Revelation

The final birth pains before Christ’s return and the new age

Key Terms/phrases:
  • Son of Man: 1:13; 14:14
  • Son of God: 2:18
  • Root of David and ‘Lion’: 5:5
  • Lamb: 5:6,8, 12-13; 6:1, 16; 7:9-10, 14, 17; 8:1; 12:11; 13:8l 14:1, 4, 10; 15:3; 17:14; 19:7, 9; 21:9, 14, 22-23, 27; 22:1, 3
/ Themes:
  • Kingdom: 1:6, 9; 11:15
  • Spiritual Warfare: 2:10
  • Conquering faith: 2:7,11,17,26; 3:5,12,21; 21:7
  • Judgment: 6:1-17; 8:1-9:21; 11:13;14:7-11; 16:1-21; 18:1-24; 19:17-21; 20:7-15; 21:8
  • Worship: 4:8, 11; 5:8-14; 7:9-10, 12; 11:16-18; 15:3-4; 16:5-7; 19:1-4,6-8

Historical Context:
  • Written by Apostle John on Island of Patmos
  • Likely written in AD 95 or 96
/ Chapter Divisions/summaries:
  • 1:1-8: Prologue and Greetings
  • 1:9-20: Vision of the Son of Man/Christ
  • 2:1-3:22: Message to the churches
  • 4:1-11: Throne in Heaven
  • 5:1-14: Scroll and the Lamb
  • 6: 1-7:8: Seven seals and 144,000
  • 7:9-8:5: Multitude of Worship and 7th seal
  • 8:6-10:11: Seven trumpets, Angel, amdthe small scroll
  • 11:1-19: 2 witnesses & next trumpet
  • 12:1-17: Conflict between the woman & dragon
  • 13:1-18: First & second beast
  • 14:1-5: The 144,000
  • 15:6-20: Messages and the harvest
  • 15:1-16:21: 7 Plagues & 7 bowls of God’s wrath
  • 17:1-18:24: The prostitute, the beast and judgment[i]
  • 19:1-10: Rejoicing and marriage of the Lamb
  • 19:11-21[ii]: Rider on white horse & judgment
  • 20:1-10: Thousand year reign[iii] and Satan’s defeat
  • 20:11-15: Great White Throne judgment
  • 21:1-27: New heaven, Earth, and Jerusalem
  • 22:1-21: River of life

Literary Devices:
  • Simile: 1:14-16; 2:18; 4:1; 5:6; 10:1,3; 11:1; 12:15; 15:2; 18:21
  • Personification: 2:16; 12:1-6; 17:1-4
  • Allusion: 11:8
  • Metaphor: 17:15,18
  • Contrast: false lamb in 13:11 against the true Lamb (see Key terms for scripture)

Applications:
  • The lampstands-the church, is called to magnify Christ not supplements or replacements for him (1:12-20)
  • We must seek God as the source of our riches (3:17-19)
  • The reality/doctrine of eternal judgment should be enough of a motivator for us to proclaim the gospel to the nations (14:7-11)
  • We must not be tricked into thinking that Satan has any advantages over us because his final defeat is eminent (20:7-10)
Churches:
  • Ephesus (2:1-7): God and his purposes had become secondary
  • Smyrna (2:8-11): Encouragement to be faithful during coming persecution
  • Pergamum (2:12-17): Allowed false teaching to infiltrate the church
  • Thyatira (2:18-19): Allowed false prophet to instigate immorality
  • Sardis (3:1-6): The church that was forward moving had stunted and was dead; not accomplishing anything
  • Philadelphia (3:7-13): The faithful persevering church
  • Laodicea (3:14-22): The lukewarm church that had become comfortable in their wealth and ‘just getting by’

Reference:

English Standard Version Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway 2002

Dr. Constable. Notes on Revelation

Walvoord, J. F., & Zuck, R. B., Dallas Theological Seminary. (1985). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

[i]Babylon was important not only politically but also religiously. Nimrod, who founded Babylon (Gen. 10:8–12), had a wife known as Semiramis who founded the secret religious rites of the Babylonian mysteries, according to accounts outside the Bible. Semiramis had a son with an alleged miraculous conception who was given the name Tammuz and in effect was a false fulfillment of the promise of the seed of the woman given to Eve (Gen. 3:15).

Various religious practices were observed in connection with this false Babylonian religion, including recognition of the mother and child as God and of creating an order of virgins who became religious prostitutes. Tammuz, according to the tradition, was killed by a wild animal and then restored to life, a satanic anticipation and counterfeit of Christ’s resurrection. Scripture condemns this false religion repeatedly (Jer. 7:18; 44:17–19, 25; Ezek. 8:14). The worship of Baal is related to the worship of Tammuz.

After the Persians took over Babylon in 539 b.c., they discouraged the continuation of the mystery religions of Babylon. Subsequently the Babylonian cultists moved to Pergamum (or Pergamos) where one of the seven churches of Asia Minor was located (cf. Rev. 2:12–17). Crowns in the shape of a fish head were worn by the chief priests of the Babylonian cult to honor the fish god. The crowns bore the words “Keeper of the Bridge,” symbolic of the “bridge” between man and Satan. This handle was adopted by the Roman emperors, who used the Latin title Pontifex Maximus, which means “Major Keeper of the Bridge.” And the same title was later used by the bishop of Rome. The pope today is often called the pontiff, which comes from pontifex. When the teachers of the Babylonian mystery religions later moved from Pergamum to Rome, they were influential in paganizing Christianity and were the source of many so-called religious rites which have crept into ritualistic churches. Babylon then is the symbol of apostasy and blasphemous substitution of idol-worship for the worship of God in Christ. In this passage Babylon comes to its final judgment. Bible Knowledge Commentary

[ii] The second coming of Christ is a prominent doctrine in Scripture (Pss. 2:1–9; 24:7–10; 96:10–13; 110; Isa. 9:6–7; Jer. 23:1–8; Ezek. 37:15–28; Dan. 2:44–45; 7:13–14; Hosea 3:4–5; Amos 9:11–15; Micah 4:7; Zech. 2:10–12; 12; 14:1–9; Matt. 19:28; 24:27–31; 25:6, 31–46; Mark 13:24–27; Luke 12:35–40; 17:24–37; 18:8; 21:25–28; Acts 1:10–11; 15:16–18; Rom. 11:25–27; 2 Thes. 2:8; 2 Peter 3:3–4; Jude 14–15; Rev. 1:7–8; 2:25–28; 16:15; 22:20). So this is obviously a major event in the divine program. Bible Knowledge Commentary

[iii] Many passages speak of the second coming of Christ being followed by a reign of righteousness on earth (Pss. 2; 24; 72; 96; Isa. 2; 9:6–7; 11–12; 63:1–6; 65–66; Jer. 23:5–6; 30:8–11; Dan. 2:44; 7:13–14; Hosea 3:4–5; Amos 9:11–15; Micah 4:1–8; Zeph. 3:14–20; Zech. 8:1–8; 14:1–9; Matt. 19:28; 25:31–46; Acts 15:16–18; Rom. 11:25–27; Jude 14–15; Rev. 2:25–28; 19:11–20:6).Bible Knowledge Commentary