Milo

THE BEASTS
Revelation 12–14

“Men worshiped . . . the beast, and asked, ’Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?”’ (Rev. 13:4)

Human beings are often deceived by those who appear to be powerful.

Background
Symbols in Revelation 12–14. We are naturally curious as to who is represented by the figures that make such an overwhelming impression in these powerful chapters of Revelation. One figure, that of the dragon, is interpreted in the text. The great red dragon is Satan himself, “who leads the whole world astray.”
While the woman of chapter 12 has been variously interpreted as humanity, the church, and Mary, it is best to understand her as representing Israel. This is the people from whom Christ came; the people whose tragic journey over the past 2,000 years indicates Satan’s continuing hostility.
The “sea” in Scripture generally is a symbol of humanity. The “beast out of the sea” is the Antichrist, who is clearly linked by details in the text to the Antichrist of Daniel’s prophecies. The “beast out of the earth” is usually called the “false prophet.” Together the devil, the Antichrist, and false prophet compose an unholy trinity, a distorted reflection of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They achieve great power on earth, and win the allegiance of what remains of humanity. They seem to triumph over God’s saints. But the triumph is only apparent. After a final warning is conveyed to all on earth, a new, intensified level of judgment begins.

Overview
Signs in heaven review events: the hostility of Satan for God’s chosen people (12:1–3), the birth from Israel of the Saviour (vv. 4–5), and an attack on Israel inspired by Satan during the Tribulation period (vv. 6–9). Satan’s influence is now limited to earth (12:10–17), where he energizes the Antichrist (13:1–10) and false prophet (vv. 11–18) to rally mankind against God. The 144,000 witnesses of Revelation 7 remain faithful (14:1–8) as angels assist in warning humanity (vv. 6–13), and heaven itself joins in the destruction of sinful mankind (vv. 14–20).

Understanding the Text
“A male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter” Rev. 12:1–5. The language of the text is messianic (cf. Ps. 2; Isa. 9:6–7). The woman is Israel, from whom the Christ was born. And the dragon is Satan.
How fascinating it is to see Satan crouched, ready to pounce on the Child as He enters this world in weakness. And what a reminder. Satan failed to thwart God when Jesus walked here as a man. Despite Satan’s own considerable powers, how futile all his efforts are! He could not defeat a weakened Jesus. He is helpless against the Lamb, slain but now alive and powerful on God’s own throne!
Don’t worry about Satan. For all his posturing, he is a defeated enemy. Lost mankind may one day be enraptured by his appearance of power. But you and I know that there is more power in Jesus’ appearance of weakness on the cross, than in all the armies Satan will be able to hurl against God.

“To a place prepared for her by God” Rev. 12:6. Some have linked this with Jesus’ warning in Matthew 24:20–21, and concluded that during the Tribulation God will shelter the Jewish remnant in Mount Seir. One group has even gone so far as to store New Testaments, printed in Hebrew, in Seir’s caves.
Perhaps they were too precise in their preparations. But they did not go too far in their faith. One day soon all that John describes will come to pass. History will culminate in scorching judgments. And we are wise if we too prepare for that day.

“He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short” Rev. 12:7–12. The one thing that opposing generals dread is that the enemy may learn their plans, and find some way to counter them. How fascinating that, in prophecy, God not only tells us what lies ahead, but also makes the same information available to Satan!
But how significant this is as well. Satan may know what lies ahead. But there is nothing he can do to change the outcome of his rebellion! His frantic efforts, his raging hostility toward God’s own, express frustration rather than confidence. He knows his time is short.
And we know that Satan has been, and will be, overcome by the blood of the Lamb.

“He pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child” Rev. 12:13–17. There really must be a place in our understanding of prophecy for Israel. God chose the Jewish people, and loved them consistently from the days of Abraham to the birth of Christ. Paul assures us that God has not rejected this people whom He foreknew, but that a day is coming when “all Israel will be saved” (Rom. 11:26). God’s people still are precious to Him.
When, at history’s end, the focus returns to Israel, and the prophet’s visions take solid form, Satan’s hatred of God will burn against the people that God so loves.
Whatever else this may say to us, one thing is clear. Satan hates what God loves. Those who have antagonism toward the Jews are most surely on the wrong side.

“Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast” Rev. 13:1–10. Note the number of times that “power” is mentioned or alluded to in these verses. It’s there in verses 2, 4, and 7.
Isn’t it strange that “power to make war” is so attractive to humanity? We’ll follow anyone who has power, and who promises to make us powerful. No wonder the dictators of history were able to win the allegiance of their people so easily. “Power to make war” attracts us, and we want to be on the winning side.
But note the word God has for His saints. As the Antichrist wins victory after victory, believers are told “this calls for patient endurance.” Some of us will go into captivity. Some to the sword. And to all around us we will appear the weakest of all. And yet, the weak win. And the powerful of the earth lose.
May we learn to see the victory implicit in weakness, and the defeat inherent in power to make war, and live accordingly.

