Revelation 12: Why did God not make an end of evil after the Cross?

This is an article in the series on Revelation 12. Unless otherwise indicated, all quotes are from the NASB.

REJOICE, O HEAVENS

Lamb of GodBecause of the blood of the Lamb and because of the testimony of our brethren, Satan was driven out of heaven and thrown down on earth (Revelation 12:8-13).  A loud voice then announced:

Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, … For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them” (Revelation 12:10-12).

Events on earth made an end to the war in heaven.  Through Christ, God made peace with the “things in heaven” (Col 1:20).  This world became the testing ground for God’s righteousness, with huge implications for the entire cosmos.

WOE TO THE EARTH

But the voice continued:

Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath” (Rev 12:12).

The war continues on earth.  This planet is the only place in the universe where Satan still has power.

WHY DOES SIN CONTINUE?

Why did God not make an end to sin immediately after the Cross?  One seldom hears this topic discussed, probably because the standard theories of the atonement have no answer for that question.  In this theory, Jesus died to satisfy the wrath of an angry God.  Is God’s wrath then not yet fully satisfied?

Satan’s weapons in this war are deception and accusations.  God responds, not with violence or with force, but with the blood of the Lamb (Rev 5:9) and with the testimony of “our brethren” (Rev 12:11)  By these means, God provides the evidence required to refute Satan’s charges.  Since Satan attacks with accusations, and since God responds with evidence, the only possible conclusion is that sin continues because some evidence is still outstanding.

WHY IS EVIDENCE REQUIRED?

If we understand Revelation 12 correctly, the earth is the only place where the rebellion against God still rages, for Satan has been banished from the courts of heaven after Jesus’ ascension.  Therefore, to remove evil from this planet is to remove it entirely from God’s creation:

The creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption” (Rom 8:21).

Lake of FireEvil will be exterminated when “the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone” (Rev 20:10), and with him, anyone whose “name was not found written in the book of life” (Rev 20:15).   After this event, we will hear God say, “Behold, I am making all things new” (Rev 21:5).

The eradication of evil in Rev 20:13-15 is preceded immediately by the judgment before the great white throne (Rev 20:11-12).  The extermination of evil, therefore, is the consequence of this judgment.  The evidence is therefore required for the final judgment, in which “books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books” (Rev 20:12). 

In conclusion, the war still continues because there still is some evidence outstanding that is required for the final great judgment.  The extermination of evil, and with it all the people and angels that are permanently corrupted by it, will be a most traumatic event for all the universe, including for the people that are saved.  God wants to make sure that all of His intelligent creatures understand and agree with the decisions made in that judgment.

WHAT EVIDENCE IS STILL OUTSTANDING?

What and why evidence is required, we can see from the end-time events as described in the book of Revelation:

THE MARK OF THE BEAST

Jesus’ arrival on earth caused a major crisis. In a few short years, much was revealed both about God and about Satan.

Revelation predicts a similar crisis in the end time, when “the image of the beast would … cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed” (Rev 13:15).  It will attempt to give all people “a mark on their right hand or on their forehead” (Rev 13:16).  People who refuse to receive this mark will not be allowed “to buy or to sell” (Rev 13:17).

What the mark of the beast is, requires a more in-depth study, but we can safely say that it will be that sin which people will be forced to commit, the modern equivalent to Nebuchadnezzar forcing all people to worship a statue, at the threat of death (Dan 3:5-6). The beast itself is an earthly power (cf. Rev 13:1-2; 17:9-10; 12). To worship it is to accept its authority.

At the same time, the truth will be preached with more power than ever before (Rev 14:6).  The evil one attempts to blur the distinctions between what is holy and what is common, but these distinctions will be made clear by God’s end-time messengers. All people will have to choose between the mark of the beast and “the seal of the living God” (Rev 7:2; cf. 14:1).  This will be the valley of decision for all people:

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near” (Joel 3:14).

God’s people will be “victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name” (Rev 15:2).  They “had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand” (Rev 20:4).

THE PLAGUES

There will come a turning point, during this final crisis, when “the temple was filled with smoke … and no one was able to enter the temple” (Rev 15:8).  After this, the plagues are poured out (Rev 16:1), but only “on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image” (Rev 16:2). This will give them clear evidence that they are persecuting God’s people, but “they did not repent” (Rev 16:9, 11).  They will continue to oppress God’s people.

