment Before the Great White Throne (v. 11-15)

This looks like an angelic scene, but many
of these people are about to burn

All of the dead were gathered before the white throne. Many books were open, the dead were judged by what was written in the book and what they had done. Death and Hades ever gave up their dead, then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire, and anyone who wasn't in the book of life was also thrown into the lake of fire.

Presumably they were thrown into the lake of fire forever. It is interesting that Death an Hades are characters here, more evidence that Yahweh was just part of a pantheon? This is a story about how he came out the winner in the duel of Gods? Seems that way to me.

What lessons are in today's reading?

--Deception--

Revelation 20:7-9 Satan allowed to trick people and get them killed by God

"when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them,"

--Justice--

Revelation 20:15 Eternal punishment

"And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."

Revelation 19: Party in Heaven

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Rejoicing in Heaven (v. 1-5)

John heard a multitude of voices in heaven celebrating. They are happy that God is so just and powerful and killed the great prostitute because she corrupted the earth.

Again, the great prostitute seems to represent a city. Somehow this city encouraged people to stray from God, which is why it was represented as a prostitute. At least that is my takeaway here. It's hard to say exactly what this stuff is supposed to mean.


The Marriage Supper of the Lamb (v. 6-10)

The Lamb is getting married, his bride has readied herself and is clothed in fine linen, which are the righteous deeds of the saints. The angel said that those who are invited to the marriage are blessed by God, and John bowed down to worship him, but the angel said not to, because he was a servant as well.

What? This is apparently way over my head, hopefully the commentaries will be helpful here.

Apparently (according to Guzik), in the old testament Israel is often presented as God's wife, who is unfortunately often unfaithful.

The Rider on a White Horse (v. 11-21)

Then heaven opened up and a rider on a white horse came out who represents the word of God. His eyes are like fire, his head is covered in diadems, and he is clothed in a robe dipped in blood. Following are the armies of heaven clothed in fine linen.

Such a gruesome image of God.

An angel called to "all the birds overhead" (is this supposed to be the angels?) to gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, captains, mighty men, horses and their riders, all men free and slave.

Pic from The Living Word of God blog

What?

There was a great battle between the army of the beast and the army of heaven and obviously, heaven won. The beast was captured along with the prophet (who used signs to deceive people into following them) and threw them into the fire. The rest were slain by the sword.

Yet again, it is explicitly pointed out that people were tricked into following the beast, and yet those who followed are still punished.

What lessons were in this chapter?

--Free Will--

Revelation 19:20-21 Killed for being tricked into following the beast

"And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword"

--Violence--

Revelation 19:20-21 Violent punishment

"These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.  And the rest were slain by the sword"

Revelation 18: The Fall of Babylon

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The Fall of Babylon (v. 1-24)

An angel comes down from heaven and declares that Babylon has become a dwelling place for various kinds of evil. Many people have ignored God and grown rich because of it and it will be destroyed. All of the plagues will hit is within a single hour and the whole city will be destroyed inside one day. A lot of people will be sad, but heaven will rejoice.

That's pretty much all that is in here, I scanned through a commentary to see if I was missing anything important, but it doesn't really look like it. There's just not much here.

Revelation 17: Punishment for being Coerced

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The Great Prostitute and the Beast (v. 1-18)

One of the angels took John to see the judgement of the great prostitute. Many kings have committed sexual immorality with her. The woman was named Babylon the great and was hanging out with the beast. When John saw her he marveled, and the angel said he shouldn't marvel. The angel told John that the beast was about to rise from the bottomless pit and go on a destructive rampage.

So the whore of Babylon is hanging out with the beast, and the beast is about to go on a rampage. I wonder who will be at the mercy of this beast.

A quick note, the beast was described several times as being he who was, isn't, and will be, or some variation of that. The point is that he was killed, or mortally wounded but will be back. The was explained by Jamieson, Fausset & Brown.

v. 8 "the dwellers on earth who names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world..."