“He deceived the inhabitants of the earth” Rev. 13:11–18. I can’t help being amused at those who take Uri Geller seriously. Bend nails by mind power? I’m sure! It’s a lot like the “Christian” couple who amazed Christian congregations by the messages the Spirit gave about details of people’s lives-until someone recorded the radio messages being transmitted to the speaker by his wife through a “hearing aid.”
If we’re so gullible when tricksters are involved, think how easily deceived folks will be when real supernatural powers are openly exercised!
The picture given of the future here contains a vital reminder. No matter what one claims to be able to do, don’t desert the Word of God. No matter what economic sanctions exist, locking believers out of opportunities to work, or even to buy food, don’t abandon the Word of God. Fix your confidence in Christ and His written Word, and do not be deceived.

“They follow the Lamb wherever He goes” Rev. 14:1–5. We met the 144,000 in Revelation 7. They were identified there as Jews, sealed and sent out by God to witness about Him during the terrible times associated with history’s end. Here we see them, redeemed, standing before God’s throne and praising Him with a song that is uniquely their own. And here we hear God’s commendation. “They follow the Lamb wherever He goes.”
You and I are not numbered with the 144,000. But we can be among those of every age, of whom it can be said, “They follow the Lamb wherever He goes.”

“He had the eternal Gospel to proclaim” Rev. 14:6–13. Throughout the Christian era, sharing the Gospel has been the responsibility of human beings. But now, with humanity deceived by Satan, God demonstrates His grace in a unique way. Powerful angels call on mankind to worship God, and make the nature of the impending judgment absolutely clear.
This last expression of grace is rejected, and the saints are encouraged to endure. “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on,” a voice from heaven says. “They will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”
No matter how hard life here may be, or how unrewarding it seems to remain faithful to the Lord, remember. We are promised rest. And our deeds will not be forgotten, but will follow us to glory.

DEVOTIONAL
Battle Hymn
(Rev. 14:6–20)
Our American Civil War was undoubtedly the bloodiest of that era. Some 600,000 young men perished, 300,000 of them from disease and exposure associated with their military service.
As the terrible cost in lives became more and more clear, the imagery of Revelation 14 captured the imagination of Julia Ward Howe. How like a farmer harvesting a crop, gathering great armloads of grapes, and trampling on them till blood-red juices flow. How like John’s terrible vision, in which the blood pours from the winepress of God’s wrath, gushing down ravines surrounding the Holy City and spreading out for 180 miles!
And so the great “Battle Hymn of the Republic” was born. God, Howe said, is “trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored. He has loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword.” Somehow, in that terrible, costly struggle, Julia Ward Howe sensed the triumph of God’s truth.
And she was right. Decades before, when the Constitution was being hammered out, the founding fathers shied away from the issue of slavery. The South was too wedded to the institution, and all the colonies must unite in declaring independence. And so the evil was ignored. It festered deep in the body politic year after year, until finally it could no longer be ignored. By then it was so deeply entrenched that it could only be excised at the cost of blood. The grapes of wrath were trampled out, and 600,000 young men died.
Every evil is like slavery. Undealt with, it festers in the soul. Christ purges those who turn to Him. But those who will not must be trampled, as God’s truth goes marching on.

Personal Application
The vision of judgment teaches us the momentous nature of our sins.

Quotable

He has sounded forth the trumpet
  that shall never call retreat,
He is sifting out the hearts of men
  before His judgment seat;
O be swift my soul to answer Him!
  be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies
  Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom
  that transfigures you and me;
As He died to make men holy,
  let us live to make men free,
While God is marching on.

Glory! glory, hallelujah!
Glory! glory, hallelujah!
Glory! glory, halleluhah!
His truth is marching on.

-Julia Ward Howe

NO MORE DELAY
Revelation 10–11

“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” (Rev. 10:7).

The fast-approaching new year may hold the events described in the rest of Revelation!

Background
Interpretation. From this point the Book of Revelation becomes even more difficult to interpret, and here commentators are most clearly divided.
The earliest interpretive school, current in the first two centuries, viewed Revelation as predictive prophecy, a literal though often obscure description of what is to happen in the future. In the third century Christians began to emphasize supposed allegorical meanings. Much later other Christians began to treat Revelation as a review of church history. For instance, depending on the commentator’s view, they saw the “beasts” of the book as Pope and bishops, or the leaders of the Protestant Reformation.
A more sophisticated modern view suggests that each section of Revelation is a symbolic treatment of history, with each segment looking at God’s working throughout the ages from a slightly different perspective.
And so any reader of Revelation has certain choices to make. Is the book predictive prophecy? Allegory? Or symbolic treatment of issues of John’s day, of church history, or of history’s end? Does the use of many terms found in Old Testament prophecy mean Revelation may be harmonized with Old Testament visions of history’s end that feature Israel? Or does the use of Old Testament elements mean that Old Testament prophecy too must be treated symbolically rather than literally? Is there a future for Israel as a chosen people of God? Or does Israel, which still exists as a people, have no such future, and the ancient promises given to the Jews are in fact spiritual promises fulfilled in the church?
Even when reading the bulk of Revelation devotionally, and particularly chapters 10–14, some framework must be adopted for our reading.
While recognizing that difficulties exist for any interpretive school, it seems to me that to be most consistent with the nature of Scripture and the character of God we should take Revelation as a narrative of future history, with its images rooted in Old Testament prophecy, and its constant references to Israel evidence that God intends to keep the prophets’ promises to His ancient people. Even given this framework, much in Revelation must remain a mystery. But much is also far more clear—and applicable to our lives.