THE MILLENNIUM

Christ’s return will make an end to the persecution of God’s people, but only temporarily. At the end of the 1000 years, all people that opposed God, from all ages since the creation of the world, will “come to life” (Rev 20:5), and “Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations” (Rev 20:7-8).  “They … surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them” (Rev 20:9).  This, in a few words, describes the final and major battle between good and evil. It is described only briefly because we have no way to understand the circumstances or nature of that battle.

THE OUTSTANDING EVIDENCE

Why would God allow an end-time crisis in which His people are killed?  Why does God pour down horrible plagues on the earth when there is no possibility that sinners will repent?  And why would God bring the lost back to life, 1000 years after Christ’s return, only to consume them again by fire?

These are to provide the evidence required for the final great judgment.

GOD’S PEOPLE

God’s people will be “victorious over the beast.”  The evil one will take away from them all they have, but they will refuse to “worship the image of the beast” (Rev 13:15), “even when faced with death” (Rev 12:11).  This will reveal their faith: “They overcame him (the accuser) … because of the word of their testimony” (Rev 12:11). The Cross demonstrated God’s righteousness (Rom 3:25-26). God’s end-time people will similarly demonstrate, to the universe for all ages to come, the justness of God’s grace for His people.

GOD’S ENEMIES

The persecutors of God’s people “did not repent,” even when they have clear evidence that they are persecuting God’s people. This will reveal their true natures. They pretend to be Christians, but their actions will show that they are fundamentally opposed to God and to His principles, like the Pharisees of old, who opposed Jesus. This will confirm God’s condemnation of them.

CONCLUSIONS

All the seeds—both good and evil—that have been sown over the centuries, will come to maturity in this last battle.  Through this crisis, good and evil will both be fully revealed (cf. Rev 3:10).

God allows the human race—created in His own image—to show the nature and consequences of Satan’s principles.  The entire universe is watching events on this little planet with intense interest (e.g. Job):

The manifold wisdom of God (is) … made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places“ (Eph 3:10).

Various articles on the website are available with further information, for example, Purpose of the Plagues and Return of Christ in the book of Revelation.

THE DELAY

Why does God delay the end-time crisis?

First-century Christians expected Jesus to return in their time.  See The Lord is coming soon.  When He did not, they asked questions, and Peter explained:

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

Over the centuries, God’s persecuted people complained about the delay:

How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Rev 6:10)

In Revelation 7:1-3, an angel ascends from the rising of the sun (the east), “having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, ‘Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads’.

God delays the final crisis because His people are not ready, and He is “not wishing for any to perish.”  He will only allow the end-time crisis when the 144000 are sealed.  The number 144000 is interpreted here not as a literal number, but as a symbol of the quality of their faith:

These are the ones who have not been defiled with women … who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. … And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless” (Rev 14:4-5).


SUMMARY OF THIS ARTICLE

Satan was driven out of heaven because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the testimony of our brethren. God made peace with the “things in heaven,” but the war continued on earth.

Why did God not make an end to sin immediately after the Cross?

Since Satan attacks with accusations, and since God responds with evidence, we assume that God allows sin to continue because some evidence is still outstanding.

For what purpose is evidence required? 

Earth is the only place where the rebellion against God still rages. To remove evil from this planet is to remove it entirely from the universe.  After the judgment before the great white throne, evil will be exterminated through the lake of fire. The war continues on earth to generate the evidence required in the final judgment.

The end-time events show what and why evidence is required.

By threats of violence and death, people will be forced to receive the mark of the beast, which is some sin that people will be forced to commit. But God’s people will be “victorious over the beast.”

At some point, during this final crisis, the plagues will start to fall, but only on the people who are persecuting God’s people. This will give them clear evidence that they are opposing God, but they will not repent.

Christ’s return will not be the final end of sin. At the end of the 1000 years, all people that opposed God, from all ages since the creation of the world, will “come to life” and continue their persecution of God’s people.

All of this is to provide the evidence required for the final great judgment.  These events will demonstrate the faith of God’s people, but will also show that the lost are fundamentally opposed to God and to His principles, thus confirming God’s judgments, for God wants us to trust Him fully.