We've seen this idea before, but does this mean that we have no free will when it comes to getting into heaven? Our names are either in there, or they are not. If the names were chosen since the beginning of time there is nothing we can do to change things either way. Makes eternal torture seem all the more unfair.

The seven heads of the beast are the mountains on which the woman sits, there are seven kings, 5 that have fallen, one current, and one yet to come. The beast is an eighth, but it belongs to the seventh and goes on to destruction. The 10 horns are kings that will receive power for an hour with the beast.

I don't know what this all means, and I don't really care. It probably has to do with local politics at the time or something, I'm sure it just doesn't matter.

They will make war with the lamb and they will lose. The beast and the 10 horns will hate the prostitute, they will make her desolate and naked and then burn her up with fire. v17 "for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled."

What the fuck! Again, God is making people do bad things so that his plan can go forward and he can punish them. How can it be justice if people are being punished for doing things they were forced in to?

From Guzik:

God will sometimes use a wicked group (here, the ten kings) to be an instrument of His judgment against another wicked group (here, religious Babylon).

Of course, they were already wicked, so they would be punished anyway, so him making them work with the beast doesn't change their fate. I guess having the same punishment for every crime comes in handy sometimes.

What are today's lessons?

--Free Will & Justice--

Revelation 17:8 Whether or not we are saved was determined at the beginning of time

"And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast"

Revelation 17:17 God forced the kings to help the devil

"for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled."

---

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Revelation 15 & 16: Is the Apocalypse Almost Over?

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The Seven Angels with Seven Plagues (ch 15 v. 1-8)

There will now be seven angels with seven plagues, and once that is done the wrath of God will be finished.

Finally

John saw the people who had conquered the beast celebrating and singing to God. After the party was over, 7 angels were given bowls full of the wrath of God which they are supposed to pour out as seven plagues to mankind.

Let's have a party and kill people!

The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath (ch 16 v. 1-16)

The first angel poured out his bowl onto the earth, and anyone who had the mark of the beast was covered in harmful and painful sores.

So they are all like Job?

The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, the sea became blood and everything in the sea died.

What did the fish do to anybody?

The third angel poured his bowl into the rivers and springs of water and they became blood too. Then the angel fell all over himself telling God he was good and just for doing this.

There is no way this kind of large scale devastation is just. Although I suppose the other side of the argument would be that God hand picked all of the good people out and killed those who are left. But we have the same problem as always, people are judged as good for worshiping God, not for actually being good.

The fourth angel poured his bowl on the sun and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. The people who were burned cursed the name of God, they did not repent.

The people who are being attacked by the almighty God are essentially giving him the finger here? That makes sense, if anyone was going to be swayed by these kinds of tactics you would think they have done so long ago.

From the commentary of Guzik

The failure of men to respond with repentance shows that knowledge or experience of judgment will not change man’s sinful condition. Those who are not won by grace will never be won.

I find this hilarious, because this entire book is all about winning people over by fear, not by grace.

The fifth angel poured his bowl on the throne of the beast and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. The people complained but did not repent.

The sixth angel poured his bowl on the Euphrates and it dried up. Out of the mouth of the dragon came 3 false prophets who would perform signs to foreign kings to prepare for the final battle against God. They assembled at a place called Armageddon.

Again, we see the people who are fighting for the beast are being tricked! I'm sure later these people will be punished for following the beast, and yet right here we see that they have been sent a false prophet. They probably think they are on the side of good.

The Seventh Bowl (ch 16 v. 17-21)

The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice from the temple said "it is done!" There was lightning, thunder and a great earthquake. The earthquake was so great that cities were destroyed, there were even no islands or mountains to be found. Great hailstones that were 100 pounds each fell on people from heaven. they cursed God for the plague of hail, because it was so severe.

Out of all of this carnage, the hailstones were the ones people complained about. 

What are the lessons from today's reading?

Of course, the overall story here is the same as in the rest of Revelation, follow God or else this could happen to you, this entire book is about following God out of fear. But there was one verse that caught my eye apart from this, Satan sent out false prophets to gather an army. So there are people who will be tricked into fighting for Satan, and then later they will presumably be punished by God for it. I suppose I'll categorize this under justice

--Justice--

Revelation 16:13-14 People are tricked into following Satan

"And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty."