Overview
John is told that history’s predicted end will now unfold (10:1–7). He is given a scroll to eat and told to prophesy (vv. 8–11). Two terrible prophets testify against mankind for a time period predicted in Daniel (11:1–6). They are killed, but raised again and taken to heaven (vv. 7–14). There all rejoice, for God has begun to reign (vv. 15–19).

Understanding the Text
“Seal up what the seven thunders have said” Rev. 10:1–4. John is not able, even in the powerful symbolism of Revelation, to report all that he saw in his vision. It may be the seven thunders are yet another nested series of judgments. Or perhaps not. In either case, it’s well for us to remember that it is God’s grace which keeps many aspects of the future hidden from us.
Think how terrible it would be if you or I knew years ahead the tragedies we would experience. Then present joys would always be dimmed by our foreknowledge of darkness ahead. Or suppose we knew ahead of time that great prosperity and success were assured? Where would the struggle be? Where the satisfaction, as each effort received its reward?
God leaves us uncertain, to guard us from premature sorrow, to surprise us by joy, and most of all, so that each and every day we will sense our need to walk with our hand in His.

“There will be no more delay!” Rev. 10:5–7 One of the most powerful reasons to take Revelation as predictive prophecy is found in this verse. John tells us that the “mystery of God will be accomplished, just as He announced to His servants the prophets.” What John now sees is what Old Testament prophets foretold.
In Scripture a “mystery” is something which has been for all time an element in God’s eternal plan, but has been revealed to humankind only recently. The church itself is such a mystery: no one living before Christ imagined that God intended to bond Jew and Gentile together into one body through faith in the crucified Son of God.
Perhaps we can think of “mystery” as God, joyfully crying out, “Surprise!” as He unveils yet another stunning aspect of His complex plan for His creation.
Judgment too will come as a surprise, even though dark warnings abound in Scripture. Elements of what John tells us are new, though they fit into an Old Testament framework. Even now the certainty of punishment for sin, and of an end to evil, rings throughout the Word of God.
Let’s never become so lost in trying to interpret the details of Revelation that we lose sight of the crushing impression it is intended to make. Judgment is coming. Doom awaits. One day soon all the terrors predicted by the prophets of every age will be realized here on earth. How important that we be ready, and not be surprised!

“Take it and eat it” Rev. 10:9–11. There is an obvious analogy here to Ezekiel, who was also told to take a scroll and eat it, and speak to the people of Israel (Ezek. 3). While that scroll too tasted like honey, it plunged the prophet into a ministry of condemnation, speaking against rebellious Israel until after the destruction of Jerusalem, and only then becoming a message of hope.
Revelation follows a similar pattern. John first describes terrible judgments that will strike the earth (11–18). But he concludes with the triumph of God, and the welcome of the saints to a new and purified heaven and earth.
In a way, even the Gospel is sweet and bitter. When we eat it, welcoming Christ into our hearts, we rejoice in its sweetness. But then, suddenly, we realize that the promise of salvation implies that all men are lost. We face that bitter truth, and realize that like Ezekiel and John, we are to witness to many who may not hear, and in refusing to listen, doom themselves to judgment.

“But exclude the outer court” Rev. 11:1–6. The focus of the vision now shifts to Jerusalem. The city lies under the control of Gentiles, and numbers found in Daniel’s predictions concerning history’s end make the link between Old Testament prophecy and Revelation unmistakably clear. There is no doubt that Jewish commentators, and early Christians as well, understood the visions of Daniel to predict or at least foreshadow the last years of world history and the career of the Antichrist.
But here more mystery is unveiled, and two unexpected figures appear. These are two witnesses, who are given supernatural powers reminiscent of Moses and Elijah. Interestingly, Jewish tradition foretold a return of Moses and Elijah at the time of the end.
Perhaps the most significant aspect of the vision of the two witnesses for us, however, is a reminder. Even in the most desperate of times, God’s people are to take a stand against sin. And if such a stand provokes hostility, so be it.

“The beast that comes up from the Abyss” Rev. 11:7–14. John sees the two witnesses killed by an individual commonly identified as the Antichrist. But after three and a half days their exposed bodies return to life, and are visibly taken up into heaven, to the consternation of their enemies.
One phrase here says that people from “every people, tribe, language and nation” will gaze on the dead bodies of the two witnesses. It’s likely that this phrase is a symbolic expression meaning little more than “all mankind.” Still, it is fascinating to speculate. Ours is the only generation in history where events in any part of the world can be witnessed everywhere, as they take place. TV cameras, linked to satellites, simultaneously transmit pictures worldwide. How easy it would be today for people from every nation to see the dramatic events John portrays. Or to see them tomorrow!

