Revelation 13-15  As I read these chapters, I find myself in awe of the magnitude of all that God has revealed... the greatness of His plan is overwhelming.  I long to understand, but know that it is far beyond my capacity.  Great scholars have studied every word and yet cannot really fathom its depths. Instead, I will simply pray, once again, "What are You saying to me today, My Lord?"

Chapter 13 finds John witnessing two events,  the beast that comes from the sea and the second beast who comes out of the earth.

The first beast has ten horns and 7 heads, like the dragon in chapter 12 ( who is Satan).  The dragon gives this beast his authority and power.  The beast appears to have a fatal wound on one of his heads, but has been healed. The beast is worshipped on the earth because of his power and authority.
He is given:
an arrogant, blasphemous mouth; v5
authority to act for 42 months; v5
the power to make war with the saints ; v6
authority over every tribe, people, tongue, and nation; v7

The only ones protected from this beast are those whose names are "written from the foundation of the world in the book of life or the Lamb who was slain." v8

The second beast "exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence."  He makes the earth worship the first beast. He performs signs.  He deceives those still left on earth.  He makes an image of the first beast and is "given" the ability to give it breath and make it speak.  He establishes the mark of the beast and orders all to receive it in order to buy or sell.

Chapter 14 presents the Lamb once again.   He stands on Mount Zion with the 144,000 who have the Name of the Father and the Son written on their foreheads.  They stand in opposition to the beast and his followers.  They are pure, chaste, and "blameless".

Angels appear and bring pronouncements:
The first angel has the "eternal gospel" and calls all to "Fear God and give Him glory..."
The second angel pronounces the doom of "Babylon, the great".
The third angel warns of the judgement upon all who take the mark of the beast.
A fourth angel calls for the harvest on the earth to be reaped.
A fifth brings another sickle ;
A sixth angel calls for the previous angel to reap the ripened grapes from the earth.  These are thrown in the "great wine press of the wrath of God". 

Chapter 15 introduces 7 more angels, these carrying 7 plagues.  We are told that these are the "last, because in them the wrath of God is finished." 

Worship breaks out once again.  Those who survived the beast and did not take his number, stand before God with golden harps.  They are given the song of Moses,

"Great and marvelous are Thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Thy ways, Thou King of the nations. Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? For Thou alone art holy; 
For all the nations will come and worship before Thee, for Thy righteous acts have been revealed."

At this, "the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened,"   and the seven angels come out and are given the seven golden bowls "full of the wrath of God,who lives forever and ever."

"And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished." 

So, here is what I hear the Shepherd saying to me today...
God will pour out His wrath on the earth, upon all who will not repent and give Him glory.
We have every reason to fear the Lord, to bow before Him and to worship Him alone.
There will come a time when God will be finished with these judgements, when His wrath will end.
There are those who I pray for .. who I love.. who need to hear the gospel again, to seek Him and find Him before it is too late.
Saints persevere by keeping the "commandments of God and their faith in Jesus." (14:12)

Father in heaven , thank You for saving me through the blood of the Lamb.  Thank You for the great and marvelous works that You have done and will do.  You are holy and perfect, righteous and just.
Through all of my life, You have shown grace to me and I am thankful.  Thank You that my name is written in the Lamb's book of life.  May I persevere in my faith in Jesus and in obedience to Your Word, all the days of my life, I pray in His Wonderful Name, amen.

Revelation 12  A sign is given "in heaven" .  The woman ready to give birth is thought to be Israel. The child is thought to be Christ or a more recent theory is the church.  Satan attacks, but the woman and her child are saved.  The woman is safe in the wilderness, but the child is caught up to God.  A war between Michael and Satan is waged, and Satan is cast down to the earth. There he angrily wages war for any that are still left that have put their trust in Jesus.

I do not begin to understand or say for certain what all this means and how it will actually happen.  But this one thing I know, Christ is coming for His Bride!  We need to be ready and watching.  We can be certain that our God has shown us the future events for His purposes... that we might be prepared and that we might speak out the Truth so that others can know.


Father in heaven, You alone know the day and the hour of Christ's return.  You know when the trumpet will sound and the church will be caught up to Your throne.  We want to be ready.  We want to trust and obey faithfully every day, for we do not want to be caught unprepared, like the maidens who failed to bring enough oil.  Fill us Holy Spirit, that we might be alert and ready for the Day of His appearing.  Lord Jesus, come quickly . Amen!

Revelation 8-11  The seventh seal is opened and seven angels prepare to sound seven trumpets.  With each trumpet blast another disaster falls on the earth.
1 - hail, fire and blood are thrown down to the earth and burn up 1/3 of the earth, the trees, and the grass .
2- a mountain of fire was thrown into the sea turning into blood and killing 1/3 of the sea creatures and destroying 1/3 of the ships.
3- a great burning star falls and poisons 1/3 of the rivers and springs, killing many.
4- 1/3 of the sun, the moon, and the stars are darkened.
5- the bottomless pit is opened and deadly locusts are set free to torture men for 5 months
6-4 angels are released to kill 1/3 of all mankind, 200 million horsemen are also sent to kill

Those left on the earth, we are told, still refuse to repent and turn away from their worship of demons.
John hears 7 peals of thunder but is not allowed to write about the message given.  He is told to take the little book that a strong angel is holding and to eat it. It is sweet to taste but bitter to the stomach.
Then the 2 witnesses are introduced.  These two are given1,260 days to prophesy in Jerusalem before they are killed and then raised to life after 3 1/2 days.