Revelation 14: God Wants to Watch You Suffer

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The Lamb and the 144,000 (v. 1-5)

The Lamb was on mount Zion with the 144,000 who have the God's name on their foreheads. John heard a voice from heaven that was like thunder or rushing water. It was also like the sound of harpists playing on their harps singing a song before the throne. No one could learn the song except the 144,000. They were all virgins who "have no defiled themselves with women". They have never lied, they are pure and blameless. They have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God.

Obviously there is a ton of imagery here. The voice he heard from heaven turned into harp music, I didn't quite follow that. Is the idea that it is a heavenly language and only the 144,000 can learn it? Is it a song? I don't get it. At any rate, God has taken these virgins as 'firstfruits', I don't know what that means, but I don't care for it.

The Messages of the Three Angels (v. 6-13)

An angel flew overhead who told everyone that they should fear God and worship him because the hour of his judgement is at hand.

Ruling by fear again. It really does seem to be the point of this entire book, but this verse is explicit.

Another angel followed declaring that Babylon is fallen and that Babylon is "she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality"

This seems to just remove all personal responsibility for anything sexual. It's a variant of "the devil made me do it".

A third angel followed them saying that anyone who worships the beast and has a mark on their hand or forehead will drink God's wrath and taste his full anger. They will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the lamb. They will be tormented night and day and have no rest.

So not only will you be tortured forever, God an his angels will watch. They are apparently sick and twisted assholes. The very idea that they want to watch you be tortured is horrifying. Furthermore, what gets you into this predicament? Wearing the mark of the beast. Why would you get the mark? Well, it was necessary for commerce, and God let the beast rule the earth for 3.5 years. What is the average person supposed to do?

From Guzik's commentary

No one will “casually” or “accidentally” take the mark. The connection between worshipping the beast and taking the mark will be clear enough.

This is bullshit. Having the mark was necessary to do any kind of commerce. And the beast was allowed for rule for 3.5 years. If I was living during this time I would have no choice but to get the mark. I live in an apartment, I can't grow my own food, I'd starve to death. Wow, the next line in the commentary:

Although, receiving the mark may seem innocent enough to those who dwell on the earth. In their eyes it may not seem like much more that a mere pledge of allegiance and devotion to the Antichrist and his government. It was the same way in the first few centuries of Christianity, when burning a pinch of incense to an image of Caesar, and pledging “Caesar is Lord” was regarded as an innocent act of civic duty to the ancient pagans.

This once again proves my point from yesterday. Is it reasonable to punish people for their actions when they don't understand what they are doing? I argue that it is absolutely not okay to do this.

The Harvest of the Earth (v. 14-20)

There are some angels on a cloud, some have sickles, the angel "who has authority over the fire" tells them to  harvest the earth as it is ripe. They do and they put the people into a great winepress from which blood flowed as high as a horses bridle for 1600 stadia (about 184 miles)

What. The. Fuck. This is not a God of love. Only a sadistic monster would set up a world where this happens. Yes, I know, I'm choosing this fate by not following your God who I don't believe in. It's all irrelevant. This is twisted.

The commentary writes a fair bit about this section, about how God's perfect wrath is being shown here and what not. quite frankly, I am very disgusted reading this chapter, and more so reading the commentary. I scanned it quickly, but I don't think there is anything to be gained by reading it carefully. I can totally understand why I was told not to read Revelation as a child. It's disgusting. Christians should be ashamed to have this in their holy book.

One more thing, if anyone out there is like me and has never seen a winepress, here is a picture of one (taken from rootsliving.com)

I gotta say, it seems pretty damn gruesome to me.

What are the lessons from today's reading?

--Fear--

Revelation 14:7 Worship God out of fear

"Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come"

--Justice--

Revelation 14:9-10 Have the mark required for commerce nets you God's wrath

"If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God's wrath"


--Sexuality--

Revelation 14:4 Girls are gross

"It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins..."

