Live the Word Bible Studies

Revelation 14

Dear Student of the Word,

After this week, we have only 8 more chapters to cover in our Revelation study, and then I will be ready to publish. In our last installment, we looked at the symbolism of the number 666 and this week we start out looking at the verses immediately following that discuss another sign on foreheads, this time of those who believe. Here is what I wrote about Revelation 14:1, with the study of the entire fourteenth chapter at the bottom of this post:

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¹Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.

14:1 – When we ended chapter 13, we looked at the concept of the mark of the beast in 13:17. There has been much speculation about that one verse mentioning the sign 666. Yet the writer quickly returned the focus to the Lamb, where it should be. Where is your focus, on the mark of the beast or on the mark of the Lamb?

There were no chapters or verses in the original manuscript. Therefore, John saw the Lamb immediately after the warning about the beast. The central theme of Revelation is the ongoing and ultimate victory of God in Christ. The focus was not to be the beast, the dragon, or the antichrist.

There was a company of 144,000 standing with Christ on Mt. Zion. They too had a mark on their forehead. Why isn’t anyone speculating about what this mark is? They are not because most believe it is a spiritual symbol and not a literal mark. Then why would the mark of the beast be a literal mark? It makes no sense if we follow this logic of the mark of the Lamb not being a literal marking.

There also aren’t literally 144,000 who are “saved” and standing with the Lamb. That number is also symbolic. I have tried not to get immersed in the meaning of numbers in this commentary, but must in this instance. The number 144,000 is 12 times 12 times 10 times 10 times 10 – two 12s and three 10s. All those numbers – twelve, three, and ten – have a positive meaning and implication, so the number 144,000 represents the totality of God’s government on earth representing the full number of the saved community.

Jesus had promised He would not lose one of the sheep who are entrusted to Him, and this image in Revelation depicts an assembly where “all are present and accounted for.” Jesus’ power is not limited to save only a few but all who put their faith and trust in Him for salvation.

Since the 144,000 are standing on Mt. Zion, a location on earth, the number would seem to represent the entire Church or the number of people who are saved on the earth at any one time. It is not a literal census, but a picture of the fact that all are saved in every generation who put their faith in Jesus.

God’s name is written on my forehead. He is always in front of me and on my mind. When I look at myself closely, I am reminded to look at Him. When I get too into myself, I am reminded to think about Him.

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. For additional Bible studies, check out my website archive, which contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse New Testament studies, along with the daily devotional entitled Your Life Matters: Daily Reflections from the Book of Psalms. Thank you and soon I will begin sending you my edited studies from James' epistle. After that, we will only have the book of Revelation to complete before the entire New Testament is on the site where this study is posted.

Download Rev 2-15

Revelation 13

Dear Student of the Word,

This week we reach an important point in our Revelation study because we come to Revelation 13, where the concept of 666 is introduced. Here is what I have to add to the debate and speculation about what 666 actually means (you can download the entire study below):

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¹⁸This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.

13:18 – I saw an article once claiming that Bill Gates, owner of Microsoft and the richest man in the world, is the antichrist. In my lifetime, I have heard the same said about Henry Kissinger, the Pope, Saddam Hussein, and Michal Gorbachev. This is silly speculation and obviously, those reports were incorrect.

It is a waste of time to try and determine a literal meaning for the number 666. If the Bible wanted us to know, it would have explained it to us. Because this is the only mention of this concept (a mark on the forehead), then we must leave it alone. If you read back over the commentary on the verses above, you will understand that persecution and death for believers have been part of every generation somewhere on the earth. Those who belong to God can be easily distinguished; those who don’t can as well. 

I wear the mark of faith, and those who don’t serve my God wear a mark of works or some other religious system. I wear the mark of joy and peace, and those who don’t serve my God must wear the mark of sadness and torment. 

There is no question that there is a systematic plot to wipe out Christians. That is nothing new. It was true in the days when Revelation was written; it is true today. What is also true is that God is still on the throne and the Church of Jesus is still here. It is also true that the devil is still trying, by every means possible, to thwart the work of God. The good news for us is that he has always and will always fail. To God be the glory! 