Finally, the 7th trumpet is sounded and worship breaks out in heaven again.
"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever" sound out the voices in heaven.
The 24 elders add their song, " We give Thee thanks, O Lord God the Almighty who are and who wast, because Thou hast taken Thy great power and hast begun to reign." 

The time has come. God's heavenly temple is opened and the ark of His covenant appears.
Lightning and thunder, an earthquake and a hailstorm accompany this great event.

Judgement will come to this earth.  We will one day see the end of wickedness and the final judgement of sin.  Whether we experience from this side or from heaven, we cannot know.  But, it will happen.  The only hope we have to escape the horrors to come, is through Jesus Christ.  Once again I find my heart sorrowing for those who refuse to repent from their sins, to turn to Jesus, and to find His mercy and grace while it can be found.

Father in heaven,  Merciful and Mighty,  I plead with You to save my loved ones that are not walking in Your Truth and Light.  Father, will You open their blind eyes and speak into their darkened hearts? O Lord, grant them a heart to seek You and to find You, to surrender to You, and to be brought into the Kingdom of Your Beloved Son!  I ask this in His Mighty Name, the Name of Jesus,  Amen.

Revelation 7  We get another glimpse of heaven in this interlude between the 6th and 7th seal.  On earth there are 4 angels preparing for something that will harm the earth and the seas.  There is also another angel that is setting God's seal on 144,000  men from the 12 tribes of Israel.  But, John's attention is drawn back to the throne, where multitudes of people  "from every nation and all tribes and people and tongues"  are worshipping the Lord God and the Lamb.
All the angels join in this worship around the throne.  Their song is " Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving, and honor, and power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen"

One of the elders prompts John to find out about the multitude in white robes.  He explains that these are those who will come out of the tribulation, "and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."  They serve God.  They receive His covering. They are protected from hunger and thirst and heat..  They are placed in the care of the Great Shepherd, Jesus, who will tenderly lead them to "springs of the water of life; and God shall wipe every tear from their eyes."

Charles Spurgeon writes about  those who were persecuted in the early church and the sorrows they have known, " My blood runs cold as I read of what the saints of God have suffered. I have often set Foxes' Book of Martyrs upon the shelf and thought that I could not read it any longer, because it is such an accurate account of what human nature can bear when faith in Christ sustains it.
Yet, friends, you should not grieve the the martyrs suffered as they did . Or, if you are sorrowful, that very sorrow is turned to joy at the remembrance of how Christ has been glorified through the sufferings of His saints.... When I think of the honor of being a martyr for the truth I confess that I would sooner be in that position than be the angel Gabriel.  I think it would be better to go to heaven from the stakes than to have always been in heaven. What honor it has brought to Christ that poor, feeble men could love Him so much that they could bleed and die for Him!" ( From The Fullness of Joy)

Yet, the persecution to come in the last days will be just as bad or  worse than those of the early church.  I cannot fathom it.  I know that there are many that are suffering now, and it breaks my heart when I read their stories or see the pictures... but it is so far off from my daily experiences that I don't know what it is really like.  Perhaps there is a day coming for us here in America, for we see the way the wind is blowing, when we also will need to wash our robes in His blood.  If and when that happens, I pray that I will bring honor to my Savior.

Father in heaven, it is for the joy that is set before us, the joy of standing before Your throne with people from all nations, tribes, tongues, and peoples, singing praises to You and falling before You in worship, that I choose to believe and to follow Christ Jesus with all my heart.  May I honor You with my life and in my death, however that will happen.  For I ask this in the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Revelation 6  Jesus, the Lamb of God, takes the book and breaks the seals, one by one.  As each seal is broken, a judgement is issued.

As the first seal is opened, one of the living creatures calls out, "Come" and a white horse enters.  The rider has a bow and is given a crown.  He is sent out to conquer.   Our world is filled now with dictators and rulers, kings and presidents,  people of power and authority.. but this conqueror will bring them all down.  He will have authority to rule for a time and our world will be brought into subjection to him.
The second seal brings a second rider, this time on a red horse.  He carries a sword and incites war among men.
The third seal produces a rider on a black horse carrying a pair of scales.  This, we are told, indicates that famine will come to all the earth.
The fourth seal brings forth a pale horse and the rider's name is Death.  He is accompanied by "Hades".  "And authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth." (v8)

Disaster upon disaster will come upon this earth, bringing God's fierce judgements to those who refused to repent and turn to God's freely offered salvation.  And this is just the beginning.