Revelation 14:8 You are not responsible for your sexual immorality

"Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality."

--Violence--

Revelation 14:10-11 God wants to watch you suffer

"and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever"

Revelation 14:20 God's punishment is sick and twisted

"And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse's bridle, for 1,600 stadia. (about 184 miles)"

Revelation 13: Blasphemy is the Worst Sin

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Since this is a continuation of last time, let's copy over the explanation of what each character is supposed to represent according to Guzik

• The woman, representing Israel
• The dragon, representing Satan
• The man-child, referring to Jesus
• The angel Michael, head of the angelic host
• The offspring of the woman, representing Gentiles who come to faith in the Tribulation
• The beast out of the sea, representing the antichrist
• The beast out of the earth, representing the false prophet who promotes the antichrist

The First Beast (v. 1-10)

John saw a beast rising out of the sea with 7 heads, 10 horns, and a diadem on each horn, and blasphemous names on the heads.

What does it mean to have blasphemous names on it heads? Is it like in world of warcraft where everyone's names are hovering over their heads? And what kind of blasphemous names? Like naming your warrior Barabbas? Cause I totally have never done that, I swear!

Guzik says that this speaks to the beasts character. Makes sense to me.

The beast was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear's, its mouth was like a lion's. The dragon gave authority to the beast. One of the heads of the beast had a mortal wound, but then it was healed, the whole earth marveled and followed the beast. They worshiped the dragon and the beast and asked who could fight against the beast.

This I find quite interesting. The people saw the beast heal itself of a mortal wound and then started worshiping it. It really seems that rule by fear is just the way it was back then. Do these people even like the beast, or are they just terrified and worshiping it because they think it will help them from getting killed. When they ask who could fight against it, are they hoping for someone to rescue them from needing to worship this monster?

Apparently the beast described as a leopard, bear, and lion to connect it to Daniel 7. Guzik says that the wound is supposed to establish him as an antichrist, as he is using the tools of Jesus. 

As people worship this beast and bow down before his government, it may be that they do not know they are bowing down to Satan himself; but it is worship of Satan none the less. 

I love this quote, it once again shows the twisted nature of this worldview. Worshiping Satan is bad even if you don't know what you are doing. How can you hold someone accountable for something they did if they didn't understand their actions?

The beast was given a mouth and started saying haughty and blasphemous things. It was allowed to rule for 42 months. It blasphemed against God and those residing in heaven. It conquered the saints and everyone on earth worshiped it. Anyone who is still alive, let him hear "If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain."

It is interesting that so much attention is put on the blasphemy. This evil being has taken over the world, and his biggest crime seems to be that he is blaspheming. It's mentions blasphemy 3 times. It also mentions that some people are killed, but in a matter of fact way, and in such a way that it sounds like it is all according to plan. It doesn't even come off as the beast is doing this and he is bad, it read more like there are some people who need to be killed and he's doing what he is supposed to do.

Apparently some would say a more apt title than "antichrist" would be "blasphemer". Once again, this simply cracks me up. If his worst crime is saying bad things about someone (especially someone strong enough to take care of himself), then I am not terribly bothered by it. Also, a quote about the 42 months

The beast continues without restraint by God for a period of forty-two months - the familiar three and one-half years. The duration of the period shows that the beast has full reign for the first half of the final seven years, and that during the whole time he is still under God’s authority.

Again, we see acknowledgement that even the 'evil' characters in this story are performing according to God's plan. So anything that they do which is evil is ultimately the responsibility of God.

Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.

How much faith can they have if they are worshiping the beast? From verse 8 "all who dwell on earth will worship it"

The Second Beast (v. 11-18)

A second beast rose out of the earth, it had horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It makes the inhabitants worship the first beast whose mortal wound was healed. It performs great signs including making fire come down from heaven.

That this guy is a prophet for the beast does make sense. He does similar things that the prophets for Jesus did, but he's working for the other side. What is the deal with the mortal wound? It has now been mentioned twice, so it is clearly important.

He tricked people into making an image of the beast, then breathed life into the image so it could kill people who don't worship it.