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. For additional Bible studies, check out my website archive, which contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse New Testament studies, along with the daily devotional entitled Your Life Matters: Daily Reflections from the Book of Psalms. Thank you and soon I will begin sending you my edited studies from James' epistle. After that, we will only have the book of Revelation to complete before the entire New Testament is on the site where this study is posted.

Download Rev 2-14

Revelation 12

Dear Student of the Word,

Greetings in the name of our Lord! I am pleased to present my commentary on Revelation 12 this week. In this chapter, we are introduced to the enmity between the woman (the Church) and the dragon (Satan) as the Lord promised there would be in Genesis 3:14-15. In this week's entry, I repeatedly remind the reader that Revelation had to mean something to the churches that first received it, and that many of the symbols and images do not represent future events, but rather refer back to past events or concepts in the Old Testament or the gospels. Here is what I wrote about Revelation 12:1 to open the study:

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12:1 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.

12:1 – In Genesis, the promise was given that there would be enmity between the serpent and the offspring of Eve (see Genesis 3:15). In 12:1, we see a woman reintroduced and the enmity between the two described in the rest of the chapter.

This woman in 12:1 could easily represent the Church. Anyone reading this who was outside the church would certainly have no idea what was being described here. Believers would be able to understand this symbolism, however.

Remember, Revelation was written to churches under threat of persecution from Rome.  Any direct correspondence that portrayed Rome or Caesar in an inferior position to God or His people could have been used to increase the pressure against the Church. If we are going to understand Revelation, we must in part understand what it meant to the churches to which it was written.

The message to those early churches was that the opposition they were encountering was powerful. God was with them, however, and would preserve them. Rome was not supreme; God was supreme. The church and their leaders needed to remember that truth and act accordingly, keeping their trust in the Lord no matter what happened. As in the psalms, the people of God in Revelation are reminded that they are powerless in the face of overwhelming evil, and that their only hope for survival or salvation is the Lord Himself.

The same message applies today for anyone or any church encountering any system, philosophy, or government trying to establish its rule or superiority over God. They may succeed for a season, but ultimately they will fail and God will emerge victorious. The rivals to God’s throne have come and gone and will continue to do so until Jesus’ return. The wicked always oppress the righteous, for they do not believe God is watching or that He will hold them accountable. They are wrong on both counts.

The woman was adorned in symbols. She was human but she was also heavenly. Twelve is a number seen throughout the Bible, starting with the 12 tribes of Israel and culminating with the 12 apostles. The woman in this verse stood on creation, but was above it. She had the stars of the gospel and the Church in her hair (see Revelation 1:20), for she is the bride of Christ. The Church is born in heaven but revealed on earth, and what the Church does on earth impacts heaven: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19).

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. For additional Bible studies, check out my website archive, which contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse New Testament studies, along with the daily devotional entitled Your Life Matters: Daily Reflections from the Book of Psalms. Thank you and soon I will begin sending you my edited studies from James' epistle. After that, we will only have the book of Revelation to complete before the entire New Testament is on the site where this study is posted.

Download Rev 2-13

Revelation 11

Dear Student of the Word,

Thank you again for being willing to help me edit my Revelation commentary and prepare it for publication. How are you helping me, you may ask? My commitment to send these to you and your reading and commenting on them are the encouragement I need to keep going. In this week's installment, I remind you that Revelation is not so much about the future as it is about the past. It is full of symbols and images that the Old Testament introduced us to, and we are being told that what God started in the Old, He finished in the New through Christ.

You can download my entire study of chapter 11 below, but there is a taste of what I wrote in reference to Revelation 11:19.

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¹⁹Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm.

11:19 – We know that much of the Old Testament worship was a shadow or type of what exists in heaven:

It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world.

But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him (Hebrews 9:23-28).

Is there an actual ark of the covenant in heaven?  There is not, but that symbol would be repeated because we are familiar with it and what it stands for. Remember, Revelation is a book of symbols and metaphors, and symbols are a means of communicating a story or lessons. These metaphors are for our benefit and education. 

I must always seek the presence of God, but His presence can be a frightening experience as symbolized by the lightning, thunder, and earthquakes mentioned in 11:19. That reminds us of another passage:

On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him (Exodus 19:16-19).

