The Book of Revelation

“The King Is Coming”

Background

▪ Biblical title of the book is the “Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev 1:1)

▪ Greek word of the title: “apokalypsis” referred to “Apocalypse” meaning the “unveiling.”

▪ Author: John the Apostle

▪ Recipient: Churches of Asia Minor (Roman Province of Asia) Which is modern Turkey. They were a mixture of Hellenistic Jewish & Gentile Christians.

▪ Where written: Island of Patmos

▪ Date: AD95

Recipients: “7 Churches”

Ephesus

Smyrna

Pergamum

ThyatiraSardis

Philadelphia

Laodicea

• All connected by a local Roman highway in a circular pattern.

• Individual “epistles” are written to the 7 churches by Christ Himself.

• The general condition of the churches is described as wealthy, prosperous, lukewarm, tolerant of heresy, and having lost their 1st love.

Theater on the Acropolis of Pergamum

Overview of Patmos

Symbols in Revelation

▪ Symbols from OT (Lion of Judah, Song of Moses, Tree of Life, Lamb of God)

▪ Symbols from NT (Word of God, Son of Man, Bride of Christ)

▪ Symbols unexplained (Scarlet beast, 7 thunders, mark of the beast)

▪ Identified Symbols (7 Lamps = 7 churches, dragon = Satan)

▪ Symbols depict real people, things, situations and events.

Numbers in Revelation

The number 7

• Churches, Spirits, Stars, Lampstands, Horns, Eyes, Angels, Seals, Trumpets, Bowls, Thunders, Crowns, Plagues, Mountains, Kings, Songs, Beatitudes.

• Description of Christ, Message to the Church, Praise of Lamb, Results of Judgment, Division of humanity, Blessing, Triumph, “New things”. (7 folds)

The number 12

• Tribes of Israel, Apostles, Gates, Foundations of the New Jerusalem, 24 Elders (2x12), Multiples of 12, Each tribe contains 12,0000 people, Total of 144,000 (12x12,000), Wall of New Jerusalem measures 144 cubits (12x12)

Revelation Chapter 1

▪ Suddenness with which these things will eventually transpire. “Quickly Take Place”.

▪ Description of Christ (Glorified Savior) (1:13-16)1. Hair: White as snow2. Eyes: Like flames of fire3. Feet: Burnished bronze4. Voice: Sound of cascading waters5. Right Hand: Held 7 stars6. Mouth: Sharp double-edged sword 7. Face: Shining like the sun

“Sword of His mouth” is His only weapon, contrast to the bow of the Antichrist (6:2)Spoke the world in to existence at moment of creation, will use the “Sword” of His spoken word to conquer the world at His return (19:15)

Letters to 7 Churches

1st calls to repentance to churches then judgment to the unbelieving world.

1. Commission: “To the angel of the church.”

2. Character: “The One Who……says this.”

3. Commendation: “I know your works.”

4. Condemnation: “But I have this against you.”

5. Correction: “Repent….Turn…Change.”

6. Call: “He who has an ear, let him hear.”

7. Challenge: “To him who overcomes.”

Individual Churches

1. Ephesus: Preoccupied Church (Rev 2:1-7)- Great church in 1st century- Challenged to regain their “1st love” & serve the Lord with

renewed passion.2. Smyrna: Persecuted Church (Rev 2:8-11)

- No condemnation or correction- Martyrs for Christ

3. Pergamum: Political Church (Rev 2:12-17)- Roman army was stationed in that city- Temple of Zeus was there.- City where Satan’s throne is (2:13) - Problems between distinction in religion and politics- Believers were caught up in political correctness that often led

to spiritual compromise.

Individual Churches (Continued)

4. Thyatira: Prosperous Church (Rev 2:18-29)

- Town was dominated by powerful and prosperous women.

- Prosperous woman, symbolically called “Jezebel” functioned as a false teacher in the church and tolerated false doctrine.

5. Sardis: Powerless Church (Rev 3:1-6)

- The city was dying. The church was dying. Only a few believers were left. (Rev 3:14)

- The Lord challenged, “Wake up! Strengthen! Remember! Obey! Repent!”

Individual Churches (Continued)

6. Philadelphia: Persevering Church (Rev 3:7-13)- The church persevered with “limited strength” (3:8) and was

commended for their endurance and promised to be kept “from” the “hour of testing” (tribulation) that would eventually come on the whole world. (3:10)

- “Gateway to the East” the open door between east and west.