ARTICLES IN THE SERIES ON REVELATION 12

OTHER RELEVANT ARTICLES

In the sixth plague, kings prepare for war against the kings from the east.

This article is a summary of the various articles dealing with different aspects of the sixth plague.

EUPHRATES DRIED UP

The sixth plague is described in five verses. The first verse reads as follows:

16:12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl
on the great river, the Euphrates;
and its water was dried up,
so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.

Literal interpretations sometimes assume that this refers to the literal Euphrates that will literally dry up to allow literal kings from the east to attack the literal city of Babylon. Given the modern ability to send unmanned aircraft and missiles to the remotest parts of the world, this would indeed be a strange interpretation. Rivers have deterred armies in the time when Revelation was written, but certainly not today.

The article – The great river, the Euphrates – discusses:

What is the great river, the Euphrates?
What is the drying up of the Euphrates?

In summary, it concludes as follows:

EUPHRATES

Since the first five plagues are worldwide and since there are no indications in the plagues of portions, as one finds in the seals and the trumpets, the Euphrates River is also worldwide. This, of course, also means that the drying up of the waters of the Euphrates is a global event.

Revelation uses the Euphrates as a symbol for the peoples of the world. This conclusion is based on two components:

Revelation uses the names Euphrates and Babylon several times, but nowhere does it define a relationship between them.  However, Revelation does say that Babylon sits on many waters. Since we know from history that the Euphrates River flowed through the ancient city of Babylon, by inference, the many waters is another name for the Euphrates.
(Many waters = Euphrates)

Revelation explicitly defines the many waters as the peoples of the world.
(Many waters = Peoples)

Therefore: Many Waters = Euphrates = Peoples of the world

DRIED UP

Hundreds of years before Christ, the water of the literal Euphrates was literally dried up to prepare the way for literal kings from the east; Cyrus and the kings of the Medes and the Persians. Since Revelation uses a historical event to describe this a future event, the drying up of the Euphrates is symbolic language.  

As mentioned above, Babylon “sits” on the Euphrates. That is explained by Rev 17:2 as: “Those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality.” Babylon is the false system of religion that has existed for all of human history. That she sits on the peoples of the world symbolizes her intoxicating influence on the world.

Babylon has also fully infected Christianity. As discussed in a previous article, the throne of the beast is particularly Christian religious authority. The enemy of God in Revelation is not other religions in general, but the Christian version of Babylon in particular.  

Dried up” then means that false Christianity will lose its hold on the people of the world. These concepts are explained in more detail in the above-mentioned article – The great river, the Euphrates.

KINGS FROM THE EAST

The article – Kings from the East – shows that these kings are a symbol of Christ and His angels.  In summary, that article offers the following proofs:

      • There are TWO GROUPS OF KINGS in the sixth plague. Since the kings of the whole world make war against God, the kings from the east are on God’s side.
      • In Scripture, God comes from the EAST.
      • The sixth plague uses language from the DELIVERANCE OF GOD’S PEOPLE from ancient literal Babylon. This implies that this plague describes God’s deliverance of His end-time people, which He will do through Christ.
      • The sixth plague does not describe either of the two groups of kings, but both are DESCRIBED IN CHRIST’S RETURN.  In the Return of Christ, we see the kings of the world gathered and God’s kings moving towards them.  Satan is represented, in both the sixth plague and the Return of Christ, by 4 categories: The dragon, the beast, the false prophet and the kings of the world.

WAY PREPARED

The drying up only prepares the way for the kings from the east. The high-level analysis of chapters 16 to 19 in the article – Kings from the East – shows that chapters 17 and 18 are an interruption and that the seventh plague continues in Revelation 19 with the Return of Christ. In other words, the seventh plague terminates in the Return of Christ. The sixth plague is, consequently, the preparation, but the seventh plague is “the war of the great day of God” (16:14) – Armageddon.

ARMAGEDDON

According to the final verse of the sixth plague, the demon-spirits gather the kings of the world “to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon” (Rev 16:16). This place Har-Magedon is identified in the article Armageddon, which is how this place is usually called.  In summary, that article concludes as follows:

There is no place called Armageddon (Har-Magedon in the NASB).

