Tag Archive | The Revelation

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 365 – the last day!

Dec31

   Day 365—We are in the LAST month of Bible reading for the year, studying THE REVELATION to John.

Day 365 – Revelation 19 – 22 (Rejoicing in Heaven, 1,000 years, Satan defeated, new Heaven/Earth, new Jerusalem, River & Tree of Life, Jesus is coming)

Revelation 19.

“Hallelujah! Salvation, and glory, and power belong to our God, for His judgments are true and just.”

“Praise our God, all you His servants, you who fear Him, small and great.”

“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready: it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure.”  Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

Then John saw a white horse ridden by One called “Faithful and True.” His eyes are like a flame of fire and on His head are many diadems. He has “a name written that no one knows but Himself.”

He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which He is called is “The Word of God.”  This One will defeat the nations and rule them. He will “tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.”  On his robe and on his thigh, He has a name written, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”

And the “armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white a pure” (the saints) were following Him on white horses.

“I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against Him who was sitting on the horse and against His army. The beast was captured, and 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 worshipped its image.  THESE TWO WERE THROWN ALIVE INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE THAT BURNS WITH SULFER.”

Revelation 20.

Then John saw an angel holding the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. “And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it, and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer.” (Until the thousand years have ended, and he is released for a LITTLE while.)

Then John saw the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth. (It’s when Israel’s promised King will reign on the actual earth from Jerusalem.  (A promise fulfilled to the Jews.)

After that, Satan will be released to try to deceive men again, and there will be a great war until fire from Heaven comes down and consumes them. THEN THE DEVIL WILL BE THROWN INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE AND SULFUR AND WILL BE TORMENTED DAY AND NIGHT FOREVER AND EVER!”

Next comes “the Great White Throne Judgment,” when all the dead will stand before God’s throne. Books will be opened and the dead will be judged by WHAT THEY HAVE DONE, as written in the books.  “If anyone’s name was not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.“. 

Revelation 21.

John then saw a NEW heaven and a NEW earth.  He saw “the Holy City” descending out of heaven from God, like a bride adorned for her husband.  GOD IS GOING TO DWELL WITH MEN, AND THEY WILL BE HIS PEOPLE, AND HE THEIR GOD. 

All tears will be wiped away. There won’t be death, no mourning, no crying, and no more pain.  All things will be made new. 

Then, an angel showed John the Holy City, Jerusalem, descending out of Heaven from God. It was radiant like the most rare jewel, crystal clear like a diamond.  It had a high wall with twelve gates. Inscribed on each gate was the name of one of the twelve sons of Israel.  The wall had twelve foundations made of twelve precious jewels, with each of the twelve apostles’ names on them. 

The angel with John measured the city. It was a perfect 1,500-mile cube (about 2 million square miles in volume). It mirrored the configuration of the Most Holy Place in the temple.  It was made of pure gold, transparent as glass. 

There was NO TEMPLE because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb were the temple.

There was NO SUN OR MOON because the glory of God and the lamp of the Lamb gave it light.

There was NOTHING UNCLEAN, ONLY those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life are allowed to enter the city.

Revelation 22.

The angel then showed John the pure, crystal-clear river of the Water of Life flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.  It flowed through the middle of the street of the city. Growing on either side was the Tree of Life with twelve kinds of fruits, one for each month.

The servants of God and the Lamb will worship  Him.  And they will SEE HIS FACE. (see 1 John 3:2)

,

John then signs his name. “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things.”   

The angel told John, “Do NOT seal up the words of the prophecy of this book (like the prophet Daniel was told to do in Daniel 8:26, 12:4-10), “for the time is near.”

“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” 

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

The Spirit and the Bride say, COME!

Let the one who hears (reads) say, COME!

He who testifies to these things (Jesus) says, SURELY I AM COMING SOON.

John says, AMEN. COME, LORD JESUS!

,

,

We did it. What a glorious trip through the Word of Almighty God, from pure beginning to purity restored.  Glory, hallelujah!