7. Laodicea: Putrid Church (Rev 3:14-22)- The church of the “closed door” and it is pictured as Jesus

knocking at the door. (3:20) - It is also described as putrid and lukewarm, despite its material

prosperity.* In these letters, The Lord gives personal encouragement to keep the faith, endure persecution, remain zealous, and seize the opportunity to spread the gospel. Each letter urges the reader to heed what the Spirit says to all the “churches,” WE today must also take these admonitions to heart.

7 Sealed Scroll (Revelation 4-5)

▪ The attention is turned to heaven. John was called up to heaven. (4:1)

▪ John emphasizes the INACCESSIBILITY of the throne, which is separated by lightning bolts, peals of thunder, angelic creatures, and a sea of glass (4:2-7)

▪ John sees the 24 elders, robed in white. They represent salvation. Theirs no mention of the church between 4-18 until the marriage of the Lamb and her triumphant return with Christ, her warrior husband in (19:11-16).

▪ NO ONE can cross the “sea of glass” and no one was found worthy to open the seven seals on the scroll in the hand of the Father.

▪ ONLY The Lamb (Christ) appears seated in the throne, coequal with the Father and the problem is solved. He takes the scroll and the elders and creatures fall down in worship. (5:9-10) The symbol of the Lamb, comes from John’s gospel.

7 Seals & 7 Trumpets (Revelation 6-11)

– The process of divine judgment is unleashed by the opening of the 7 seals. This results in a series of catastrophic events that express the “wrath of the Lamb” (6:16)

– Pretribulationalists believe the rapture of the church (1 Thess 4:13-17) takes place prior to these judgments since the Church, the bride of Christ, is the object of His love and not His wrath (Eph 5:22; 1 Thess 5:9).

– John watched Christ (the Lamb) open the 7 seals and releases their judgments. The first 4 seals release the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse and a wave of wars on earth.

– Seals 5 and 6 reveal matters in the heavens (Martyrs and cosmic disasters)

– The 7th seal results in the sounding of the 7 trumpet judgments (8-9)

Church In Tribulation Time

– 1 Thessalonians 5:9“For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,”– Revelation 3:10“Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”– The church may suffer the wrath of man, or Satan, but not the

wrath of God.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4: 16-18)

List of the 7 Sealed Judgments

1st Seal: White Horse (War)

2nd Seal: Red Horse (Bloodshed)

3rd Seal: Black Horse (Famine)

4th Seal: Pale Horse (Death)

5th Seal: Martyrs (How Long?)

6th Seal: Heavens Shaken (Great Day of Wrath)

7th Seal: 7 Trumpets (Silence, Then Disaster)

* The imagery of colored angelic riders on horses can also be found in (Zech 1:8-11)

7 Sealed Judgments (Continued) – Beginning of 7 trumpets of judgment

- Though these judgments are providential, they are executed by human agencies. Armies are marching, men are fighting, and the world is at war. They are led by the rider on the white horse, the imposter with a bow, not a sword. This is not Christ, as some suppose, but the antichrist who plunges the world into chaos in the last days.

- Why would Christ release Himself?- He has a crown but in the Greek its translated to the word

“stephanous” the reef that the victor gets in the Greek games.- The rider has a message of war. That’s not the message that Christ

brings.People saved out of the “great tribulation” (7:14)

They include the 144,000 from the 12 tribes of Israel (7:4-8) and an innumerable of host of Gentiles (7:9)Then the 7th seal is opened (8:1), followed by a period of silence, broken by the sending of the 7 trumpets of judgment.

7 Trumpets of Judgment

1st Trumpet: Rain of Fire (Vegetation Burned)

2nd Trumpet: Fireball (Oceans Polluted)

3rd Trumpet: Falling Star (Rivers Polluted)

4th Trumpet: Sun Darkened (Air Pollution)

5th Trumpet: Demonic Plagues (Torment)

6th Trumpet: Great Army (200 million)

7th Trumpet: Divine Wrath (Heaven Opened)

7 Trumpet Judgments (Continued)

- The devastation predicted by the trumpet judgments was unknown and unfathomable in the ancient world but is certainly a potential reality in our world today. These prophecies portray a global conflagration so vast that one third of the planet is affected.