Interpreters offer many solutions to identify a specific geographical location, but none of these proposals are especially persuasive.  For this reason, we should interpret Armageddon figuratively.  Other reasons to prefer a symbolic interpretation include the following:

        • The SYMBOLIC context of the plagues;
        • MODERN WARFARE does not allow for a world war limited to one specific geographical location. 
        • The GLOBAL nature of the other plagues.

ARMAGEDDON REPEATED

The book of Revelation describes Armageddon in many other places without using the word Armageddon:

There are many similarities between Armageddon in the Sixth Plague and the Return of Christ in Revelation 19.  For example, in both there are two groups of kings, with the kings of the world are gathered together for war in one place while the other kings move towards them. 

Both the harvest at the end of Revelation 14 and the war at the Return of Christ in Revelation 19 refer to the treading of the winepress.

The sixth seal is the “GREAT DAY of their wrath,” similar to the “GREAT DAY of God” in the Sixth Plague.

The sixth plague is the only place in the Bible where we find the exact phrase “the great day of God,” but outside Revelation variations of it appear in nearly 30 verses.  Armageddon is, therefore, the same as the “Day of the Lord,” which is found all over the Bible.

Since Armageddon is mentioned repeatedly in Revelation and since it is the same as the Old Testament war of the “Day of the Lord,” it cannot be a world war between the nations of the world that is limited to one geographical location on the globe.

CONCLUSION

The kings of the earth are not gathered in a physical place, but the spirits of demons will unite world leaders in mind and spirit against God. Armageddon will be a physical war, but it will be worldwide, and it will be a war between God and man.

WHY THE WATERS DRY UP

According to Revelation 16:12—the first verse of the sixth plague—the waters of the Euphrates River have to dry up to prepare the way for the Kings from the east.  As discussed above:

The Euphrates River symbolizes the people that support false Christianity.  Drying up means that the people’s support for false Christianity dries up.  This will happen after false Christianity suffers a lethal blow to its authority during the first five plagues (See Fifth plague). 

The Kings from the East have been interpreted as Christ and His angels at His return.

According to verses 13 to 16, after false Christianity loses its popular support, it receives renewed strength in the form of “spirits of demons, performing signs” (16:14).  These demon spirits enable the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet to gather the kings of the world at Armageddon (16:16).

This is discussed in the article, Why the Euphrates dries up to prepare the way for the Kings from the east.  A summary of that article is as follows:

The demon spirits mean that God allows Satan direct control.  

PEOPLE WITH THE MARK OF THE BEAST

The people with the Mark of the beast are similar to the Pharisees of Christ’s day.  They are Bible-believing, church-going Christians, but for them, the traditional teaching of the church is more important than the truth.  In reality, Satan is their god.  In their view, God is cruel and quick to judge, for they ascribe Satan’s character to God.  Then they interpret the Bible accordingly.

However, through the first five plagues, they come to realize that they are serving Satan; not God.  But they do not change, for they have become so hardened that they are unable to repent

When Satan sends his demons to gather the kings, the people with these modern Pharisees accept this new power with the full knowledge that this power is from Satan. 

QUESTION

Why must the waters dry up to prepare the way for the kings from the east?  Literally speaking, why must false Christianity realize that it is false before may Christ return?

GOD’S JUDGMENT QUESTIONED

The rebellion against God on earth actually began in heaven when a huge number of God’s HOLY angels joined Satan.

God condemned Satan and his angels to hell.  To defend himself, Satan accused God of unfair judgment.  God also sentenced the people with the Mark of the Beast to death.  Satan, therefore, similarly accuses God of bad judgment with respect to the people with the Mark of the beast.

Due to Satan’s enormous intellect and skill, many of even the sinless heavenly beings do not know whether Satan is telling the truth!

PURPOSE OF THE PLAGUES

God wants all intelligent beings to trust Him fully.  In particular, He wants all intelligent beings to understand His judgments.  For that reason that He pours out the plagues, even after the eternal destiny of every person on earth has been permanently fixed.  Through the plagues, He will shows, to all of God’s intelligent creatures, throughout the universe, that His judgment is correct

In particular, the plagues reveal to the on-looking universe the true nature of these modern Pharisees.  To do that, the plagues will reveal to the modern Pharisees that they are deceived and that they are, in reality, followers of Satan, persecuting God by persecuting His people.  This is done so that all the universe can see how the modern Pharisees respond.  Through the refusal to repent it becomes clear that they really are committed to Satan’s principles, which confirms God’s judgment of them, namely that they must die the second death. 

