Other references in the Study on Revelation
The apocalyptic literary style generally incorporates certain emphases:
- Dualism = There are two forces at work in the universe and history. In the O.T. they are the God of Israel and any forces opposed to Israel. In the N.T. they are God and Satan.
- Cosmic = The earth, underworld, heaven, and their inhabitants are all involved in the struggle.
- Eschatology = End of time or the last things. The writings deal with two times: present and future. The present age is evil and under the control of Satan. Much of earth’s inhabitants are followers of the evil oppressor. The righteous followers of God are oppressed, persecuted and helpless. They may even be put to death by their evil contemporaries. There is no hope for God’s followers in “this age.” Present things are going to get worse before the end.
- God will deliver = The only hope of the righteous is for God to intervene. The believers are assured that God will soon engage Satan in a cosmic conflict and overthrow Satan. God will win and usher in a New Age completely under God’s control. Believers will live under God’s protection in an eternity of blessedness as their reward for faithfulness to God.
- Other-worldly = Some writings state that the current evil earth will be replaced with a newly created incorrupt earth. Others state this evil earth will be replaced by a perfect heavenly city that will descend from above.
- Visions = Often, yet not always, seen in apocalyptic writings, meant to gain attention and inspire authority.
- Pseudonymity = Usually ascribed to some ancient, famous authority which gives credibility to the writing.
- Messianic figure = Some (not all) refer to a coming savior/liberator. Daniel and Isaiah (24-27) do not. Some refer to an opposing evil figure, such as an antichrist.
- Interim age = Some refer to a time period between the “end time” and the “new age.”
- Angels and demons = both good and evil combatants are mentioned frequently.
- Bizarre symbolism = Literary impressionism such as references to mythological and astrological birds and beast, to produce a desired effect; i.e., fear or security.
- Numbers = Ancient people thought numbers had a mystical significance.
- Coming Woes = As the end draws near, earthly disasters and irregularities in the heavenly bodies will occur. What takes place on earth is determined by what happens among the heavenly bodies.
- Divine responsibility = Humanity is relieved of any responsibility for the improvement of the present age. Everything must be left to God. Righteousness consists of loyalty and devotion to God, to be demonstrated in fidelity to Israel and proper worship rituals. Wickedness demonstrates itself in idolatry, the persecution of the righteous, or in belonging to a people other than the Jewish nation.
Hal Lindsey, The Late Great Planet Earth, 1970, Zondervan.
Matthew 24:32-35 reads, “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
Matthew 24:36, Jesus says,“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
Numbers have significance, and they may not necessarily be meant to be taken literally. For example: 4 = the world; 6 = imperfection; 7 = perfection; 12 = the tribes of Israel, or the apostles; 1000 = immensity. So, 1000 people may be simply a whole lot of people – too many to count. And, millennium (1000 years) may simply be more years than we can imagine.
Revelation speaks to their current suffering in two ways:
- Encouragement to persevere in the faith, and consolation to those who are suffering – they will be vindicated and rewarded.
- The assurance that God will intervene to judge and punish those who are afflicting the church.
In ancient times, during periods of Christian persecution, people would often “make the fish symbol” by drawing a simple fish outline on the ground, usually in sand, as a secret way to identify fellow Christians without raising suspicion from authorities; if someone drew the first part of the fish, another Christian would complete the drawing, signifying their shared faith.
The basic theme you will see repeated is the petitions of the persecuted Christians, the divine response, the plagues of punishment as God intervenes, and the celestial bliss of the redeemed. Here are the divisions of the book as I will be talking about them. This is not the “be all, end all.”
- Introduction = 1:1-20
- Unit One: 7 Letters = 2:1-3:22
- Unit Two: 7 Seals = 4:1-8:1
- Unit Three: 7 Trumpets = 8:2-11:18
- Unit Four: 7 Signs = 11:19-15:4
- Unit Five: 7 Bowls = 15:5-16:21
- Unit Six: 7 Sights = 17:1-20:15
- Unit Seven: New Heaven = 21:1-22:5
- Epilogue = 22:6-21
Chapter One Resources
1 Corinthians 14: 6, 26
6 Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I speak to you in some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching?
26 What should be done then, my brothers and sisters? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.
Galatians 1:12 reads, “…for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.”
John 7:16-17, 28
16 Then Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine but his who sent me. 17 Anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own.”
28 Then Jesus cried out as he was teaching in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I am from. I have not come on my own. But the one who sent me is true, and you do not know him.”
John 8:28, So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me.”
John 12:49-50, “…for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me.”
Revelation 19:10, “Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, ‘You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers and sisters who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.’”
Revelation 22:9, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers and sisters the prophets and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”
Revelation 22:7, “Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
Luke 11:28, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!”
