December 7
Amos 5-6
Psalm 138:4-8
Proverbs 29:7-8
Revelation 1
Revelation
“The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave to show His servants what must soon take place. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. ‘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.’”
Revelation 1:1, 3, 17-18 NIV
Revelation can be a scary book. A lot of people think it is so difficult to understand that they don’t even try. I want to challenge you as we finish reading through the Bible in a year to delve into it this month. Revelation is the only book that promises blessings for those who read it aloud, hear it and take it to heart. Even if you don’t fully understand everything in it, at least ask God to reveal to you what He wants you to learn from it. Some people believe that we just shouldn’t worry about what Revelation says. They read and study all the other books but prefer to just skip over Revelation. God thought it was important to include in the Bible, so we must conclude that He wants us to know the information that it contains.
Revelation was written by the apostle John while he was exiled on the Isle of Patmos. In a dream or trance, he is transported to Heaven where an angel gives him a guided tour of the Heavenly realm. He is given visions of God’s End-Times Plan and the angel explains many of the events he sees. To understand Revelation, it is necessary to study the Old Testament prophecies and some New Testament scriptures as well. Revelation expounds on prophecies found throughout scripture. For example, the description of the Antichrist found in Daniel 9 is further developed in Revelation 13. Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Zechariah, I Corinthians, I Thessalonians and several other books contain information about the events discussed in Revelation. I’m going to give a brief overview of the end time events as I understand them. I am drawing on several different resources for this summary but rely heavily on Got Questions. Scholars disagree on the order of events to come, but this is my understanding of how it will occur.
1. The rapture of the church- Christ will appear in the sky, the dead in Christ will rise first and then those who are alive will join them in the sky. The rapture of the church is imminent and can occur at any time. We are told to be ready and to watch for His return (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, I Corinthians 15:51-52).
2. The Battle of Gog and Magog- In the first part of the Tribulation, a great army from the north (Russia, and Turkey in alliance with several other countries from the Middle East and Africa), attacks Israel and is defeated by God’s supernatural intervention (Ezekiel 38-39). No country comes to help Israel in this battle.
3. The rise of the Antichrist- When the church is taken away, (2 Thessalonians 2:7-8), a man who is empowered by Satan will gain worldwide control with promises of peace. (Revelation 13:1, Daniel 9:27). The Antichrist will establish a Covenant with many that will begin the Tribulation period. Another man, the False Prophet, will establish a one world religion under the guise of peace and tolerance that will eventually require worship of the Antichrist. (Revelation 19:20).
4. The Tribulation- A period of seven years in which God’s judgment is poured out on sinful humanity (Revelation 6-16). During this time, the Church will be in Heaven where the Judgment Seat of Christ and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb will occur (2 Corinthians 5:10, Revelation 19:6-10).
5. The Jewish Temple is rebuilt.
6. The two witnesses appear to preach the gospel in Jerusalem (Revelation 11:3).
7. The seven seal judgments- These occur during the first half of the tribulation.
a. Releasing of Antichrist on the Earth (Revelation 6:1-2).
b. Antichrist takes peace from the Earth and causes people to kill each other (Revelation 6:3-4).
c. Famine, disease, food shortages, slave labor (Revelation 6:5-6).
d. One fourth of the population of the Earth killed by sword, hunger, death, and the beasts of the Earth (Revelation 6:7-8).
e. Martyrs in Heaven cry out to God to avenge their deaths (Revelation 6:9-11).
f. Great earthquake occurs that makes every mountain and island on the Earth move. The sun will become black, and the moon will be like blood (Revelation 6:12-17).
g. Total silence in Heaven for half an hour preparing for 7 trumpet judgments (Revelation 8:15).
8. The first six trumpet judgments- These will occur during the middle to latter part of the Tribulation.
a. God rains down hail and fire on the Earth. One third of trees and grass will be burned up (Revelation 8:7).
b. A great mountain burning with fire (possibly a meteor) is thrown into the sea, turning one third of the sea to blood, killing one third of the creatures in the sea, and destroying one third of the ships on the sea at the time (Revelation 8:8-9).
c. A great star burning like a torch (possibly another meteor) falls from Heaven on a third of the rivers and springs contaminating them and causing many people to die as a result (Revelation 8:10-11).
d. God strikes a third of the sun, a third of the moon and a third of the stars so that a third of them are darkened and a third of the day will be dark (Revelation 8:12-13).
e. The bottomless pit is opened, smoke will rise from the pit making the sun and air dark. Then a swarm of locusts will come out of the smoke. They are told not to harm the grass or plants or trees, but only men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They are not allowed to kill but only to torment for 5 months (Revelation 9:1-12).
f. 4 demonic angels are released from the Euphrates River to literally kill one third of mankind that is left. They will be leading an army of 200 million demonic spirits (Revelation 9:13-21)
9. The Abomination of Desolation- At the midway point of the 7-year tribulation, the Antichrist breaks his covenant with Israel, and it becomes evident that he is the Antichrist. The Jews are scattered and many of them turn to the Lord, realizing that Jesus is their Messiah. A great persecution breaks out against anyone who has believed in Jesus during the tribulation (Daniel 12:11, Mark 13:14, Revelation 12:17).