Breathing life into the idols is pretty cool, having the idols kill people though, not so great.

He marks everyone's right hand or forehead with the number of the beast, no one can buy or sell unless they have this mark. The number is 666 (footnote: 616 in some manuscripts)

When it says everyone, it clearly doesn't mean everyone as those who don't have the mark can't buy or sell. It is frustrating to me that we can't trust the words that are in here.

I just love numerology

“That as 12, the square root of 144, is God’s number, so 25 is the square root of antichrist’s number 666; and by this enigmatical expression we are taught that antichrist should be a political body, that should as much affect the number 15, as God seemeth to have his church affected the number 12.” (Poole)

What are the lessons from today's reading?

Revelation 13:5-6 Blasphemy is apparently the beasts biggest sin

"And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven."

Revelation 13:10 Even the beast is following God's plan

"If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain..."

---

Today's Comic: Don't Worship Satan

Revelation 12: More Crazy Stories

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The Woman and the Dragon (v. 1-6)

A great sign appeared in heaven.

Is this significant? What follows is some crazy stuff that happens up in the sky. Is the fact that it starts off by saying it is a "great sign" an indication that the claim is not that these things happen up in the sky, but rather that it is some kind of cosmic light show? Is this the equivalent of God saying "this is just a special effect"?

Again, we will get help from Guzik to understand this stuff. Apparently there will be 7 signs,

• The woman, representing Israel
• The dragon, representing Satan
• The man-child, referring to Jesus
• The angel Michael, head of the angelic host
• The offspring of the woman, representing Gentiles who come to faith in the Tribulation
• The beast out of the sea, representing the antichrist
• The beast out of the earth, representing the false prophet who promotes the antichrist

So that is helpful. And remember, I read the passage myself first and write down my thoughts, then I dig through the Christian commentary and insert the blue bits afterwards :)

A pregnant woman appeared in the sky, clothed with the sun, feet on the moon, a crown of 12 stars on her head. She was in the process of giving birth. Another sign appeared in the sky, a great red dragon with 7 heads, 7 diadems (crowns essentially) and 10 horns. The tail of the dragon knocked down a third of the stars in the sky. The dragon positioned himself so that when the woman gave birth he could eat it. She gave birth to a male child who would rule all nations with an iron rod, but the child was caught up to God, the woman fled into the wilderness where she would be nourished for 1260 days.

So...drugs? As to what all of this means? I have no idea.

“From the similar description given in 13:1 and the parallel references in Daniel 7:7-8; 7:2, it is clear that the revived Roman Empire is in view . . . The seven heads and ten horns refer to the original ten kingdoms of which three were subdued by the little horn of Daniel 7:8, who is to be identified with the world ruler of the great tribulation who reigns over the revived Roman Empire.” (Walvoord)

Apparently some people think the dragon knocking out a third of the stars means that a third of the angels were on Satan's side. Some people think the dragon trying to kill the child was fulfilled by Herod trying to kill Jesus. The wilderness establishes that the woman is not Mary, but instead Israel. Apparently the 1260 days connects it to some prophecy from Daniel.

Satan Thrown Down to Earth (v. 7-17)

There was a war in heaven, michael and his angels against the dragon and his angels. Team dragon lost and was cast down to earth.

A lot of fiction says this war happened way in the past and Satan was cast down to hell. Apparently in the bible it happens at the end times. Strange.

The dragon is called Satan and the devil, the ancient serpent, and the deceiver of the whole world.

So is this the serpent from Genesis?

A voice from heaven says that the salvation of the kingdom of God has come as the accuser has been thrown down, he had accused them day and night before God. They have conquered him by the blood of the lamb and they were willing to sacrifice their lives to get it done. Those in heaven should rejoice, however woe to those on earth as the devil will cause great wrath as his time is short.

Wait, so there was a battle in heaven and some angels gave their lives? What is the deal with the accuser? I just find this whole thing confusing.

