We sometimes speak of “reaping the consequences” of our decisions, especially of our bad decisions. The phrase itself is an agricultural metaphor, describing the action of a farmer who is harvesting his crops. Unsurprisingly—give that it was written in an agricultural society—the Bible uses the metaphor of reaping to describe God’s judgment of the earth’s inhabitants.   Take, for example, Joel 3.12–13, the Old Testament passage that lies in the background of Revelation 14.14–20. God says: “Let the nations stir themselves up and come to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. … Continue reading Reaping the Consequences (Revelation 14.14–20)

What is the gospel?   The Greek word that we translate as gospel is euaggelion. The Old English word from which gospel derives is godspel. Both terms mean the same thing. The gospel is “good news.”   In John’s vision (Rev. 14:6-13), an angel flies in midair, loudly proclaiming “an eternal gospel…to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.” Whatever else the gospel is, it is not the exclusive property of a select group of people. It is God’s good news, which he communicates to all people, to the entire human creation he … Continue reading “An Eternal Gospel to Proclaim” (Revelation 14.6–13)

Christianity is not a negative religion. Or rather, it is not merely a negative religion. There are, of course, some actions Christians should not perform, some ideas Christians should not believe, some feelings Christians should not experience, and some words Christians should not speak. The Ten Commandments memorably summarize the Christian’s negative duties with regards to actions, ideas, feelings, and words.   Revelation 14.1–5 also speak of the Christian’s negative duties. It describes believers has “the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins….and in their … Continue reading They Follow the Lamb Wherever He Goes (Revelation 14.1–5)

Readers of Revelation 13.11–18 feel their attention immediately drawn to the last words of the passage: “let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.” They speculate endlessly on what that number means. And few public figures of any consequence have escaped being identified as the beast, including Nero Caesar in the first century and Ronald Reagan in the last. (The latter’s full name is Ronald Wilson Reagan—a supposedly ominous six letters in each name.)   We will, for the moment, resist the attention-drawing … Continue reading False Prophet: The Second Beast (Revelation 13.11–18)

The defeat of the devil is a future but certain event.   In the mean time, John’s Revelation teaches us, we should expect ongoing spiritual conflict. It is important to understand that spiritual conflict is not merely spiritual. It is not just a matter of prayer, meditation, fasting, and other spiritual disciplines. Nor is it just a matter of miracles and exorcism. It is, of course, all these things. But it is also—for lack of a better term—political, i.e., pertaining to everyday life in the city (polis). Spiritual conflict takes place in the routines of life, as we struggle to … Continue reading Antichrist: The First Beast (Revelation 13.1–10)

Revelation 12.7–17 narrates a war that begins in heaven and continues on earth.   In heaven, the archangel Michael and his heavenly host initiate hostilities against the devil and his minions, who return fire but are nonetheless defeated and “thrown down” to earth. “It is crucial to note,” comments Grant R. Osborne, “that the two adversaries are not the dragon and God but the dragon and Michael. There is no true dualism in the book between Satan and God, for there is no equality. The dragon’s adversary is the archangel Michael, and he is the more powerful.”   The devil’s … Continue reading War In Heaven and On Earth (Revelation 12.7–17)