DEVOTIONAL
Begun to Reign
(Rev. 11:15–19)
A woman began the grand tradition. It was the first time she had heard Handel’s Messiah. It happened when the great piece reached its triumphant culmination, and the choir sang out, “And He shall reign, for ever and ever!” Victoria, the Queen of England, deeply moved, stood in honor of her great King, Jesus, Ruler of the universe itself.
And ever since, as the “Hallelujah Chorus” is played, audiences have stood in awed respect.
Here in Revelation 11, we see the source of that great piece of music. As the seventh trumpet sounds, and judgments continue to dash themselves against an unrepentant earth, the choir of heaven shouts:

  The kingdom of this world
    has become the kingdom
    of our Lord and of His Christ,
    and He will reign forever and ever.

When the choir shouts out its joy, Christ does not yet stand on a subdued earth. Evil is not yet purged. The Antichrist continues to exalt himself, and Satan struggles mightily. Mankind spits out its hostility against God, and displays that hatred by killing God’s servants. Yet in heaven, the hymns of praise reach a loud crescendo. All heaven knows that “You have taken up Your great power and have begun to reign.”
We live in a day when God has set aside the open exercise of His mighty power. He works now through providence, so subtly that the lost laugh at the notion of divine sovereignty, and pass all things off as chance or happenstance. One day God will openly take up His mighty power, and then His rule will be unmistakable. And that day is coming, soon.
Until then, we must remember that when things look darkest on the earth, the songs of heaven are the most triumphant. You and I, limited to our physical eyes, may not see what is so clear in heaven. But we can still rise up, and shout it out with the angels.
God reigns!

Personal Application
Show reverence for God’s name by trusting in His sovereignty.

Quotable
“Brethren, be great believers. Little faith will bring your souls to heaven, but great faith will bring heaven to your souls.”—Charles Spurgeon

TRUMPET CALL
Revelation 8–9

“Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded” (Rev. 8:13).

The certainty of judgment brings home the full meaning of Christmas.

Overview
The opening of the seventh seal reveals seven trumpets, representing even more severe judgments that are released on the earth (8:1–9:19). But even these crushing blows fail to bring mankind’s survivors to repentance (vv. 20–21).

Understanding the Text
“He opened the seventh seal” Rev. 8:1–2. My wife has a set of nesting canisters. Each one, a bit smaller than the other, fits neatly inside its larger companion. The judgments of Revelation are something like this. The seventh seal is opened, to reveal seven trumpets. When the seventh trumpet finally sounds, watching eyes will discover within seven bowls filled with God’s wrath. As we read Revelation, it seems that the judgments never stop, but roll on and on in an unending series of terrifying events.
As we look at each one, it seems these chapters are hardly suited for Christmas reading. Where is the Babe of Bethlehem in these awful descriptions of blazing mountains, a smoking abyss, and demonic tormentors of mankind? But He is here.
He is here, for in the description of the judgments that mark history’s anguished end, we sense the reason for the Incarnation. Jesus was born, lived, died, and rose again, that you and I might escape the punishments described here.
He was born that all who believe might pass from the darkness into the light, from death to life, from anguish into joy.

“With the prayers of all the saints” Rev. 8:3–5. This is a stunning image. Suddenly the censor that contains the prayers of the saints is taken from a golden altar, filled with burning coals, and hurled out on the earth below. That which held the praise, the thanksgiving, the joys of Jesus’ own, becomes a tool of judgment, convulsing earth itself.
How can this be? Perhaps because God’s judgment is the vindication of His saints. His punishments are meted out on those who have persecuted and murdered godly men and women. But there seems to be even more than this. The prayers of those who have come to know the Lamb express a holiness to which all men are called, but many refuse. In the very contrast between the righteous and the evil, the worshiper and the rebel, the doom of the lost is sealed.
Why don’t all see the real meaning of Christmas? Why don’t all look beyond the wrapped packages, the laden tables, the holiday songs and the repeated portrayals of the Grinch who almost stole Christmas, or the Miracle on 34th Street? Why don’t all see Christ, born to die, an Infant destined to be offered up for us all?
Why do not men realize that, if they will not have the Christ Child now, they will most certainly receive judgment from His mighty hand?

“Hail and fire mixed with blood” Rev. 8:6–12. The limitations of language make it impossible for us to know just what John describes. The images of the blazing mountain and the fiery star hurtling on earth are terrifying enough. The darkening of familiar heavenly bodies is even worse. Whatever these images used by John may really be, their effect is clear enough. A third of earth’s vegetation, seas, and waters are destroyed, and millions die.
What a contrast, this, with brightly lit houses with sparkling trees set prominently in front of living room windows. What a reminder that the choice God sets before is one of joy, or endless loss.

