John addresses the church ofSardis for being "dead" or unaware of things to come, whose works are not perfect before God.
John addresses the church ofPhiladelphia to persevere with what little strength they have; to hold fast so that no one takes their crown.
John addresses the church ofLaodicea to repent from investing in material riches that make them miserable; rather, invest in the refined gold of Him who has overcome.
The heavenly throne with a rainbow around it, having theOne seated in it, is revealed.
Twenty-four surrounding thrones seated with twenty-four crowned elders appear.
Thefour living creatures present themselves; each having six wings full of eyes, one having the face of a lion, another as a calf, the third as a man, and the last as an eagle.
The first vision that the author experiences is that of enteringHeaven and seeingGod's throne (Revelation 4:1–6). In Revelation, God is described as "having the appearance like that ofjasper andcarnelian with a rainbow-likehalo as brilliant asemerald". Around God's throne are twenty four other thrones, on which sitelders in white robes. From the throne comesthunder andlightning and, in front of the throne, the author sees seven torches and a sea of crystal.
The author then sees four creatures which have six wings and are covered ineyes (Revelation 4:6–11). The creatures are giving eternal thanks to God and, whenever one of them bows down to worship God, theTwenty-Four Elders around God's throne bow down to worship God.
This is a call back toEzekiel 1:6- 14, in which Ezekiel had a similar vision.[1]
The first seal is broken and the first of the four living creatures introduces awhite horse whose rider, given a crown and a bow, goes out to conquer.
The second seal is broken and the second of the four living creatures introduces ared horse, whose rider, wielding a great sword, goes out to take peace from the earth. War.
The third seal is broken and the third of the four living creatures introduces ablack horse, whose rider carries a pair of scales, which represent famine.
The fourth seal is broken and the fourth of the four living creatures introduces apale horse, whose rider has the nameDeath andHades follows him. He is given authority to kill with wars and famine and disease and wild animals.
The fifth seal is broken revealing the souls of those who had been slain for the "Word of God".
The sixth seal is broken "and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth. The sky was split apart, every mountain and island were moved out of their places."
Mankind hides themselves in the caves and mountains acknowledging the presence ofHim who sits on the throne and the wrath of the Lamb.
The seventh seal is opened and heaven is silent for about a half an hour.
An angel offers incense and the prayers of all the saints, at the golden altar before the throne.
After the smoke and the prayers ascend to God, the angel fills the censer with fire, from the altar, and throws it to the Earth causing noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.
Thefirst angel of seven sounded his trumpet: "And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth" burning a third of the Earth's flora, scorching all green grass.
Thesecond angel sounded his trumpet: "And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown in the sea, and a third of the sea became blood" killing a third of everything in the ocean, including ships.
Thethird angel sounded: And a great star, named "Wormwood", fell from heaven poisoning the water from rivers and water springs.
Thefourth angel sounded: The sun, the moon and stars are struck, so that a third of their light diminished to the point of complete darkness for a third of a day, even during the night.
Another angel appears to declare three "Woes" for the next three trumpet blasts.
Thefifth angel sounds his trumpet; this signals the "First woe".
A star falls from heaven to the earth and is given the key to the bottomless pit.
It opens the pit and smoke rises, darkening the air and sunlight.
The Locusts come out of the smoke, from the pit, andAbaddon commands them to torment any man who does not have the seal of God on his forehead for five months.
Thesixth angel sounds his trumpet
Thefour angels who are bound at the great riverEuphrates are released.
Thefour angels of the Euphrates raise an army of 200 million cavalry who kill a third of mankind.
A woman gives birth to a son who is to "rule the nations with an iron scepter". She is then pursued by aDragon with seven heads and ten horns, which wants to kill her baby. However, the child was taken away by God. Immediately after this,Michael and hisangels fought the Dragon andhis followers inHeaven. The Dragon lost the war, and was thrown down toEarth along with all of its followers. The Dragon pursued the woman and tried to drown her, but the water drained away into the ground. The woman grew wings and flew away. The Dragon was enraged, and went to war with the remainder of her offspring, whokeep the commandments of God.
A beast with ten horns atop seven heads rises out of the sea and is given authority to rule the Earth by the Dragon. The people of Earth marvel at the beast's abilities and worship it and the Dragon. (Revelation 13:4). The beast is able to control the entire planet, and goes to war against the saints. Following this, another beast arises, this time from the ground. This beast, which resembles a lamb but speaks like a dragon, exercises authority on behalf of the previous, and causes"great and miraculous signs" by which to make people follow the original beast. The second beast, also known as thefalse prophet, forces all to receive theMark of the Beast on their right hand or forehead, declaring that"no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or thenumber of his name." (Revelation 13:11–17).
The Lamb appears on Mount Zion with 144,000 blameless male virgins as first fruits, who sing a new song and follow the Lamb.
An angel appears in midair proclaiming the gospel.
A second angel announces Babylon's fall.
A third angel declares God's wrath on those who worship or receive the mark of the beast. This requires endurance by the faithful.
A heavenly voice pronounces the blessedness and reward of the dead "in the Lord"(Revelation 14:13).
An angel invites a crowned "son of man", seated on a cloud, to use his sickle to harvest the earth.
Another angel, tending an altar fire, invites yet another angel to harvest the earth's ripe grapes, at which he does so. Huge volumes of blood are produced from trampling these within a wine press.
John writes of seven angels with seven plagues, the last plagues ever to occur. He states that until the plagues are complete no one can enter the Temple of God.
