Today, I am reading and commenting on  Revelation 9-12.

One thing I want to note about the Book of Revelation: it reads like an account of a dream.  The best way I can describe what I mean is by giving an example from dreams I have had.  I have had dreams which took place in the house I grew up in with people who would have been in that house while I was growing up, then I go through a door into a room that was never in that house and the people who were with me are now different people, and yet the same.  There appear to be scene shifts in John’s vision which involve real world events which are only connected in terms of God’s plans, not anything we can see without revelation from God (and I wonder if some of the events described in this vision take part solely in the spiritual realm with no connection to real world events we can recognize).  With that introduction I will start writing about today’s passage.  John describes smoke which rose from the earth after a star fell from the sky.  Out of the smoke came locusts which had the power to inflict pain in the manner of scorpions.  These locusts will inflict torment on those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. The star fell from the sky after the blowing of the fifth trumpet.  After the five months of torment, the sixth trumpet will sound.  When the sixth trumpet sounds four angels will lead mounted troops throughout the earth to slay a third of mankind with fire, smoke, and sulfur.  Reading that I can make no connection to what that would look like in physical world events.  I wondered if the seal of God on the forehead would have a physical manifestation which could be seen, or if it will be purely figurative?  Which leads me to ask, to what degree are the rest of the things described in this part of John'[s vision figurative and to what degree will they have physical manifestations which we can connect to what he describes?

I am going to skip to the end of today’s passage to a scene which most clearly illustrates that dream-like jump in focus I referred to at the beginning of today’s blog.  In the account of the woman and the great dragon, the dragon waits in an attempt to devour the woman’s child, but is thwarted when the child was snatched up to God.  The dragon is the devil, or Satan, while the child is Jesus.  John makes it clear that from the moment of His birth, Satan sought to destroy Jesus, but failed.  The woman is the Jewish people collectively.    The dragon pursued the woman, but she flew to a safe place which had been prepared for her.  I cannot help but think that the safe place described is the modern state of Israel (but it may be something much more figurative).  Unable to destroy the woman, the dragon turned its attention to her other offspring, those who follow Jesus.  So, Satan, the devil, has sought to destroy the Jewish people, and seeks to destroy those who follow Jesus.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Revelation 4-8.

When I read this passage, I always feel like I should write something about the opening scene of John’s vision…OK, now I have something to write.  Chapter 4 is not exactly the opening scene, but in some ways everything which comes before this is like the credits portion at the beginning of a movie, or maybe like a “short” before the movie begins.  Chapter 4 sets the mood/stage for the rest of this letter.  Then we get to the scroll being presented.  I am not quite sure of the symbolism, but it seems to me to present the idea that the scroll remained sealed throughout history until after Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Then things changed and the scroll could be unsealed, by Jesus.  The change was not just that the scroll could be opened, the “ceremony” taking place in Heaven before God’s throne changed as well.  This is one of those things which I have trouble fully working my head around because I also believe that the place described here exists outside of time.

Next we come to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  I am sure I have written this before, but the Four Horsemen do not ride out together.  Instead, they ride out one at a time.  I am not sure how we are intended to understand this, but here is what I see.  First, a conqueror rides out, intent on conquest.  We are not given any idea how much of the world he conquers.  He is followed by war and violence.  A quick look at history reveals to us that war all over the world follows a conqueror, whether it results immediately after the conqueror rise up, or after the conqueror dies and war breaks out to fill the vacuum left behind.  The nest Rider is Famine, which always follows war.  Interestingly, John’s description of Famine speaks of inflation as part of it (he mentions the high price of grain).  The final Rider is Death, which comes by way of violence, starvation, and disease.  Again, those are all things which follow after what comes before.  What I am unsure of about this passage is whether the Four Riders represent a singular time above and beyond what we see repeated throughout history, or just a reflection of how these things work.

I want to highlight that the Book of Revelation emphasizes that we should recognize that when times look dark it is a sign that the Lord will return soon.  All events move things towards fulfilling God’s plan.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Revelation 1-3.