“The key to the shaft of the Abyss” Rev. 8:13–9:12. The former judgments might be classified as natural catastrophes. Despite their impact on the earth, materials from the physical universe were used to achieve them.
Now, however, hordes of hostile spiritual beings are unleashed. Demons, in the form of something like locusts, torment the remaining inhabitants of earth.
Even today there are those who choose to worship Satan, expecting some protection or gain. How foolish such people now are seen to be. Satan and his hordes have always hated humankind. Given the opportunity, the released demons cause such agony that men crave death. And death is denied.
Today there is a choice all men may make. And each Christmastime everyone, everywhere, is reminded of a Child who became a Man—and waits to welcome them home to heaven.

“The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million” Rev. 9:12–21. Yet another supernatural horde is unleashed against mankind. And this swarm kills. There is no skepticism now. The supernatural is known by all to be real.
Many today scoff or shrug at the supernatural, and believe, with the ancients, that the material universe is all that exists. Many demand proof or they will not believe. But if they had the proof, would they believe then?
Verses 20 and 21 tell us. Despite the evident nature of the judgment, the rest of mankind “did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold. . . . Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.”
It is not proof mankind needs.
It is to heed the Word of God, and let God work a change within their hearts.

DEVOTIONAL
“Give Me Love”
(Rev. 9:12–21)
Every now and then Sarah crawls up in her mother’s lap and says, “Give me love.” They hug and pat each other, coo and smile, and feel especially close. Mom and daughter.
Christmas is just such a time for us. “Give me love,” is Jesus’ way. We gather around Him, eager to hug and be hugged. Eager to be reminded of His love, and eager to affirm ours as well.
There’s something about love that draws us. And there’s something about punishment that repels.
We see that in our home too. Even when punishment is well deserved, and Sarah knows it, the lower lip sullenly protrudes. She looks accusingly out of angry eyes, and sometimes even shouts out her feelings that it’s all unfair.
This is a contrast we need to see this Christmastime, as we read of God’s terrible judgments on a sinful human race—and feel shocked that Revelation reports, they “still did not repent.” They did not change their minds or change their ways.
That’s why Christmas is such an appropriate expression of our faith. It’s God reminding us that He has heard our cry of “give me love.” And He has given love in the Christ Child whose birth we celebrate.
As long as the world has Christmas, God reaches out to give us love, and the door of salvation is open wide. Oh, let us speak to others of this love, before the judgment comes, and hardened hearts are frozen in a rebellion that will lock them away from love for all eternity.

Personal Application
Share the love of God with others this Christmastime.

Quotable
“The innkeeper who gave Mary and Joseph a Christmas Eve cave should be a holiday model for Christians as they celebrate the birth of the Messiah. That’s because that Middle Eastern Howard Johnson had the simple consideration to think beyond the ’no’ that could have easily been his complete conversation with the visiting strangers who came to his door.
“In contrast, many Christians who honor the child born that night say no all the time to strangers during the very time of year when they should be opening their doors to the lonely, forgotten, and alienated.”—James Greig

WASHED IN THE BLOOD
Revelation 6–7

“They are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst” (Rev. 7:15–16).

Beyond the judgment lies blessing for God’s own.

Background
Apocalyptic language. In these and future chapters we find language that may puzzle us. Take, for instance, Revelation 6:12–14. There John speaks of the sun turning black like sackcloth. He mentions a blood red moon; stars falling to earth from the sky. He sees the sky itself recede “like a scroll, rolling up.” Mountains and islands are “removed from [their] place.”
Many reading these descriptions have struggled to understand them in modern terms. The black sky and red moon might be explained by massive dust clouds filling the air. Perhaps this suggests atomic warfare, with mushroom clouds hurling ton upon ton of dirt and dust into the air. Are the falling stars meteorites? Or are they laser beams shot from satellites? What exactly does John see?
The difficulty with such visions lies in a simple feature of language. The words available for use are limited to concepts existing in the writer’s time. If you lived in the United States just 300 hundred years ago, and suddenly were given a vision of giant planes landing and taking off from Chicago’s O’Hare field, and saw expressways filled with speeding cars, how could you begin to describe what you saw? You have no terms for planes, cars, airports, superhighways. These would all be so strange you would have no way to talk about them—except to speak perhaps of giant shining birds that roar, of horseless carts that hurtle toward each other with astounding speed. And even then, your listeners would be unable to grasp what it really was that you saw.
It’s the same with much of the language of Revelation. John saw something. He used the words available in his culture to describe them. But those words are inadequate. If John had seen an atomic explosion, he would not know what it was, much less be able to tell others about it. Perhaps all he could say would be, “the sky receded like a scroll.”
Given then the limitations of language, we shouldn’t expect to explain every scene described in Revelation. Yet even when we can’t grasp the “how” or “why,” what is happening is still relatively clear. The awesome and terrible nature of the events we are about to witness is unmistakable. And, when they do occur, we’ll say, “Of course! I see now what John was talking about.”
And, if we know Jesus, we will survive judgment’s final, awesome storm.