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 362

Dec28

   Day 362—We are in the LAST month of Bible reading for the year, studying THE REVELATION of JESUS CHRIST to John.

Day 362 – Revelation 1 – 5 (Meeting the reigning Jesus, His messages to 7 churches, into the throne room.)

John, an old man, and the last surviving apostle, is in exile on the prison island of Patmos (think Alcatraz) for his faithful preaching of the gospel. The churches he wrote to before are feeling the persecution and have begun to decline. This is a message of hope.

Revelation promises a blessing for reading it and ends with a warning about tampering with it.

1:3 “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.”

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 him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”

Revelation 1.

A glorious introduction reveals the author and the recipient of the “revelation” letter.  It describes the Eternal triune God who was, is, and is to come. It depicts Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, firstborn from the dead, and ruler of kings on earth, the One who LOVES us, has FREED us from our sins, and MADE us a kingdom and priests.  TO HIM BE GLORY AND DOMINION FOREVER AND EVER!  And He is coming soon, in the clouds, as he left.

John explains he was “in the Spirit” when he received this revelation and ascended to heaven.

(It makes me think of Paul’s experience in 2 Corinthians 12:1-4, except Paul was NOT allowed to speak of what he saw.)

In John’s experience, Jesus told him to ‘write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches.” 

Then John attempts to describe the glorified Jesus Christ.  I saw “One like a son of man, clothed with a long robe with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters.”

WHEN I SAW HIM, I FELL AT HIS FEET AS THOUGH DEAD.

And what were Jesus’ first words to His beloved disciple?  “Fear not. I am the living one. I died, and behold, I am alive forevermore.” He tells John what to write: “The things that you have seen, those that are, and those that are to take place after this.”

Then, Jesus begins his messages to each of the seven churches in Asia Minor, listed in the route the “book” would be circulated, beginning with Ephesus (John’s church).

Revelation 2 – 3.

There is a pattern to the messages. First, Jesus identifies Himself in a certain way. Then, He lists the good things (if any) that are found in that church. Next, He raises a concern – what has gone wrong in that church, either with their own hearts or with the entrance of some false doctrine. Lastly, Jesus promises them a reward if they “conquer” (overcome the sin/threat and persevere to the end).

He does this with Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.  Smyrna is a church under deep persecution and poverty, and Jesus states nothing wrong with them, while He says nothing good about Laodicea, giving only a warning to change while there is still time. 

Revelation 4.

John dutifully writes every word he hears, and then he looks up and sees an open door into heaven! (WOW!) He hears a voice saying, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place.” 

IMMEDIATELY, John, in the Spirit, was IN THE THRONE ROOM OF GOD!  And oh, what a sight that was.  He tries to describe the One seated on the throne and the throne in terms of radiant jewels – jasper, carnelian, emerald.

He describes 24 elders (maybe representing the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles) clothed in white with golden crowns.  He tries to describe the sounds and sights – flashes of lightning, peels of thunder, torches of fire, and in front, a reflecting pavement of crystal-clear glass.  There were “strange-looking living creatures” around the thrown who never stopped singing, “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, IS THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND IS AND IS TO COME!”

Everyone falls on their faces and worships Him, saying, “Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Revelation 5.

Then John saw that the One on the throne was holding a scroll.  And angel shouted, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break the seals?”

No one was found in heaven, on earth, or under the earth, and John began to weep loudly.  But one of the elders said, “Weep no more; behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered so that HE can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

But instead of a Lion, John saw a Lamb with a bloody throat as if it had been killed.  It was Jesus, and HE took the scroll.  When that happened, all the creatures and elders sang a new song.

“Worthy are YOU to take the scroll and to open its seals, for You were slain, and by Your blood, You ransomed people for God, from every tribe and language and people and nation, and You have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

At that, all around the throne and in heaven, myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands of angels broke into praise and worship.

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth, and wisdom, and might, and honor, and glory and blessing.”   “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” 

And all fell down and worshiped.

(Can you imagine being John??)