1 Thessalonians 5:27, “I solemnly command you by the Lord that this letter be read to all the brothers and sisters.”
Colossians 4:16,“And when this letter has been read among you, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and see that you read also the letter from Laodicea.”
Revelation 1:5-6, “To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Revelation 22:18-19, “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book; if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”
Romans 8:15, “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’”
Galatians 4:6, “And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’”
Mark 14:36, “He said, ‘Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me, yet not what I want but what you want.’”
Luke 11:2, “So he said to them, ‘When you pray, say: Father, may your name be revered as holy. May your kingdom come.’”
Exodus 19:6, “…but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.”
Revelation 20:22, Jesus says, “Surely I am coming soon.”
Revelation 21:5-8, (God speaking) “And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God, and they will be my children. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, the murderers, the sexually immoral, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.’”
Daniel 10:4-6 reads, “On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river (that is, the Tigris), I looked up and saw a man clothed in linen, with a belt of gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like beryl, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the roar of a multitude.”
John 20:16 reads, “Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher).”
John 20:28 reads, “Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”
Revelation 7:2 reads, “I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to damage earth and sea…”
Colossians 2:18 reads, “Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, initiatory visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking…”
Chapter Two Resources
Acts 21:11 reads, “He (Agabus) came to us and took Paul’s belt, bound his own feet and hands with it, and said, ‘Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and will hand him over to the gentiles.’”
Jesus introduces himself with a different designation each time:
(1) him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands (2:1);
(2) him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again (2:8);
(3) him who has the sharp, double-edged sword (2:12);
(4) the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze (2:18);
(5) him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars (3:1);
(6) him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open (3:7);
(7) the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation (3:14).
1 Thessalonians 1:3 reads, “…remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Hebrews 6:10 reads, “For God is not unjust; he will not overlook your work and the love that you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do.”
Matthew 24:11-12 reads, “And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold.”
Matthew 22:36-40 reads,“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest? He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Revelation 21:8 reads, “…as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, the murderers, the sexually immoral, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Numbers 31:16 reads, “These women here, on Balaam’s advice, made the Israelites act treacherously against the Lord in the affair of Peor, so that the plague came among the congregation of the Lord.”
Acts 15:20, 29 reads, “…we should write to them to abstain only from things polluted by idols and from sexual immorality and from whatever has been strangled and from blood… that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.”
Acts 16:14 reads, “A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul.”
Acts 14:27 reads, “When they arrived, they called the church together and related all that God had done with them and how he had opened a door of faith for the gentiles.”
Chapter Three Resources
Revelations 4:1 reads, “After this I looked, and there in heaven a door stood open! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’”
Revelation 11:12 reads, “Then 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 watched them.”
Revelation 12:5 reads, “And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a scepter of iron. But her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne”
Revelation 21:22 reads, “I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.”
Revelation 7:15-17 reads, “For this reason they are before the throne of God and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat, for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Psalm 23:6b reads, “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.”
Colossians 2:1 reads, “I want you to know how greatly I strive for you and for those in Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face.”
Colossians 4:13, 15-16 reads, “For I testify for him that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis… Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters in Laodicea and to Nympha and the church in her house… when this letter has been read among you, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and see that you read also the letter from Laodicea.”
Mark 1:10-11 reads, “And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’”
Ezekiel 1:26,28 reads, “And above the dome over their heads there was something like a throne, in appearance like sapphire, and seated above the likeness of the throne was something that seemed like a human form… Like the bow in a cloud on a rainy day, such was the appearance of the splendor all around. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.”
Matthew 1:1, 23 reads, “An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham… and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means, ‘God is with us.’”
Romans 1:3-4 reads, “…the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Psalm 141:2 reads, “Let my prayer be counted as incense before you and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.”
Colossians 1:15-20 reads, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.”
Zechariah 1:8-11 reads, “In the night I saw a man mounted on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the shadows, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses. Then I said, “What are these, my lord?” The angel who spoke with me said to me, “I will show you what they are.” So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, “They are those whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth.” Then they spoke to the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have patrolled the earth, and the whole earth remains at peace.”
Zechariah 6:1-7 reads, “And again I looked up and saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze. The first chariot had red horses, the second chariot black horses, the third chariot white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled gray horses. Then I said to the angel who spoke with me, ‘What are these, my lord?’ The angel answered me, ‘These are the four winds of heaven going out, after presenting themselves before the Lord of the whole earth. The chariot with the black horses goes toward the north country, the white ones go toward the west country, and the dappled ones go toward the south country.’ When the steeds came out, they were impatient to get off and patrol the earth. And he said, ‘Go, patrol the earth.’ So they patrolled the earth.”