When the dragon realized he was on earth, he pursued the woman. She was given wings of an eagle so she could get away to a place where she could be nourished for "a time, and times, and half a time". Then the serpent created a river to capture her in the flood, but the earth helped the woman by swallowing up the river. This angered the dragon so it went to war with the rest of her offspring, those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus.

I just...I don't...what?! Is she supposed to be Eve, or maybe Mary? Why is this crap in the bible?

I'm gonna be honest. The Christian commentary got a fair bit preachy in there and I basically just skimmed it. I didn't see anything terribly interesting in it. I think the bulleted list up above which says what each element of the story is supposed to represent is probably good enough here.

What are the lessons from today's reading?

Revelation 11: God Rules Through Fear and Violence

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The Two Witnesses (v. 1-14)

John was given a measuring rod like a staff and instructed to measure the temple of God and the alter and the people who worship there. However, he was told not to measure the court outside, as it will be taken over by the nations as they trample the holy city for 42 months.

So John is supposed to measure the temple and alter with a staff? And he's supposed to use it to measure the people who worship there as well? And as to the holy city being trampled, I keep coming back to the question of why, why would God's plan include his holy city being trampled?

Once again, I'm using Guzik as a source of Christian commentary. Apparently in Ezekiel 40-43 there is an extended passage where the temple is measured, this denotes ownership, protection and preservation. The measurement in Ezekiel included the outer courts, so I guess that is why the difference here is mentioned. The outer courts are being abandoned by God I guess.

"When this temple is measured, it shows that God knows its every dimension, and He is in charge."
I thought God was supposed to be omniscient.

God is in charge. This is one of the glorious, mighty themes of the Book of Revelation. Revelation 11:17 again uses the title Almighty for God. The Greek word for Almighty is pantokrater, and it describes “the one who has his hand on everything.” Nine out of the ten times this word is used in the New Testament, it is used in Revelation. This temple will be the scene of great horror and great glory, but God is in charge of it all!

We see this again and again, Guzik points out why I am disgusted by the book, but then seems to see it in some kind of positive light. It's very puzzling to me. The temple will be a scene of great horror and God is in charge of it. Right, that's why I think he's a monster!

God will give authority to 2 witnesses to phophesy for 1260 days. They will be dressed in sackcloth.

This isn't a big deal, but this is nearly 3.5 years. Why the random bit of precision? Just struck me as odd.

These are the 2 olive trees and 2 lampstands that stand before the lord of the earth.

Apparently this is referring to some other prophecy? Otherwise it makes no sense.

I was right, apparently this was mentioned in Zechariah.

If anyone harms them, fire pours out of their mouths and consumes their foes. They can keep it from raining while they are prophesying, they can turn water to blood, the can cause every kind of plague.

Interesting list of powers. What does it say about God that these are the powers he gives his spokesmen?

When they are finished, the beast will rise from the bottomless pit and kill them. Their bodies will lie in the street for 3.5 days. Those who are still on earth will rejoice and exchange presents over them, as they were a torment to those left on earth, but then God will raise them from the dead and freak everyone out. They will then ascend to heaven and there will be an earthquake which causes a tenth of the city to fall and kill 7000 people. The remaining people give glory to God.

I feel like a broken record, but this is the God of the bible, he wanted the people to worship him, and had no qualms about killing 7000 of them and freaking the rest of them out to the point that they would "give him glory" to make him stop. This is simply not a god of love.

The Seventh Trumpet (v. 15-19)

The seventh angel blew his trumpet and loud voices from heaven said that now the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ, he shall reign forever and ever.

Well this is interesting. Very early on in the blog (which I can't seem to find now), someone posted in the comments that the kingdom of God could just refer to the Christians who are in power. It's a kingdom on the earth which is controlled by God's followers. This seems to go against that interpretation as it says the kingdom of the Lord starts during the apocalypse.

The 24 elders praised God and chanted, then God's temple in heaven was opened and the ark of the covenant was seen in the temple and lightning thunder, and earthquake, and heavy hail were unleashed.


What are the lessons from today's reading?

Revelation 11:13 God rules through fear and violence

"And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven."

---

Today's Comic: God is Love