Author: Jim Cantelon

Key Verse: Revelation 15:4a “Who will not fear You, O Lord, and bring glory to Your name? For You alone are holy.” In chapters 15 and 16 we read about God’s wrath. This isn’t pleasant reading, and if we’ve thought of God only in terms of His love, these chapters can be disconcerting and even repellent. But we’ve got to understand something — Jesus didn’t come to earth merely to give us a good example, nor was His death at Calvary some sort of morality play. He didn’t come to make us better people. He came to make us new. Why? Because God...

Key Verse: Revelation 14:3a “And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders.” John now shifts from a description of the beast and his worshippers (ch.13) to a description of the Lamb and His followers. Consistent with Old Testament expectation, the venue is Mount Zion. Micah, for instance, foresaw the day when God would gather the faithful remnant to Mount Zion and reign over them forever (Mic. 4:6-8). Joel and Isaiah also saw something similar (Joel 2:32; Is. 1:19-12; 40:1-46:13). Who are these “144,000”? In chapter 7,...

Key Verse: Revelation 13:8 “All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast — all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.” Two “beasts” appear in this chapter. It is quite characteristic of apocalyptic visions for animals to symbolize human beings. In this instance, we see (in v.18) that the beast is a man, for he has a “man’s number”. For many readers, the book of Revelation is dominated by the number “666”. And all kinds of attempts have been made...

Key Verse: Revelation 12:11 “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony…” In this chapter, we read of a “war in heaven” (vb.7) precipitated by an attempt by Satan to destroy the pre-existent Messiah — the “male cild, who will rule all the nations with an iron sceptre” (v.5). One of the unusual aspects of this account is the use of the past tense. John writes of something that has already happened both in the heavenly and earthly realms. In reading about Satan’s downfall (vv.8,9) one thinks of Jesus’...

Key Verse: Revelation 11:15b “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord an of His Christ, and He will reign for ever and ever.” As John’s vision continues, he is given a measuring device and is told to “measure the temple of God and the altar” and to “count the worshippers there” (v.1). He is also told not to measure the “outer court” because it has been given to “the Gentiles” who will “trample on the holy city for 42 months” (v.2). Then the speaker refers to “my two witnesses” (the speaker...

Key Verse: Revelation 10:6b, 7 “‘There will be no more delay! But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as He announced to His servants the prophets.'” The key verse is a quote from a “mighty angel” who comes “down from heaven” (v.1). He is of immense size, his body “robed in a cloud”, with a “rainbow above this head”, his face shining “like the sun”, and his legs “like fiery pillars”. He places one foot on the sea and the other on...

Key Verse: Revelation 9:20a “The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands…” By now you’ve seen how difficult it is to try to analyze and systematize the content of apocalyptic writing. John is describing a vision, and in so doing is attempting the describe the indescribable. Scores of well-meaning attempts have been made over the years to tell us what John “re3ally meant”, but all such efforts should be taken with more than a grain of salt. Especially if the would-be interpreter is dogmatic about...

Key Verse: Revelation 8:6 “Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.” The seventh seal is opened and a half-hours silence follows (v.1). As the silence ends, John sees “seven angels who stand before God” being given “seven trumpets” (v.2). These seven angels haven’t been mentioned as yet, but they are probably some kind of personification of the “seven spirits” before the throne in 1:4. They are given seven trumpets and each angel in turn blows his trumpet. But before they blow their trumpets another angel appears....

Key Verse: Revelation 7:17 “For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd; He will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Reading Revelations is like looking through a kaleidoscope. The colours, the patterns, the overall picture keeps changing — it seems in constant flux. Suddenly, the martyrs “under the altar” of 6:9 are now “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in fort of the Lamb” (7:9). Numbered...

Key Verse: Revelation 6:16, 17 “They called to the mountains and the  rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come and who can stand?'” The Lamb opens the first seal, releasing the first of seven plagues upon the earth. The imagery of the first four is powerfully vivid: horses of different colours and their riders, all symbolizing war and its tragic results. A white horse appears, its crowned rider holding a bow, and he rides out to conquer (probably representing an invader)....

Key Verse:  Revelation 5:9 “And they sang a new song: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain and with Your blood You purchased men for God from every trice and language and people and nation.” John now sees a “scroll” in “the right hand of Him who sat on the throne” (v.1). It has writing on both sides and is sealed with seven seals. The value of its message is so great that o one “in heaven or on earth” can break the seals and read it (v.3). John laments, but then hears one of the elders say, “the...