Revelation the Last Trumpet

Revelation – The Last Trumpet

The hardest book of the Bible to understand? Without a doubt, yes. But within this book are many memorable passages. Consider a few of them:

Revelation 2:10 –Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

3:20– Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with Me.

7:15-17– Therefore,

“they are before the throne of God
and serve Him day and night in His temple;
and He who sits on the throne
will shelter them with His presence.
‘Never again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’
nor any scorching heat.
For the Lamb at the center of the throne
will be their shepherd;
‘He will lead them to springs of living water.’
‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

12:10-11 – Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of His Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
They triumphed over him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.”

19:6-8 – Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:

“Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad
and give Him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and His bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear.”

(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)

21:1-4 – Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the HolyCity, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

22:12-14 – “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.”

From the Lutheran Study Bible:

Blessings for readers:

• As you read Revelation, take to heart Jesus’ admonition and encouragement for the churches in John’s day (ch. 2-3). Apply His words for your life and the life of your congregation. Pray for ears to hear what the Spirit says through the Word.
• Most importantly, ask the Lord to maintain your focus on the heavenly vision of ch. 4-5, which describes the reign of your Savior. No matter what the devil may throw at you, Christ your King is with you. He has overcome the evil one. He will strengthen you in the face of all persecution and distress. Pray for those who live in fear of worldly troubles or of the last judgment, that through the forgiveness of sins, the Lord would extend His perfect peace to them; the Church may face the future with all boldness and confidence in Christ.

Challenges for readers:

• Study Other Books First – Many interpreters become horribly confused about the book of Revelation because they fail to understand the character of biblical prophecy. They typically read Revelation as depicting a series of end-times events that simply happen one after the other. Such an approach usually generates a long, confusing wall chart and bizarre investigation of current events (e.g., dispensationalism, premillennialism, and postmillennialism), searching for things that might connect with the symbols of Revelation. Anyone wishing to understand the complex symbolism and visions of Revelation must first acquire 1) a broad understanding of OT prophecy generally and 2) specific, clear understanding of Ezekiel, Daniel and Zechariah. If you have not carefully studied OT prophecy, do not begin a study of Revelation. Do your homework; study the OT first. (For more on this topic, see The Lutheran Study Bible, p. 1425-26, 2099.)
• Symbolism – In Revelation, Jesus is described as “one like a son of man” (1:13), a lion (5:5), and a lamb with seven horns and seven eyes (5:6). Clearly, the book is very symbolic. Those who try to read the visions literally end up interpreting and applying the book in hopelessly confused ways. To understand the symbolism in Revelation, study OT prophecy first.
• Book of Woe or Book of Comfort? – God’s throne is the central thematic element of OT apocalyptic literature (Ezekiel 1, Daniel 7). Revelation 4-5 builds on this theme by depicting the enthronement of Christ after His ascension. All other scenes in the book must be understood in light of this central vision, which depicts Jesus as the worthy Savior of His people and judge of Satan and his followers. This central theme shows that Revelation is not chiefly a book of woe, but a book of comfort for God’s people. Luther explained, “In chapters 4-5 there is prefigured the whole of Christendom that is to suffer these coming tribulations and plagues. There are twenty-four elders before God (that is, all the bishops and teachers in unity); they are crowned with faith, and praise Christ, the Lamb of God, with harps (that is, they preach); and they worship Him with censers (that is, they exercise themselves in prayer). All this is for the comfort of Christians, that they may know that Christendom is to endure in spite of plagues that are going to come (American Edition, vol. 35, p. 401). Across the centuries, the heavenly anthems (4:8, 11; 5:9-10) and John’s vision of heavenly worship have greatly influenced the Church’s liturgy (e.g., focus on the Holy Trinity, celebration of redemption, and worship in courtly style).
• The “Rapture” Theory – Some evangelical interpreters take a variety of passages in the Bible, including Rev. 4-5. as predicting an event named the “rapture.” (for more on this word and the theology it denotes, see The Lutheran Study Bible, p. 2051 and 1 Thessalonians 4:17) According to this view, Christ will return to take all Christian out of the world before a seven-year period of distress begins. This ensuing “tribulation” (which they see in Rev. 6-19) is believed to end as a “millennium” begins. They claim that Christ will return yet again to administer the final judgment (this makes a third return, nowhere mentioned in Scripture). In contrast to such a rapture theory, Scripture repeatedly states that Christ will return again only once; His second coming (as stated in the Apostles’ Creed). At that time, Christ will raise both believers and unbelievers from the dead for the last judgment (Matt. 25; John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15; 1 Thess. 4:13-15; Rev. 1:7; 20:11-15).
• Structure of Revelation – Do not fall into the trap of reading Revelation as one long timeline about the end of the world – note well its repetitions. Rev. 6:1-21:8 is arranged as a series of visionary scenes that repeatedly depict the end of the world in different ways. Each scene emphasizes different themes and aspects of the one judgment that will come at the end of time. Recognizing this is crucial to understanding the book. Carefully review a quality outline, as in The Lutheran Study Bible, p. 2198. Good study notes will also help to reveal this important structure.