Overview
The Lamb begins to open the seals, and awesome judgments are poured out on the earth (6:1–8). Slain saints cry out for Christ to judge (vv. 9–11), as further devastation strikes earth’s terrified population (vv. 12–17). A sudden halt is called to the judgment as 144,000 Jewish witnesses are sealed (7:1–8). In heaven the saved and angelic hosts praise God, who deals mercifully with those who have suffered for His name (vv. 9–17).

Understanding the Text
“The Lamb opened the first of the seven seals” Rev. 6:1–8. The first four seals that are opened by the Lamb unleash on earth what are known as the “four horsemen of the apocalypse.” These four are conquest (v. 2), warfare (vv. 3–4), famine—represented by the inflated price of grain—(vv. 5–6), and death-dealing plague (vv. 7–8).
None of these scourges are unknown in any generation. The thing that makes the judgments of the seals so terrible is that they strike the whole world, killing a fourth of earth’s population. Always before wars, famine, and plague have been localized. It was terrible in Europe during the era of the Black Plague. It was terrible in Poland when the panzers rolled in, and the SS rounded up and killed that land’s elite as well as its Jewish population. But what John pictures is worldwide terror. Always before there was someplace to flee; someplace safe. But as God’s final judgments begin, all hope is stripped away.
It’s difficult, gathered at church for a candlelight celebration of the birth of Jesus, to imagine the future John portrays. Gathered together to celebrate, we feel safe, secure. And we are! For in the Babe of Bethlehem, God has provided a hiding place. We find our peace in Christ. Yet a most terrible fate awaits the world outside of Him.

“The souls of those who had been slain” Rev. 6:9–11. In this world we are subject to persecution. Over the centuries many believers have given their lives for the cause of Christ. Every indication is that as history draws to a close, and God’s judgments are poured out on a terrified earth, intense persecution will resume.
Now John is shown the souls of many slain “because of the Word of God,” and he hears them cry out for vengeance. These slain saints are told to wait, for others will be added to their number. But it is totally clear that God will not hold back judgment for long.
As we hear the victims cry, let’s remember that it is right for God, who is “holy and true,” to judge the inhabitants of earth and to avenge His murdered own. The offer of salvation has been extended to all for many thousands of years. Each Christmas, despite tinsel and commercialism, the world is reminded that God has come in the flesh to bring salvation. Those who reject the gift of God, who continue willfully in sin, and who then persecute God’s people, deserve to be—and must be—judged by God.
Christ’s birthday is a promise, and a threat. To those who believe, the birth promises salvation. To those who will not believe, it is a dreadful reminder that God can and will act in our world of space and time. But when He comes again, it will be to judge.

“Fall on us and hide us” Rev. 6:12–17. As the next onslaught of judgments crash on the earth, it becomes clear to all that “the great day of [God’s] wrath has come.” Those who have refused to take God seriously, and scoffed at the promise of salvation, are now certain that God is, and that the dreadful day of His judgment has come.
What strikes us is their reaction. There is no suggestion of repentance. All men seem able to do is try, futilely, to hide.
If we will not respond to grace, we will surely not respond to punishment. If God’s love has not drawn us to Him, His anger most certainly will not either.

“Holding back the four winds of the earth” Rev. 7:1–8. There is an unexpected interlude, like the eye of judgment’s awesome hurricane. The pause comes that God might place a protective seal on 144,000 individuals, 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel.
Many see in this listing of Israel’s tribes a rejoining of the stream that separated over Jesus. In the first century the faith of some of the Jewish people flowed to the right. They accepted Jesus as the Messiah and Saviour predicted in the Old Testament, and became the first members of the Christian church. The faith of others flowed left, turning away from our Lord and holding fast to the old traditions as if He had never come. Yet Paul in Romans 11 looks foward to a day when the streams will meet again, and all Israel recognizes Christ as the Messiah for which the Jewish people continue to yearn. As the Prophet Zechariah says, “They will look on . . . the One they have pierced, and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn child” (Zech. 12:10).
If this passage is linked with the restoration of Israel, it describes 144,000 newly converted missionaries, who amid the terrible Tribulation that marks the end of history, witness joyfully to one who is Messiah, Saviour, and Judge.

“From every nation, tribe, people and language” Rev. 7:9–17. Now John’s eye is drawn back to heaven, and he sees the innumerable company of the saved. Drawn from every people and tribe, dressed in the white robes of salvation, they join in offering praise and glory to God.
Some have drawn from this verse the notion that before Christ can return, every people must hear the Gospel. How else, they ask, can there be those from every nation, tribe, people, and language in heaven?
A better answer displays even more fully the love and grace of God. Uncounted millions of babes, some unborn, some barely entering childhood, have died since time began. All these, gone before old enough to make any personal response to God, will join us before the throne of God. No tribe, no nation, no people of history, will be unrepresented. God’s salvation has already overflowed, to encompass all. Christ can come at any moment. Every precondition has already been fulfilled.
How good to know, as we celebrate the meaning of Christ’s birth, that the overflow of God’s love has surged around us. How good to know that we are guaranteed a place with the multitude that will praise Him in that day.