One more related passage can be found in Hebrews:

You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned." The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear."

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens."

The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken-- that is, created things-- so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:18-29).

What is God shaking in your life?  Whatever it is, you can trust Him that He will prove to be the stability in your life throughout the duration of the shaking.

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. For additional Bible studies, check out my website archive, which contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse New Testament studies, along with the daily devotional entitled Your Life Matters: Daily Reflections from the Book of Psalms. Thank you and soon I will begin sending you my edited studies from James' epistle. After that, we will only have the book of Revelation to complete before the entire New Testament is on the site where this study is posted.

Download Rev2-12

Revelation 10

Dear Student of the Word,

Here is another installment of my Revelation study. Once I finish Revelation, all my New Testament Bible studies will be complete and on my blog and then i will discontinue this work, which I began in 2001. This week, I look at a short chapter and this is what I had to say about Revelation 10:2-3 (you can download the entire study below):

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²He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, ³and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke.

10:2 – Angels are impressive, large beings as symbolized by this angel having one foot on the water and the other on dry land. If this is the Lord Jesus, He is indeed Lord over all the earth, dry land and sea together. What’s more, Jesus showed His supremacy over nature when He walked on the water. While He established the forces and principles that hold the universe together and give our world consistency and order, He Himself is not subject to those principles.

John saw the first scroll in chapter five, and that scroll had seven seals. The scroll described in this verse was open in the angel’s hand. 

10:3 – This angel was mighty in every way, including his voice. Since the angel roared like a lion, it would indicate me that this was no ordinary angel but was indeed the Lord Jesus. Remember what we already read in Revelation 5:5: “Then one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.’”

Revelation is rich in symbols, metaphors and unusual word pictures. Here we see that the seven thunders “spoke.” In theology, there is what is called general revelation.  General revelation is the term that describes how all nature and creation point to the existence of God. Creation “speaks” to mankind, telling everyone that there is a God, an intelligent being behind all that exists. What’s more, we have another example in this verse of how loud heaven is as it broadcasts God’s messages to those who will listen.   

While general revelation bears witness to God’s existence, it does not speak to man’s need for salvation or how this salvation can be obtained. That lies in what is called special revelation, and that special revelation can only be secured through the preaching of God’s Word. While creation testifies to God’s existence, it is God’s servants through the church that declare mankind’s problem and cure – sin and salvation through faith in Christ.

In this verse, the thunders spoke in response to the roar of the angel. Creation responds to the word of God! God rules not only in the affairs of men, but also through all the activities of creation, including the weather. This should cause the reader to think of Jesus’ ministry:

It seems there can be demonic activity that affects the weather as well.  Consider the following report:

Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!" (Matthew 8:23-27).

Jesus getting into the boat seemed to instigate the storm. Furthermore, it seems that He spoke to some intelligent force behind the storm to calm it. Even if there was no demonic activity in this story, it still shows Jesus’ control over the forces of nature, which is indicated in Revelation 10:3 as well.

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. For additional Bible studies, check out my website archive, which contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse New Testament studies, along with the daily devotional entitled Your Life Matters: Daily Reflections from the Book of Psalms. Thank you and soon I will begin sending you my edited studies from James' epistle. After that, we will only have the book of Revelation to complete before the entire New Testament is on the site where this study is posted.

Download Rev2-11

Revelation 9

Dear Student of the Word,

I am a few days late on my self-imposed timetable to edit my Revelation studies in preparation for publication. This week's installment focuses on Revelation chapter 9, which is full of imagery and symbolic language that many have tried to interpret literally, which is a mistake. I emphasize again and again in this study that unless Revelation interprets images literally, we must avoid the temptation to do so, instead seeing general patterns of God's work throughout history. In this week's study, this is what I wrote about Revelation 9:20-22 (you can download the entire study of chapter 9 below):

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²⁰The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. ²¹Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.