The sounding of the 7 thunders, which John was told not to record. (10:4) The appearance of the two witnesses follows whose preaching mission ends after 3 and a half years with their martyrdom, resurrection, and rapture into heaven (11:1-12) After these events, the sounding of the 7th trumpet, the opening of heaven, and the revealing of the ark of the covenant. (11:15-19)

7 Key Figures in the Eschatological Drama (Revelation 12-13)

Woman: Israel, Mother of the Messiah

Dragon: Satan, the Old Serpent, the Devil

Male Child: Jesus Christ Ascended to Heaven

Michael: Archangel Who Battles Satan

Remnant: Seed of the Woman

Beast of the Sea: Antichrist

Beast of the Earth: False Prophet

7 Players (Continued)

▪ The woman, many mistakenly identify the woman (12:1-2) as the Church, but this woman is depicted as the “mother” of Christ, not the “bride” of Christ. Her symbols (sun, moon, stars) are taken from (Gen 37:9) which refer to the family of Jacob (Israel).

▪ The beast of the sea is consistently referred to as the “beast” throughout the rest of the book. The “beast” (Antichrist) is pictured as a political ruler. Other names in the bible: man of sin, lawless one, son of perdition, ruler that shall come, despicable one, willful man. He loves himself, doesn’t care about God, he’s brilliant, intelligent, selfish and thinks he’s God.

▪ The beast of the earth is later called the “false prophet” (19:20; 20:10) This ruler is a religious leader who deceives unbelievers into taking the “mark of the beast”(13:16-18)

Plagues: 7 Bowl Judgments (Revelation 14-19)

On the Earth: Malignant Sores

Into the Sea: Oceans Polluted

Into the Rivers: Rivers Polluted

Upon the Sun: Scorching Heat

Throne of the Beast: Darkness and Pain

River Euphrates: Kings of the East

Into the Air: “It is done”

7 Bowl Judgments (Continued)

– Judgment of the 6th bowl results in the unsaved nations of the world under the leadership of the beast gathering their armies to the “great day of God” at the battle of Armageddon (16:14-16). Stage is set for the final confrontation between Christ and Antichrist.

– Chapters 17-18 describe the fall of Babylon (“Mystery Babylon”) the kingdom of the beast.

– The 19th chapter shows the marriage of the Lamb in heaven. The fact that the Church, the bride, is pictured in heaven with Christ indicates the rapture (1 Thess 4:13-17) must have taken place earlier before the tribulation judgments.

– Climax of the book comes in (Rev 19:11-16) as Jesus Christ, the “faithful and True” rider on the white horse rides out of heaven with His bride, the Church, robed in white from the wedding (19:8), at His side (19:14)

– The true King of kings and Lord of lords speaks and with the “sword of his mouth” slays the rebel army and casts the beast and the false prophet alive into the lake of fire (19:20).

Millennium and Eternal City (Revelation 20-22)

– The book of Revelation ends. It describes the millennium (1,000 years) in which Satan is bound in the abyss and Christ and His saints rule the world with a “rod of iron” (19:15 NKJV; 20:1-6)

– As ideal as this era will be, it is not heaven but an earthly kingdom. After the 1,000 years, Satan is released and attempts a final revolt of unbelievers who were born during the millennial years (20:7-10) Satan is cast into the lake of fire and the great white throne judgment follows which results in all the lost of all time being cast into the lake of fire, which is the “second death” (20:11-15)

Eternal State (7 New Things)

New Heaven

New earth

New Jerusalem

New World Order

New Temple

New Light

New Paradise

* Sin, rebellion, sorrow, sickness, pain, and death are eliminated. We will see God’s face.

Invitation

– “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

(Revelation 22:16-17)– Applying what we learned in the book of Revelation in our lives:

1. Helps Christians see our situation in its true perspective2. Shows our enemy's in their true colors.3. Reveals our champion in his true colors4. Enables us to see ourselves in our true beauty.5. Summons us to endure as we suffer.6. Calls us to stay pure when compromise invites.7. Encourages us to bear witness while God waits.

Notes

▪ Towns, Elmer L. The Essence of the New Testament: A Survey / Elmer L. Towns, Ben Gutierrez, Editors. Nashville, Tenn.: B & H Academic, 2012. Print.

▪ Holy Bible New King James Version, Black, Imitation Leather, Gift & Award Bible. Holman Bible Pub, 2013. Print.