The seven Vial/Bowl judgments are similar in nature to the Trumpet judgments, but far more serious for there will be no warning when they come. In addition, there are three key differences between the Trumpet judgments and the Vial/Bowl judgments: firstly, the Trumpet judgments are plagues that bring partial devastation and plagues upon 1/3 of nature and people, while the Vial/Bowl judgments are more severe direct assaults against humanity and nature, thus bringing more chaos on the earth than the Trumpet judgments. Lastly, the Trumpet judgments offer a possibility of redemption and repentance, while the Vial judgments do not; the Vial judgments are a literal assault on those who have taken the mark of the Beast, and to those who are considered incorrigibles and arrogantly unrepentant, thus making them impossible to save. The Vial/Bowl judgments are listed below.
Noisome and grievous sores (possiblyboils orcarbuncles) on the worshipers ofthe Beast. These sores only affect those bearing theMark of the Beast and the people who worship his image.
Sea turns to blood wiping out all life in the sea.
Rivers & Springs turn to blood.
A major heatwave causes the Sun to burn with intense heat and to scorch people with fire. (Revelation 16:8–9)
The kingdom of the beast is plunged into darkness. (Revelation 16:11)
TheEuphrates River dries up to facilitate the crossing of the armies from the east, on their way toIsrael for the battle ofArmageddon. This event corresponds with Daniel 11:44.[4]
Worldwide earthquake levelling every mountain into the sea followed by huge hailstones and lightning. The Earth's geography and topography will be drastically altered forever, as every mountain and hill will be levelled, and every island will either be removed from its foundations or disappear. The earthquakes are accompanied by 100-lb hailstones.
Theseven bowls of wrath. Ottheinrich-bible, c. 1531 AD.
Some Christians[who?] believe that the seals and trumpets will occur during the first half of the tribulation. The vial judgments will occur during the second half, as the first judgment refers to those with the mark of the beast. The mark will not be implemented until the Antichrist appears to be dead after suffering a fatal wound, only to be miraculously healed by Satan, and after he defiles the Temple; and this will happen precisely at the midpoint of the tribulation. Thus, the vial judgments will be more severe.
Others[who?], such as a number ofhistoricists, argue that the seals generally cover man's history from after the first coming of Christ up to theEnd time, with the trumpets generally covering the Tribulation, and the Bowls reserved for the Wrath of God period — preceding theMillennium.)
The woman who rides on the beast is introduced in the seventeenth chapter. The entire chapter is quite symbolic, but an angel explains to John the meaning of what he is seeing. The woman, who is referred to as "the great prostitute", "is the great city who rules over the kings of the earth" (Revelation 17:18), who is envied by the ten kings who give power to the beast and is destroyed by those ten kings. "They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled" (Revelation 17:16–17).
Revelation 17–18 introduces a Woman dressed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold, precious stones and pearls. She sits on a scarlet beast with 7 heads (representing 7 mountains and 7 kings)(Revelation 17:9–10) and 10 horns (representing 10 kings who have not received a kingdom, while still having king-like authority).(Revelation 17:12–13) She is described as the "Mother of Harlots" and is drunk with the blood of the saints indicating her intense involvement in persecution. She comes to power and rules the kings and peoples of the earth. Eventually, the 10 kings ruling the kingdoms that give their power to the Beast grow tired of her influence and overthrow her. Her destruction will cause the kings and merchants of the earth to mourn her death.
The marriage between Jesus and his bride, who has prepared herself and clothed in white linen, occurs (Revelation 19:5–10).
A "white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True" is introduced. "With Justice he makes war" (Revelation 19:11). Jesus Christ is the rider mentioned in chapter twelve. John references Psalm 2:9 when he writes "He will rule them with an iron scepter" (Revelation 19:15). This is when the first war between the people of God and the rest of the world takes place. After the war has finished the beast and the false prophet are taken captives and thrown into the lake of fire, while all other enemy combatants are killed and their corpses left out on the field for the birds of the sky to devour their flesh (Revelation 19:20–21).
Satan is bound in theAbyss for a thousand years. TheSaints who died are resurrected (Resurrection of the Saints[5]) and begin theirthousand-year reign with Christ (Revelation 20:1–6). After the thousand years, Satan is released from the Abyss to deceive the nations and gatherGog and Magog and the people of the world to encircle the camp of the saints and the city ofJerusalem. A fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours them and Satan is finally placed in torment, in the Lake of Fire, forever, with those who follow him (Revelation 20:7–10). The wicked dead and all of those who died during the thousand-year reign of Christ areresurrected andjudged (Revelation 20:11–14).
A new heaven and anew earth with theNew Jerusalem (theWorld to Come) replace the old heaven and earth (Revelation 21:1). This is a reference toGenesis 1:1 andIsaiah 65:17. Some theologians[who?] interpret it allegorically as explaining the drastic difference in this world and 'heaven' when Christ has been acknowledged as having returned. "He will wipe away 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." (Revelation 21:4).
A description of the heavenly state, under the figures of the water of life and the tree of life, and of the throne of God and the Lamb. (Revelation 22:1–5) The truth and certain fulfilling of all the prophetic visions, The Holy Spirit and thewife/bride of the Lamb, invite, and say, "Come". (Revelation 22:6–19) The closing blessing. (Revelation 22:20,21).
^For illuminated medieval images of theBook of Revelation drawn from several of theBeatus commentaries, theBamberg Apocalypse and from theOtthenreich Bible, see: Forbes, Andrew; Henley, David (2012).Apocalypse: The Illustrated Book of Revelation. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books. ASIN: B008WAK9SS.
^Catholic Encyclopedia: General Resurrection: "These three characteristics, identity, entirety, and immortality, will be common to the risen bodies of the just and the wicked. But the bodies of the saints shall be distinguished by four transcendent endowments, often called qualities."
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