9:20 – How far man fell when Adam and Eve sinned!  We lost our ability to see God, and now we blame God for our problems, when it is our sin that has caused the problems. We see in this verse the purpose for the plagues and catastrophes that had been previously described: They came so people would repent. Those catastrophes were part of God’s mercy, not His judgment. Yet the sinful heart of man attributes them to God’s cruelty and they do not turn to Him, but reject His overtures of mercy for those who come to Him.

We should not be surprised that people do not repent or change when calamity strikes. The hardness of man’s heart does not allow him to turn to God. Human history is full of examples of men redoubling their efforts to avoid God when God has revealed His power and judgment. They do not see God reaching out to them, but rather interfering with their independent ways.

9:21 – The Church must continue to preach to a world that has not only ignored God, but has rejected Him outright. It took me some time to get accustomed to the idea that some people don’t ignore God, they hate Him! They despise what He stands for and actively work against His purposes and consequently hate His people. 

The fact that these verses report that men did not repent leads me to believe that the fearful events described were allowed for men to repent and turn to God when they saw His awesome judgments. Paul wrote: “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-4).

While judgment is released from time to time, God wants all men to know Him.  Therefore, what He does occurs to bring men to a saving knowledge of His grace. The Church must avoid rhetoric that portrays God as someone who is angry all the time. Yes, we must tell the world that His patience has an end, but we must continue to point to God’s love and appeal for men and women everywhere to repent and accept God’s loving salvation in Christ, even in the midst of “acts of God” that cause suffering and distress.

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. For additional Bible studies, check out my website archive, which contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse New Testament studies, along with the daily devotional entitled Your Life Matters: Daily Reflections from the Book of Psalms. Thank you and soon I will begin sending you my edited studies from James' epistle. After that, we will only have the book of Revelation to complete before the entire New Testament is on the site where this study is posted.

Download Rev 2-10

Revelation 8

Dear Student of the Word,

I was supposed to teach last night but the class was cancelled due to bad weather. That gave me the time to complete this latest installment from my Revelation study. One of the main points I emphasize in the study is that unless the Bible assigns a meeting to the symbols used in Revelation, we must avoid attaching a meaning. That would mean that many who have profited greatly from wild interpretations that have stirred up fear and misunderstanding have made a serious, though lucrative, mistake. In this week's study, available to download below, I wrote the following about Revelation 8:7.

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⁷The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

8:7 – This is a strange mixture: hail, fire, and blood, which cannot be taken literally. Over the centuries, there have been many wars and calamities that undoubtedly had their origins in heaven, no doubt. The Old Testament shows clearly that God is involved in famines, droughts, and other acts of God through nature. This verse is meant to show that the Lord is in control, even when things are out of control to us.

Some have concluded that this storm is a depiction of nuclear weapons being launched at some point in the future, for a nuclear bomb could conceivably cause the kind of damage described in this verse. My response is that it isn’t necessarily the case. Revelation is not a book of future events, but a picture of heaven working behind the scenes of human history to bring about God’s will. To speculate about a nuclear holocaust and then write books that make money off such speculation is foolishness indeed.

Let’s assume that Revelation is a book of symbols so that the uninitiated would read and not understand, thus protecting the saints. If that’s true, then we must think symbolically, without insisting that our interpretations are the exact ones implied by the Bible. Unless the Bible explains itself, we must be careful not to impose meaning on what we read. When I read verse seven, I think of two other verses that say,

"I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass?” (Isaiah 51:12)

“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever" (Isaiah 40:8).

There have been events in human history when there was great loss of human life – World War II, the Black Plague, Communist oppression and persecution, just to name a few. While this verse is not pointing to any one event that brought that result, it is nonetheless a fact of human history that this has happened again and again. We are not to fear during those terrible times. God will have the final say.

There have been other times when the word of the Lord has been rare or misrepresented by human institutions, including the Church. Once again, this verse is not pointing to any one time in history, but rather that this phenomenon of a lack of grass to feed on, so to speak, will regularly occur.

The interesting image of these verses is the role that prayer plays in bringing them about!  It was the fire from the prayer altar that started the trumpets sounding and the other awesome events taking place!