DEVOTIONAL
Were You There?
(Rev. 7:9–17)
The angels and elders fall down and worship God. The joy they feel is shared and expressed by all of heaven’s multitude.

  Amen!
  Praise and glory
  and wisdom and thanks and honor
  and power and strength
  be to our God forever and ever.
  Amen!

The words of praise echo throughout the unseen universe, as all join in.
But then a new song is begun. The angels fall silent. They can speak the words, but never sing them. They can observe, but never join in this chorus. For this is the song of salvation. To join in one must be a man. One must have known the anguish of sin, the painful grip of evil. To sing this song, one must know what it means to have been soiled—and then cleansed. To have fallen to the depths—and then been lifted up.
The song of salvation found in verses 15–17 is only for those who “have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (v. 14).
And so there is another song we need to sing at Christmastime. Not “Joy to the World,” not “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” but “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?”
Were you there?
Not as an observer, but as a participant. Not as a scoffer, but as one who was so perfectly united with our Lord through faith that His death was yours, His blood payment for your sins, His suffering your passport to eternal joy?
If you were there, at Calvary, you can be sure. One day you will stand with the white-robed throng before God’s throne, and know the joy of the redeemed.
Never again to hunger.
Never again to thirst.
Never again to weep a tear.
For then the Lamb, at the center of God’s throne, will be your Shepherd and your joy.

Personal Application
The Christ of Christmas, the Christ of Calvary, and the Christ of Glory, are one. And all are yours.

Quotable
Praise God for Christmas.
Praise Him for the Incarnation
for the Word made flesh.
I will not sing
of shepherds watching flocks
on frosty night
or angel choristers.
I will not sing of stable bare in Bethlehem
or lowing oxen
wise men
trailing distant star
with gold and frankincense and myrrh.
Tonight I will sing
praise to the Father
who stood on heaven’s threshold
and said farewell to His Son
as He stepped across the stars
to Bethlehem
and Jerusalem.
And I will sing praise to the infinite eternal Son
who became most fine
a Baby
who would one day be executed
for my crimes.
Praise Him in the heavens.
Praise Him in the stable.
Praise Him in my heart.
-Joseph Bayly

PRAISE IN HEAVEN
Revelation 4–5

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise” (Rev. 5:12).

All in heaven praise Jesus. Praise Him here on earth!

Background
The Jews were scandalized that Jesus should be identified as equal with God (cf. John 8:48–58). The sophisticated first-century pagan believed in one “great God,” with many subordinate deities. Jesus might possibly be granted the status of a hero or subordinate deity. But it was shocking to the pagan that Christians would claim that this crucified Galilean was in fact the great God come in the flesh.
Against this background of hostility and resentment, John’s vision of the scene now unfolding in heaven is especially powerful. John was granted a vision of the great God Almighty, identified as the Creator. And then, standing on the very throne of the High God, John saw Jesus! And the inhabitants of heaven fell down and worshiped Jesus, granting Him the same praise and honor offered to God Himself.
Whatever else Revelation may teach us this Christmas season, it begins with the exaltation of Jesus. The Babe of Bethlehem, despite the skeptics’ sneers, is the eternal God come in the flesh. All heaven joins us today in worshiping Him. And, when history draws to a close, and John’s vision of the future is fulfilled, the universe will join in honoring Jesus Christ as Lord.

Overview
John was raised to heaven, and saw God on His throne, surrounded and praised by living creatures (4:1–11). A call went out for one worthy to open a sealed scroll (5:1–4). Jesus was then introduced as a Lamb slain (vv. 5–6), standing on the very throne of God and receiving worship as God (vv. 7–14).

Understanding the Text
“I will show you what must take place after this” Rev. 4:1. Some understand Revelation as a symbolic statement of God’s sovereignty. Others see it as apocalyptic, meaning that it is a powerful but again symbolic description of the writer’s impressions of events to take place at the end of time. The angel who called John up to heaven seemed to identify the rest of this powerful book as prophecy.
From this verse on John will watch future history unfold, not from man’s viewpoint on earth, but from the viewpoint of a an observer in heaven.
What a privilege this is. And what a reminder for us. You and I are limited to physical eyes that see only what is taking place in the material universe. John’s vision reminds us that all around us God and His angels are active, struggling with Satan’s hosts in an invisible war. You and I are part of this warfare. Though we cannot now understand how the part we play contributes to final victory, through John we know that God will surely triumph in the end.

“A throne in heaven” Rev. 4:2–9. The vision of the throne, of the Person seated on it, and of the “living creatures” who constantly cry, “Holy, holy holy,” recalls the vision of God granted to both Isaiah (Isa. 6) and to Ezekiel (Ezek. 1; 10).
This identification of the God John worshiped with the God of the Old Testament is vitally important. One of the early criticisms of Christianity was that while the church claimed to be a development from and a fulfillment of Judaism, Christians departed from worship of the Old Testament’s God to worship a mere man. But the vision that John had of God in heaven is unmistakably that of the very God who revealed Himself in similar visions to Isaiah and to Ezekiel!
Here, in the last book of the New Testament, we have final reassurance that the God we know in Jesus is the one God who has revealed Himself in sacred history. Our faith is secure, rooted in a revelation that spans the millennia, a fulfillment of promises made to Abraham over 4,000 years ago.

