Revelation

There is no more hopeful chapter in the Bible than the last. Here is God’s great answer to our human fallen nature and here is the culmination of the truly awesome work of Jesus Christ on the cross. This is the chapter that gives us the answer to all the questions that have haunted mankind through the ages. Where did we come from? What went wrong? How can it be made right? How will this all end? The center of…

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away … And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God” (Rev. 21.1-2). Sometimes, when we attempt to describe something that is indescribably good, we just end up saying, “It’s heaven on earth”. John, in the last two chapters of the book of Revelation does his best to describe something that is indescribably good.…

“When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth — Gog and Magog — to gather them for battle. In number, they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who…

“Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” Rev. 19:9 On occasion, I will receive an invitation in the mail to come to a banquet meal at a pricey restaurant here in Knoxville. The invitation is motivated by an attempt to sell you something or promote involvement in a cause. I usually don’t go. It’s not the food that keeps me away. It’s the fact that I don’t really want to sit through what they’re…

For those of you who don’t know, I’m a child of the 80s. As we are coming to the end of Revelation a song keeps playing on a loop in my head. It is the song, “Final Countdown” by a band named Europe. It had a driving beat and few words so as to be easily remembered. It’s interesting that the words of the song have to do with escaping the earth in a rocket ship because of the apocalypse.…

Reared in the 70’s and 80’s, I grew up in the Star Wars generation. Starting in 1977 with the original movie and carrying on through today with the Force Awakens. As a culture, we can’t get enough of this galactic battle that spans generations. Starting with young Anakin Skywalker and ending with his grandson Ben Solo (Kylo Ren). The movie transitions through different times and characters, but the war is ultimately good versus evil. The main villains are Darth Vader…

That’s not exactly a title for an article that would draw a reader in. Who wants to read about how mad God is at the human race? Nevertheless, it accurately describes these later chapters of the book of Revelation (14-18). No matter how you cut it, the wrath of God is a prevalent theme of the entire book of Revelation, especially these later chapters. It seems that despite popular belief, God is still mad at people. It is obvious many…

As we read Revelation this week, we see another song popping up in the midst of the apocalyptic activity that John experienced (Chapter 15). This made me think about worship throughout book of Revelation. As we have seen, this book is not really about things yet to come as much as it is an unveiling of the person and work of Jesus Christ. My short definition of worship is this: worship is a revelation (God reveals himself to us) and a response…

Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!” And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord…

In 2009, I decided to study the book of Revelation, which became a year and a half adventure. This study also included examining the schools of interpretations on how to approach reading this Apocalyptic letter given by way of prophetic vision to the imprisoned Apostle and delivered to the seven churches of Asia Minor. The Revelation is a difficult letter to study because of its prophetic nature and the symbolism used. I avoided reading it for my first 23 years…