Are there predictions that came true in the Bible? Yes, but they came true in Bible times, but were not part of a mystical book called Revelation whose secrets would be revealed thousands of years in the future. Most of the predictions were focused on the coming of Jesus, the Messiah, and His earthly life. To think that the Bible would then make predictions about historic events that would take place after the Bible was written is a mistake. 

Thus, when some see Russia, Iran, the United States, or some other modern state in the book of Revelation, they are making a serious mistake of interpretation. The Bible is about history but it is not a history book. It is a book exalting the name and work of God through Jesus Christ. If an interpretation does not contribute to that end, it is useless speculation that detracts from and does not build up the faith of the saints. 

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. For additional Bible studies, check out my website archive, which contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse New Testament studies, along with the daily devotional entitled Your Life Matters: Daily Reflections from the Book of Psalms. Thank you and soon I will begin sending you my edited studies from James' epistle. After that, we will only have the book of Revelation to complete before the entire New Testament is on the site where this study is posted.

Download Rev 2-9

Revelation 7

Dear Student of the Word,

Happy New Year and thank you for helping me edit my Revelation studies with a view toward publishing in 2018. How are you helping? You are helping by receiving this study and by responding if something impacts or impresses you. This week we move into chapter seven, which includes a reference to angels, the 144,000 and a seal being placed on the heads of the believers. Remember, Revelation is not to be interpreted literally unless the book itself is specific. When it is not literal, then we must be careful not to make the symbols used mean something they were not intended to mean. This is what I wrote about Revelation 7:4 (you can download the entire study of Revelation 7 below):

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⁴Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.

7:4 – Some sects have taught that there would be exactly 144,000 people saved based on this verse. This again is nonsense. Why would we begin applying a literal interpretation to this verse, when everything up to this point has been symbolic? The 144,000 must be symbolic of something and is not to be taken literally. 

144,000 is a number obtained by multiplying12 times 12 times 10 times 10 times 10. I have done a little study on the meaning of biblical numbers and twelve is the number of God’s government or rule (12 tribes, 24 elders around the throne, 12 apostles) and ten is a combination of 7 plus 3, both being perfect and complete numbers.

Also, we have here another reference back to the Old Testament. Revelation is not only a book about the future (although not about specific events) but also about the past, showing how God has fulfilled all His promises to His people through Christ. There were 12 tribes in Israel, and the 12,000 from each tribe indicates that God will gather a full harvest from all the people of the earth – every race, kindred, tongue, and tribe.

144,000 represents the fact that all who are to be sealed will be sealed. God’s sovereign rule and oversight will not miss or overlook one single person, no matter where they live! He will not overlook anyone who has called on His name for salvation. No one knows what that exact number is, but God knows. And if you are His servant, you will be sealed, identified, and preserved as God’s own, no matter what happens in human history.

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going” (John 14:1-4).

Why is there a seal on the forehead? A seal on the forehead is hard to miss! There will be no mistaking God’s protection and distinctive presence on His people. People can and do wear some jewelry or decoration on the nose, cheeks, ears, lips, and eyes, but usually not on the forehead. When God marks His people, all creation will know that they are His! It will be impossible to overlook.

The forehead is also the frontal protector of the brain. Perhaps the seal is a protection at the front of my brain to keep one’s mind focused on Him: “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you” (Isaiah 26:3). This could correlate with my theory that the four winds mentioned in 7:1 are deceiving doctrines that could seduce and affect the minds of people, but not believers. God will seal your mind with the power of His Spirit, leaving no room for fear or error.

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. For additional Bible studies, check out my website archive, which contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse New Testament studies, along with the daily devotional entitled Your Life Matters: Daily Reflections from the Book of Psalms. Thank you and soon I will begin sending you my edited studies from James' epistle. After that, we will only have the book of Revelation to complete before the entire New Testament is on the site where this study is posted.

Download Rev 2-8

Revelation 5:11-6:17

Dear Student of the Word,

Before the year ends, I have one more installment of my Revelation Project edits to post. Thank you for providing the incentive that helps me work on these edits with a view toward publishing the entire commentary next year. This week, we take a look at the partnership that exists between the church, which is seen, and the spiritual realm, which cannot be seen. Here is the commentary I wrote on Revelation 5:11:

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¹¹Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.