“Twenty-four elders” Rev. 4:4. Those who study Revelation look for meaning in every detail. Thus the faces on the “living creatures,” which we know from Ezekiel and Isaiah as a special order of angels called cherubim, are taken to represent the highest representative of each order of warm-blooded animal creation: the lion for predators, the ox for domesticated animals, the eagle for birds of the air, and above all, man.
What might the meaning of the 24 elders be? Most take them to represent the 12 tribes of Israel, and the 12 Apostles introduced by Christ. Thus the elders, like the vision of God Himself, tie together Old Testament and New, reaffirming the unity of God’s plan, and the glorious truth that saints of every age have been saved by faith, through the salvation won for us all by Jesus Christ.

“You are worthy, our Lord and God” Rev. 4:9–11. The figure on the throne, “our Lord and God,” receives perpetual praise from the living creatures and the elders. Inhabitants of both the spiritual and material universe unite to praise His name.
This first paean of praise focuses on God’s worth as Creator. He created “all things.” Again we see a sharp departure from first-century culture, where God was viewed as a craftsman who shaped pre-existing matter into its present shape. The God of the Bible, however, created all things. All things material, all things spiritual, owe their existence to Him.
We too owe our existence to Him. As our very being is a gift from God, how fitting it is to join the heavenly throng, and offer Him our own perpetual praise:

  You are worthy, our Lord and God,
    to receive glory and honor and power,
  for You created all things,
    and by Your will they were created
    and have their being.

“A scroll with writing on it” Rev. 5:1–5. John’s attention was drawn to a sealed scroll held in the hand of God, and he heard an angel calling for someone “worthy to break the seals and open the scroll.” While the nature of the scroll was then a mystery to John, he was overwhelmed with a sense of urgency. When no one was found “in heaven or on earth or under the earth” who was worthy to break the seals, John was overcome and weeped uncontrollably.
Later we learn the significance of the scroll. It is the book of history’s end, and contains all the judgments that God must pour out on the earth to satisfy justice, and to bring in everlasting righteousness. Now we can understand John’s emotional outburst. He wept for all who experience injustice now. He wept for all who endure suffering and pain. He wept for all who are in anguish because of the sin that warps and twists every human society, crushing the hopes and the spirit of the individual. John wept, and his tears expressed all our yearnings for a world purified and purged of sin; a world made forever new.
We can search all of heaven and earth, we can search time past and time to come, and none worthy to bring history to God’s intended end can be found. None—but One. The Jesus of history. Born a Babe. Born to die. But born to be raised up, and to come again.

“I saw a Lamb” Rev. 5:5–14. The stunning aspect of John’s description is found in these words: “standing in the center of the throne.” John had seen God seated on heaven’s throne, and suddenly, there on the throne beside God, Jesus stood.
He took the scroll, and as He held it the living creatures and the elders fell down and worshiped Him.
What clearer affirmation could there be that Jesus and God the Father are One God? Distinct Persons, yes. But One in essential being, both equally worthy of our worship and our praise.
And suddenly heaven is filled with praises. Praises for the Lamb. Praises for One born in order to die, to purchase with His own blood “men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.”
You.
And me.
Men and women for God, to be a kingdom and priests, to serve our God and reign in Jesus Christ, forever and forever and ever. Amen.
No wonder we join this wonderous season with the crowds of heaven, and in a loud voice sing,

  Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
  to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
  and honor and glory and praise!

DEVOTIONAL
Praise to the Lord
(Rev. 5:6–14)
In theA.D 406 a 16-year-old English boy named Patrick was captured by Irish pirates and sold as a slave in Ireland. Later he escaped, trained for the priesthood, and returned to Ireland as a missionary, where he played a central role in converting the Irish to Christianity. This prayer, developed from Patrick’s original version, helps us sense what it can mean for us to be ever aware of Jesus, triumphant with the Father on heaven’s throne.

  I bind unto myself today
  The power of God to hold and lead,
  His eye to watch, His might to stay,
  His ear to harken to my need.
  The wisdom of my God to teach,
  His hand to guide, His shield to ward;
  The word of God to give me speech,
  His heavenly host to be my guard.

  Christ be with me, Christ within me,
  Christ behind me, Christ before me,
  Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
  Christ to comfort and restore me,
  Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
  Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
  Christ in mouth of friend or stranger.

  I bind unto myself the name,
  The strong name of the Trinity;
  By invocation of the same,
  The Three in One, the One in Three,
  Of whom all nature hath creation;
  Eternal Father, Spirit, Word,
  Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
  Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

Personal Application
Take the enthroned Christ with you, within you.

Quotable
“He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.”—Roy L. Smith