SPIRITS OF DEMONS / SPIRITUALISM

The last four verses of the sixth plague read as follows:

16:13 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;
14 for they are spirits of demons, performing signs,
which go out to the kings of the whole world,
to gather them together
for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.

16 And they gathered them together to the place
which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon.

The dragon is Satan (12:9).  The beast came from the sea (13:1) and is identified in the article on the Seven-Headed Beasts of Revelation.  The false prophet is the beast from the earth (compare 13:12 to 19:20). 

The war of the great day of God” is “Har-Magedon,” also known as Armageddon.  That article identifies Armageddon, NOT as a physical place, but an event, namely the Day of the Lord.  The spirits of demons will unite the world leaders; not in a place, but against God in mind and is spirit.

MOUTHS

In Revelation, many things come out of mouths, such as “fire, smoke and brimstone” (9:15-17; 11:5), “water like a river” (12:15) and “a sharp sword” (19:15).  These are not literal things coming out of literal mouths.  What comes out of the mouth symbolizes what the being does.  For example, the Image of the beast will “speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed” (13:15; cf. 13:5; 11-13).  The mouth, therefore, is not important. What is important is WHAT comes out of the mouth, for that symbolizes the will and deeds of the being. 

FROGS

Some believe the demons are “like frogs” (16:13) because frogs catch their prey with their tongues.  Others see some symbolic meaning in the fact that the frogs were the last plague on Egypt which the Egyptian wizards were able to replicate.  The view here is that simply the frogs must be understood like the “unclean and hateful birds,” which are also mentioned in 18:2 with unclean spirits.  “Like frogs” then simply highlights the repulsive nature of the unclean spirits in God’s sight.

SPIRITUALISM

SPIRITS OF DEMONS come out of the mouths of the evil trio.  This indicates an escalation of Satanic power which allows the evil trio to perform extraordinary deeds (signs). 

Previously the false prophet deceived mankind to make an Image of the beast by “great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men”  (Rev 13:13-14).  Now the dragon, beast, and false prophet perform signs to gather the kings of the whole world together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty – Armageddon (16:14, 16).  Through these miracles, Satan will succeed to unite the world behind him and against God.

One often hears Christians claiming miracles.  That does not prove that these things are by God’s power.  The “lawless one … whom the Lord will … bring to an end by the appearance of His coming,” will come “with all power and signs and false wonders(2Th 2:8-9).  Jesus also said, false prophets will … show great signs and wonders” (Mt. 24:24 cf. Mark 13:22).

False Christianity receives this renewed strength IN RESPONSE TO THE SETBACKS of the first five plagues, which resulted in the waters (human support) drying up, but that strength comes from Satan.  They receive the persuasive ability to lead men to an unconditional commitment to the cause of evil. 

SECRET RAPTURE

Does the phrase, “coming like a thief” in Revelation 16:15, support a secret rapture?

This article discusses the rapture-like language in Revelation 16:15.  It is not intended to discuss the rapture in general, but only whether this verse, in particular, supports the rapture concept.

In the middle of the sixth plague, immediately after God’s enemies have received renewed power from demon spirits to enable them to gather together the kings of the world for the battle of Armageddon, Jesus warns:

“Behold, I am coming like a thief.
Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes,
so that he will not walk about naked
and men will not see his shame.” (Rev. 16:15)

SUMMARY OF THIS ARTICLE

Dispensationalism proposes that, seven years before Christ’s visible return, there will be an invisible and inaudible secret rapture that will remove the church from the earth. 

The phrase, “coming like a thief,” in the sixth plague, is sometimes interpreted to refer to this secret rapture.  There are, however, a number of passages in the Bible that mention Jesus coming like a THIEF, and it nowhere means that the relevant event will be inaudible or invisible. It always means that nobody can predict WHEN Jesus will return. 