When the fifth seal is broken, John's attention is drawn to the  base of the altar.  "the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained;"  were crying out to the Lord for Him to avenge the spilling of their blood.  But, the "number of their fellow servants"  who were "to be killed" was not yet completed.

The sixth seal is then broken and a world-wide earthquake erupts.  It makes the sun turn black and the moon turn red.  Even the stars  are affected by this great earthquake.  The sky itself splits and the mountains and islands of the earth move.  Every person on the earth will run and try to hide for they know that the "great day of their wrath", the wrath of God and of the Lamb, has come.
"Who is able to stand?"  they cry.   No one.  No one will escape the judgements of God.

Father in heaven,  I praise You for You are great and Sovereign above all of Your creation.  The past, the present, and the future are in Your hands and are not a mystery to You at all.  We understand so little, but what we do know is that You are a loving and gracious God.  You have chosen to show us mercy and grace by sending Jesus, the Lamb, who was slain to purchase us, those who believe, for You.  Thank You that we will not face Your wrath, but that we will come to You in worship, rejoicing at the great salvation that You have provided.  Father, I pray for my own family, for those who are still unbelieving, and ask that You will break through their hard hearts, shining Your light once again, bringing them to repentance, that they might also be saved.  I thank You for hearing this prayer.  You are Faithful and true.  Amen.

Revelation 5  John has described his first glimpse of heaven and now observes a specific, significant event.. that turns into a worship service.

Verse 1.. John sees - a book in the Father's right Hand.  The book or scroll is sealed with 7 seals.
Verse 2.. John hears - " a strong angel" loudly asks, " Who is worthy to open the book and to break the seals." 
Verse 4... John weeps because none are found worthy, until one of the elders comforts him. " Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals." 

Jesus, the Lion,  the Lamb, "standing, as if slain"  appears in the center of the scene.  " And He came, and He took it out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne." ( v7)

He is worthy!
He overcame. He fulfilled the will of the Father.  He has the right to come and open the book.
Worship breaks out..

The first song is sung by the 4 creatures and the 24 elders.
v9-10  " Worthy art Thou to take the book, and to break its seals; For Thou wast slain, and didst purchase for God with Thy  blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.  And Thou hast made them a kingdom and priests to our God. And they will reign upon the earth." 

The second song adds the voices of myriads of angels!
v12 "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing." 

v13 The third song adds the voices of "every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea.... To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever." 

Jesus is worthy.  He is the Lion of Judah and the Lamb that was slain.
He purchased us with His blood.
He makes us a kingdom and priests.
He is worthy of all power, of all miraculous works, of all strength, of all might.
He is worthy of all riches, of all wealth and abundance.
He is worthy of all wisdom, might, honor and glory.
He is worthy of all blessing.

John is privileged to witness this event almost 2000 years ago... yet it is something that hasn't yet happened according to our timeline... for all creation has not yet sung this song.  The seals have not yet been broken.  The day has not yet come.  What a mystery!  How amazing !  Have you ever tried to comprehend what it will be like when "time shall be no more" ?  We will one day add our voices to those of angels and elders and creatures.. singing praises to the Lamb who is worthy!

Father, let us know the glory of Your majesty and the worthiness of the Son!  Fill us with awe and wonder and love for the One who purchased us with His blood and who is worthy to open the book in Your hand.  By Your grace we will join in the worship around Your throne.  Praise the Lord! Amen.

Revelation 4   John is invited to experience heaven like  Isaiah and Ezekiel had once recorded.   All three accounts talk about the throne and the creatures.

Isaiah 6:1-6 - Isaiah speaks of  the throne, the train of His robe, the Seraphim with six wings, and the song " Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory."  There is smoke and fire from the burning coal taken from the altar.

Ezekiel 1:1-28 Ezekiel tells of the four "living beings".  He describes them as having "human form", but 4 faces (a man, a lion, a bull, and and eagle)  and 4 wings ( 2 that covered their bodies and 2 that spread out.  They had legs and hands.  They moved without turning.  Each had a wheel " like sparkling beryl" and rims full of eyes.  Above the heads of these creatures, Ezekiel notes the crystal sea and above that the throne " like lapis lazuli".  And on the throne was a fiery Presence with a "radiance around Him", like a rainbow in appearance.

John takes notice of the throne first and the One sitting on the throne. He describes the Lord in terms of brilliant gems - jasper and sardius;  He also notes the rainbow around the throne.  Unlike Isaiah and Ezekiel, John sees 24 more thrones around the center throne.  These are occupied by 24 elders.
There are 7 lamps before the throne.  There is the crystal sea and the 4 living creatures.  This time one resembles a lion, one a calf, one a man, and one an eagle.  They have 6 wings and are "full of eyes".  Their song is " Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come."

Heaven... a place of radiance, beauty, worship and awe.   Where God's Glory is fully known and nothing else can compare...  Where all movement, all sound, all sights... everything flows towards the Holy One on the throne.

We can only imagine.

Father, someday we will join in the songs of worship around Your throne.  Praise to You we sing.. thank You for the joy that is set before us.  Keep our eyes and our hearts, even now, undistracted from Your glory. Amen