Revelation: A Call For Endurance
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Revelation 13:1-10 Much of the focus of Revelation is on what God will doing on the earth during the time of tribulation. The holy Judge will pour out His righteous justice on the inhabitants of the earth, in a series of horrendous, global judgments. In Revelation 12-14, however, the focus is on what Satan will be doing on the earth during the tribulation. Chapter 13 introduces us to two new figures … the antichrist (Rev 13:1-10) and the false prophet (Rev 13:11-18). Along with the devil, these three form a kind of unholy 'trinity'. The antichrist...
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Revelation: The Defeat of the Dragon
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading; Revelation 12:1-12 To this point in the book of Revelation, much of the focus has been on what God will be doing on the earth during the time of tribulation. God will pour out His holy justice on the inhabitants of the earth, in a series of horrendous, global judgments. In Revelation 12-14, the focus is on what Satan will be doing on the earth during the tribulation. In richly symbolic language, the events and activities of this chapter center around Satan and the people of Israel. Having been cast out of heaven, Satan has opposed the Israelites of old ......
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Revelation: And He Shall Reign Forever And Ever
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Revelation 11:15-19 In the middle of the horrendous judgments that John is describing in Revelation, he gives his readers a glorious preview of what will take place after God's justice has been fully meted out on the inhabitants of the earth. It is a foretaste of the coming kingdom of Christ, in His reign on this earth. In John's wondrous declaration, there is a stark contrast between the present kingdom of collective humanity and the future kingdom of the King of kings. "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall...
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Revelation: Prophets of God's Mercy
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Revelation 11:1-14 This chapter in Revelation is one of the places in the book in which the interpretive principles of the commentator show through very clearly. Over a century ago, Henry Alford, a reputable New Testament scholar and commentator, wrote that Revelation 11 is "undoubtably one of the most difficult [chapters] in the whole Apocalypse" … and "no solution has ever been given to this portion of the prophecy" (Alford, The Greek Testament, IV:655,658). The approach I have employed in our study of Revelation is to take words and phrases literally whenever it...
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Micah: From The Days Of Eternity
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Micah 5:1-5a There are many prophecies in the Old Testament regarding the coming of Jesus Christ in His first advent, beginning with a very early reference in Genesis 3:15. One of the wonderful predictions of the coming of Christ is found in Micah 5. Micah lived and wrote 700 years before Christ, during a time of rampant wickedness . . . idolatry (Mic 1:7), greed (2:2), thievery (2:2), injustice (3:2,3), falsehood (5:5), bloodshed (3:10). Micah sounds two great messages in this book . . . the consuming judgment of God, on one hand (1:3,4), and the...
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Revelation: Take and Eat
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Revelation 10:1-11 The context of this chapter is the interlude between the sounding of the sixth trumpet … in chapter 9 … and the sounding of the seventh trumpet … in the middle of chapter 11. As there was an interlude between the breaking and opening of the sixth and the seventh seals … Revelation 7 … so there is an interlude between the sounding of the sixth and seventh trumpets. These interludes have a literary function, at least, for the readers of this book … as they contemplate what has taken place … and anticipate what is coming in the unfolding...
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Revelation: They Still Did Not Repent
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Revelation 9:13-21 This passage contains another description of the horrors brought to humanity during the coming time of tribulation. The sounding of the sixth trumpet will bring the death of a third of the earth's population (Rev 9:18). Like the fifth trumpet, this judgment will be effected by a demonic host that will be released on the earth. The description of these beings, riding frightful horses points to the power they will possess and the lethal effect they will produce … heads like lions and tails like serpents. Whereas the judgment of the...
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Ezekiel: The Father of Lies
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 28:11-19 Origin and fall of Satan Ezekiel 28:11-19 Names and titles of Satan Satan ('adversary') - Job 1,2; 1 Chr 21:1 Devil ('slanderer') - Mt 4:5; 1 Pet 5:8 Beelzebul ('lord of flies') - Mt 12:27; Lk 11:15 Belial ('worthless') - 2 Cor 6:15 Serpent - Gen 3:1; Rev 12:9 Evil One - Jn 17:15; 1 Jn 5:18 Accuser of the brothers - Rev 12:10 Prince of the power of the air - Eph 2:2 god of this world - 2 Cor 4:4 Tempter - Mt 4:3; 1 Thes 3:5 Liar, Father of lies - Jn 8:44 Angel of light - 2 Cor 11:14 Purpose of Satan - to oppose God and His purposes...
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Revelation: The Locusts From Hell
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Revelation 9:1-12 The seventh seal on the great heavenly scroll introduces the seven trumpets of judgment. The seventh trumpet introduces the seven bowls of final judgment. The first four trumpets bring calamity on earthly elements … land, sea, rivers, and light. The fifth and sixth trumpets … the first two of three ominous 'woes' … unleash demonic powers of destruction. Reminiscent of the prophet Joel, John describes demonic activity in terms of a plague of locusts (Rev 9:1-3). The grotesque imagery points to the diabolical power and...
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Revelation: Silence in Heaven
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Revelation 8:1-13 The opening of the seventh seal on the heavenly scroll, leads to seven trumpets of increasing divine judgment on the people of the earth … which, in turn, lead to seven bowls of further divine fury of God's holy justice against earth's wicked rebels. With the opening of the seventh seal, Revelation 8:1 says, "there was silence in heaven for about half an hour." After all the loud sounds of praise and songs by the inhabitants of heaven (cf. Rev 4:7; 5:2,9-12; 6:10), this long silence seems to be the silence of awe and anticipation of the coming...
info_outlineScripture Reading: Revelation 1:1-8
This marvelous book, with which the New Testament (and the Bible) ends, is what its name implies. It is the revealing, uncovering, displaying of the person of Jesus Christ, in all His glory. Though some of the details in Revelation, presented in the form of symbolism, are not always well-defined, the overall message of the book is clear. This book is the prophecy of the end of human history. The end of the age culminates with the second coming of Christ, the final judgment of all things, and the eternal state of all creation.
John wrote this book "to the seven churches that are in Asia" (1:4). The number 'seven', occurring over 50 times in Revelation, seems to represent fullness or completeness, and so these seven churches are representative of the universal church of Christ in all ages.
The first chapter of Revelation contains an extended, glorious description of Christ. It is so rich and comprehensive, John Walvoord wrote, "If no more had been written than that contained in this introductory portion of chapter 1, it would have constituted a tremendous restatement of the person and work of Christ such as found in no comparable section of Scripture" (Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 40).
The book displays the ultimate and final victory of God over Satan … and righteousness over evil … and heaven over hell. To know that human history is moving according to an inexorable divine plan keeps us from deadening pessimism and works in our souls a calm and hope in the face of every earthly turmoil and heartache.