Jesus comes like a thief on THE DAY OF THE LORD, which, in the sixth plague, refers to as THE WAR OF THE GREAT DAY OF GOD, the Almighty.  On that day there will be sudden destruction.  The heavens will pass away with a roar and the earth and its works will be burned up.  It does not like a secret event. 

The same warning which Jesus gave in 16:15, namely that His people must keep their clothes, He gave to the seven churches.  This implies that the church is still on earth during the plagues. 

But there is a difference.  The sixth plague urges God’s people TO KEEP their clothes while the Laodiceans are advised TO BUY white garments.  Jesus’s warning is, therefore, only intended for God’s people; not for the world in general.  This firstly confirms, as discussed in the Introduction to the Plagues of Revelation, that when the plagues fall, the time for repentance has passed.  

SECRET RAPTURE

Does “coming like a thief” in Revelation 16:15, support a secret rapture?

This article discusses the rapture-like language in Revelation 16:15.  It is not intended to discuss the rapture in general, but only whether this verse supports the rapture concept.

In the middle of the sixth plague, immediately after God’s enemies have received renewed power from demon spirits to enable them to gather together the kings of the world for the battle of Armageddon, Jesus warns:

“Behold, I am coming like a thief.
Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes,
so that he will not walk about naked
and men will not see his shame.” (Rev. 16:15)

Dispensationalism proposes that, seven years before Christ’s visible return, there will be an invisible and inaudible secret rapture that will remove the church from the earth. 

The phrase, “coming like a thief,” in the sixth plague, is sometimes interpreted to refer to this secret rapture.  There are, however, a number of passages in the Bible that mention Jesus coming like a THIEF, and it nowhere means that the event will be inaudible or invisible. It always means that nobody can predict WHEN Jesus will return. 

Jesus comes like a thief on THE DAY OF THE LORD, which the sixth plague refers to as THE WAR OF THE GREAT DAY OF GOD, the Almighty.  Then there will be sudden destruction.  The heavens will pass away with a roar and the earth and its works will be burned up.  It will not be a secret event. 

The same warning which Jesus gives in 16:15, that God’s people must keep their clothes, He gave to the seven churches.  This implies that the church is still on earth during the plagues. 

But there is a difference.  In the sixth plague, God’s people are urged TO KEEP their clothes while the Laodiceans are advised TO BUY white garments.  Jesus’s warning is only to God’s people; not to the world in general.  This confirms that, when the plagues fall, the time for repentance has passed.  This is consistent with the proposal that the church is still on earth.

AVAILABLE ARTICLES ON REVELATION

INTRODUCTORY

Why is the title of this website Revelation BY Jesus Christ?
Every main part of Revelation begins in the temple in heaven.
Are events described in chronological sequence?
Is a consistently literal interpretation appropriate?
Does Revelation present Jesus as God?
God’s throne – the center of the universe.

SEVEN SEALS

Revelation 4
Revelation 4:1-8 – Verse-by-verse

The 24 elders are human beings that rule under God.
Revelation 4:8-11 – Worship in God’s presence
Revelation 5
Revelation 5 is Christ’s enthronement after His ascension.
The sealed book is the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Why can God not explain His judgments?
Revelation 5 verse by verse
The Sixth Seal concludes with Christ’s Return.
Does the seventh seal include the seven trumpets?
Seven seals explained
Introduction to the Seven Seals – What book is this?

BABYLON

Babylon; the mother of harlots – main article
Babylon’s merchants are her false prophets.
Babylon is not the reconstructed ancient city of Babylon.
Babylon is the driving force behind the beast.

SEVEN-HEADED BEASTS

The Seven-Headed Beasts of Revelation identified
The three beasts are three of the seven heads.
The Seven Heads identified

REVELATION 13

13:1-2 – The Beast relates to Daniel 7.
13:3-4 – The fatal wound
The beast of Revelation is the Mainstream Church of Christendom.

SEVEN PLAGUES

The Plagues of Revelation – 16 articles

For further reading, Jon Paulien’s commentary is recommended. For general discussions of theology, I recommend Graham Maxwell, who you will find on the Pineknoll website.

Next: Seventh Plague

TO: General Table of Contents

For further reading on Revelation, I recommend Jon Paulien’s commentary. For general discussions of theology, I recommend Graham Maxwell, who you will find on the excellent Pineknoll website.