5:11 – This is the second instance of John saying he “looked and heard.” When God opens your eyes, He allows you to hear what He is doing with your eyes. In other words, God is not only a God who speaks, but also a God who acts and those around Him act as well. Proverbs 20:12 states, “Ears that hear and eyes that see – the Lord has made them both.” If you are hearing from the Lord, what do you see Him doing in your life or in the lives of those around you?

John looked and saw a host of angels, which is similar to an account found in 2 Kings: 

Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city. When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" the servant asked. "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." And Elisha prayed, "O Lord, open his eyes so he may see." Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha (2 Kings 6:14-17).

The story in 2 Kings 6 related Elisha’s servant and his concern for their enemies that surrounded them. When his eyes were opened, he saw that their allies, the invisible heavenly host, were more numerous than the enemies he could see. Therefore, the early church would have received the same message. Even though things were difficult and persecution increased, those who were with them, these angels that John could see, were more than the forces of the Roman Empire that were arrayed against them.

Keep in mind that Revelation includes many Old Testament references, symbols, and stories to encourage God’s people that God has always taken care of His people. The vision was given to show God’s people that God was and is victorious over all opponents. The same truth is relevant today. Are you fretting over the situations in the world that seem so godless and hopeless? Then you can stop worrying; the angels are singing in heaven, just as they always have. God isn’t nervous and you should not be either.

Revelation 5:11 provides a powerful description of the church, represented by the elders and living creatures, and heaven, with myriads of angels standing around the throne where the Lamb is worshiped. Nothing can overcome, dim, or mar that picture. The church and heaven have a partnership formed through the blood of Jesus and preserved through the faith of the saints. The truth of Romans 8 has been and is for every generation:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:35-39).

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. For additional Bible studies, check out my website archive, which contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse New Testament studies, along with the daily devotional entitled Your Life Matters: Daily Reflections from the Book of Psalms. Thank you and soon I will begin sending you my edited studies from James' epistle. After that, we will only have the book of Revelation to complete before the entire New Testament is on the site where this study is posted.

Download Rev 2-7

Revelation 4:6-5:10

Dear Student of the Word,

I am working hard to maintain my momentum to complete my editing work on my book of Revelation commentary. Revelation is not a book that predicts specific events in the future, but instead shows how Christ has fulfilled all the promises of Scripture while warning the church about general threats that will continually come against the person of Jesus and His role in the Church. To support this view, this is what I wrote about Revelation 5:2 (this week's entire study can be downloaded below):

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²And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?”

5:2 – That is the age-old question: Who is worthy to understand the secret things of God, or to reveal the mind of God to mankind? The angel asked the question in a loud voice, because people in every generation to hear and answer. Many have heard that question resounding in their spirit. The problem is that they come to the wrong conclusion as to its answer. Science, education, sociology, politics and medicine have not been able to open the scroll. Man in all his intelligence, learning, and expertise have not been able to open the book.

The dilemma for mankind is that no one was, is, or will be worthy. No system of thought is worthy. No scheme of good deeds is worthy.  No amount of wishing, hoping, trying, or praying will make anyone worthy. No one is worthy. Buddha and Mohammed were not worthy. They never were and never will be.

Almost every doctrinal dispute throughout Church history has centered on or around the supremacy of Jesus. The problem for modern man is that he likes Jesus, he admires Jesus, he includes Jesus among the great moral leaders and teachers of all time. Modern man does not, however, want to submit to Jesus’ Lordship indicating that He Lord above all. He therefore can speak with absolute authority on divine things.

The message of Revelation is that Jesus is worthy. It’s all about Him all the time. It’s not about the Church, doctrine, denomination, or mankind’s deeds. It’s only about Him and not about the Antichrist. No one is worthy to act on behalf of God in a manner that is acceptable to God except for Jesus.

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. For additional Bible studies, check out my website archive, which contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse New Testament studies, along with the daily devotional entitled Your Life Matters: Daily Reflections from the Book of Psalms. Thank you and soon I will begin sending you my edited studies from James' epistle. After that, we will only have the book of Revelation to complete before the entire New Testament is on the site where this study is posted.

Download Rev 2-6