10. The two witnesses are killed and lay in the public square for 3½ days while people gloat over them and celebrate their deaths. Then they will rise from the dead and be taken up to Heaven. There will be a severe earthquake destroying a tenth of Jerusalem and killing 7,000 people (Revelation 11:3-14).
11. The seventh trumpet judgment
When the 7th trumpet is sounded there is rejoicing in Heaven because the end is near. Then there will be lightning, noises, thunder, another earthquake, and more hail (Revelation 11:15-19).
12. Believing Jews flee to a place in the desert where God will protect them for 3½ years (Many think it will be to a place called Petra in Jordan) (Revelation 12:6, 13-14).
13. A war breaks out in Heaven- Michael the Archangel and his angels cast Satan down to Earth. He is furious because he knows his time is short, so he wages war against any Christians remaining on Earth (Revelation 12:7-17).
14. The Antichrist will receive a fatal wound and die and be raised to life. The False Prophet will set up an image in honor of the Antichrist and everyone will be forced to worship it, or they will be killed. Everyone will be forced to take the mark of the beast and without it they will not be able to buy and sell (Revelation 13).
15. The seven bowl judgments- the last of God’s Wrath to be released on the Earth.
a. God causes festering sores to break out on the people who have the mark of the beast (Revelation 16:2).
b. God causes the entire sea to become blood, killing every living creature in the seas (Revelation 16:3).
c. God causes all the rivers and springs to turn to blood (Revelation 16:4-7).
d. God causes the heat from the sun to scorch men with great heat and fire (Revelation 16:8-9).
e. God causes total darkness to fall on the kingdom of the Antichrist (Revelation 16:10-11).
f. The Euphrates River is dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the east to come to the Battle of Armageddon. Then three demonic spirits are released from the mouths of the Antichrist and the False Prophet, and they go out to all the kings of the Earth to bring them to the Battle (Revelation 16:12-16).
g. God causes a severe earthquake over all the Earth. The city of Babylon is destroyed, the islands and mountains disappear, and 100-pound hailstones fall from the sky. Then a voice from the temple says, “It is done.” (Revelation 16:17-21).
16. The Battle of Armageddon- At the end of the 7 years, all the nations of the world will come against Jerusalem. Jesus will return with the armies of Heaven, placing His foot on the Mount of Olives, and He will save Jerusalem and defeat the armies of the nations fighting for the Antichrist. The Antichrist and the False Prophet will be captured and thrown alive into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 19:11-21).
17. The judgment of the nations- Jesus will judge the survivors of the tribulation, separating the righteous from the wicked (Matthew 25:31-46). The Old Testament saints will be raised from the dead. The righteous will enter the Millennial Kingdom and the wicked will be cast into Hell.
18. Satan will be bound and held in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1-3).
19. The Millennial Kingdom- Jesus Himself will rule the world for 1,000 years. Jerusalem will be the capital. There will be peace and prosperity on the Earth (Revelation 20, Isaiah 60-62).
20. The last battle- At the end of the 1,000 years, Satan will be released from the bottomless pit for a short time, but will be quickly defeated, and will be thrown into the Lake of Fire forever (Revelation 20:7-10).
21. The Great White Throne Judgment- All those in Hell will be brought back, and all the wicked from history will be resurrected to stand before God in a final judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). The verdicts will be pronounced, and they will be cast into the Lake of Fire for eternity.
22. The New Heaven and New Earth- God completely remakes the heavens and the Earth. He will wipe away all tears and there will be no more pain, death, or sorrow. The New Jerusalem will descend from Heaven, and the children of God will spend eternity with Him (Revelation 21-22).
I know this is a lot to take in, but I wanted to give you an overview before you jump into the book. I’m not going to spend a lot of time in the devotions each day in Revelation. As you can imagine, it is very difficult to do a quick devotional over such heavy material. I may hit a few things, but I’m hoping you will spend time on your own examining it each day. I pray that you will be blessed for reading it as verse 3 above promises.
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