I am not sure where I am going with my blog today.  I have some not really connected thoughts.  First I want to point out how John connects Jesus as God.  John writes that God says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”  Then a few verses later he writes that he saw someone “like a son of man” who said to him, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.  I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”  Now from the statement, “I was dead,…I am alive for ever and ever” we can only conclude that this is Jesus, because no other being fits that description.  Further, when John writes that God says, “I am the Alpha and Omega,” that is another way of saying, “I am the First and the Last.”  So, in the vision, Jesus told John that He and the Father were one being.  I want to go on to look at the power of God’s statement that He is the One “who is, who was, and who is to come.”  That means that every place and time, God is present.  When good things happen, God is there.  When bad things happen, God is there.  God knows the joys you experience, and the suffering which you experience.  He knows when you bring joy to others, and will reward you.  He knows when you bring pain to others, and will hold you accountable.  Think of the most horrible event you know happened, God was there, offering comfort to those who suffered, and preparing the fate for those responsible for that suffering.

When I started this I intended to write on the messages to the specific churches, But I think  I will stop here.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Revelation 20-22.

The first thing which struck me was what the One sitting on the throne said to John after the new Jerusalem came down upon the new earth.  It was the phrase, “It is finished”.  This is the same thing which Jesus said upon the cross just before He died.  Perhaps I am mistaken, but I believe that John intended for us to make the connection of Jesus’ death bringing about the new heaven and the new earth.  I find it hard to fully express the comforting thought which this gives me.  It is finished.  Satan fights on, but he has already been defeated, and he knows it.  In the face of the trials and tribulations which we face let us remain faithful and never forget that it is finished.  For those who faithfully serve God there will be no more death, or suffering, or sorrow, or pain. It is finished and the promise is fulfilled, even if we do not yet experience the fulness of that promise.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Revelation 17-19.

I find this portion of John’s vision this morning interesting.  So, as I understand the explanation, the woman who sat on the great beast with seven heads and ten horns is the country or city which rules over the world.  Additionally, the seven heads and ten horns of the beast represent kings who ruled her.  Nevertheless, those kings hated the woman and worked together to destroy her.  Let that sink in.  Those who rule over the most mighty nation of the world when John’s vision takes place hate that nation and work to take all of its wealth, destroying that nation.  Then a little further on we discover that those rulers, and their followers, stand against the One who is Faithful and True: they stand against all that is faithful and true.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Revelation 13-16.

As with much of yesterday’s passage I am unsure of the meaning of today’s passage, but there are some things which are clear to me.   One thing I think will be useful is to follow some of the threads which weave through this account.  Yesterday’s passage ended with the dragon pursuing the woman and her children.  The dragon is Satan, the one who promotes evil in the world.  Today’s passage begins with a beast which rises out of the sea.  This beast had been fatally wounded, yet lived.   I am not quite sure of the complete meaning of that fact, but the way in which it keeps getting mentioned makes me sure John wanted us to see it as an imposter to Jesus, Who had died and then rose from the dead.  The dragon gave its power to this first beast.

Then a second beast rose out of the earth and exercised the power of the first beast.  This second beast used the power it received from the first beast (which had received its power from the dragon) in order to make everyone worship the first beast.  This second beast caused a statue to be made of the first beast and then gave the stature the power to speak.  In describing the statue of the first beast, John felt it important to reiterate that the first beast had been fatally wounded, yet lived.  Once the statue was given speech it demanded that anyone who did not worship it be killed.  Further, it (or perhaps the second beast, the wording always leaves me unsure of this) required that everyone have a mark in order to buy or sell anything.  In light of the way things work today I find it somewhat disconcerting to realize that John is telling us that in the last days people will require a permit from the government of the beasts in order to buy or sell anything.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Revelation 9-12.

Every year when I read this passage I try to find an interpretation of the events John describes which feels like what John predicted, and every year I fail to be satisfied by what comes to my mind.  However, there are several things which are clear to me.  First, each trumpet blast takes place some length of time after the previous (for example, the suffering after the fifth trumpet blast lasts for at least five months). Next, the suffering brought about in response to the trumpet blasts was not directed at those who had been marked as being among those who serve God.  The final thing from this passage I want to comment on today applies to circumstances outside of those being described in this vision.  Those who experience plagues and other suffering because of their rejection of God will not respond to that suffering by repenting of their sin and turning to God.  This last never ceases to amaze me when I consider the number of people I have known who experienced suffering brought about by their own actions, yet refused to change those actions in order to reduce their suffering.

I am fascinated by the the account of the small scroll, the one of the two witnesses, and of the woman and the dragon.  Despite having some thoughts on those portions of today’s passage, I find myself unable to put those thoughts into a form which would allow me to write about them here.  Perhaps I should seek a small group study of the Book of Revelation where we can talk about what to make of these things.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Revelation 4-8.

I do not believe that I have ever noticed before that in his vision of Heaven and the opening of the scroll John once again presents the idea that Jesus is both separate from God and God ( a central idea of the doctrine of Trinity).  So, John tells us that the twenty-four elders periodically bowed down to the one sitting on the throne (God the Father) and say “You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power.”  Then, when the Lamb (Jesus) comes forward and is given the scroll they bow down to Him and say, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered— to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.”  Notice how similar these two statements are.

I know I have mentioned this in previous years, but I think it is worth highlighting again.  The four horsemen mentioned in this passage do not ride out together.  Each of them rode forth before the next one was summoned after the breaking of the next seal.  I have some thoughts about the meaning of each of the four horsemen and how they are related to each other, but that is not the direction I want to go today with this blog.  I want to instead focus on the delay between each seal being broken.  Each seal is broken, then something happens before the next seal is broken.  It would be easy to read this as happening in quick succession, but I believe we are intended to perceive a delay between each seal.  I think this becomes most clear after the breaking of the sixth seal when one angel shouts for those holding back the winds to wait until those who serve God have been marked.  Those who serve God will be marked and protected when God pours out His judgement upon the earth.  One last point I want to make: reading this it would be easy to feel like the seven trumpets which are blown after the seventh seal is broken are separated by as much time as each of the previous seals.  However, I believe that each of the seals were broken with a significant pause in between for what happens after them, while the seven trumpets are blown in relatively quick succession.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Revelation 1-3.

I want to comment on what Jesus said to John at the beginning of John’s vision.  Actually, I want to go back to what John wrote in his introduction, and forward into the intro portion of the message to each of the seven Churches.  In his introduction, John writes that God says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,  I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”  Then when Jesus first speaks to John in John’s vision He says, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. ¹⁸ I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.”  So, we see Jesus telling John that He is God, that He was with God in the beginning and will be with Him at the end.  For me, this passage represents the starting point for understanding the idea of the Trinity.  Yet, there is much more to it than that.  It is a message of hope.

If we go on and look at the introductions to the message to each of the seven Churches, we see the theme continued.  In the message to the Church of Ephesus, Jesus describes Himself as the “one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands.”  The “seven stars” are the angels of the seven Churches…their spirits, or their essence.  So, Jesus is telling John that He holds our essence, our spirit, in His hand.  In the message to Smyrna, He says He is the One who was dead, but is now alive.  Death has no power of Him, and since He holds us in His hand, death has no power over us.  To the Church in Pergamum, He describes Himself as the one who wields the sharp two-edged sword.  This is both a promise and a warning.  Because He holds the sharp sword, He can, and will, strike down our enemies.  Because that sword is two-edged, He can strike us down if we turn against Him.  To Thyatira, He describes Himself as having eyes of flame.  Nothing can be hidden from Him, and His gaze can strike down those who think their evil is hidden.  To Sardis, He says that He has the sevenfold Spirit of God.  Being sevenfold indicates that God’s Spirit is complete.  We too must seek completeness.  We cannot be satisfied with just a portion of righteousness, but must seek all aspects of it.  To the Church of Philadelphia, Jesus reminds them that what He opens cannot be closed, and what He closes cannot be opened.  When God gives us an opportunity, nothing can prevent us from taking advantage of it.  And when God closes a door nothing can come through it to harm us.  Finally, to the Church of Laodiciea He informs us that He is a faithful and true witness.  What Jesus has said is true and He will not change His testimony.

I hope the words I have written above convey the message of hope which reading this passage inspired in me.