This work is designed to be read daily by individuals. Discussion in a weekly small group setting will enhance its benefit greatly.

The content falls midway between an academic commentary and a purely devotional treatment. Those who desire a devotional approach to Revelation will find meaning in simply reading each day's material in turn.

Those who desire a bit more of a studious approach will find meaning in the explanations of John's images, his sources for those images, and his intended meaning of them. The cross references, appendices and index will add further understanding.

Whether individuals read these pages devotionally or studiously, a weekly small group discussion led by a competent discussion facilitator will add immeasurably to the Revelation experience.

For any day's text some sample discussion starters are:
in this text, what was John saying to his generation;
in this text, what is God saying to us;
in this text, what do the images represent;
what current real life situations does this text address;
how can this text encourage a struggling single parent;
how can this text encourage a terminally ill person; and
how does this text speak to other real life situations?

Someone presenting a sermon or a brief inspirational message may find excellent material in some of the appendices: Promises to the Faithful (page 204), Revelation's Beatitudes (207), Titles of Jesus (211), and Traits for Troubled Times (212).

Abbreviated Table of Contents

DAY               TEXT               TITLE               PAGE

Week 1

1     Introduction    2

2    1:1-3 The Revelation from Jesus Christ    4

1:4–3:22 LETTERS TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES

3     1:4-8 The Alpha and the Omega    6

4    1:9– 16 The Voice    8

5    1:17–20 The Living One    10

6    2:1– 7 The Letter to Ephesus    12

7    2:8– 11 The Letter to Smyrna    14

Week 2

8     8 2:12–17 The Letter to Pergamum    16

9     9 2:18–29 The Letter to Thyatira    18

10    10 3:1– 6 The Letter to Sardis    20

11    11 3:7–13 The Letter to Philadelphia    22

12    12 3:19–22 The Letter to Laodicea    24

4:1–5:14 INTRODUCING SEVEN VISIONS

13    13 4:1–3 A Door Standing Open in Heaven    26

14    14 4:4–6a The Twenty–Four Elders  ;   28

Week 3

15    15 4:6b–8 The Four Living Creatures    30

16     16 4:9–11 Worthy to Receive Glory    32

17     17 5:1–2– The Scroll in God's Right Hand    34

18    18 5:3–5 No One in Heaven or on Earth    36

19     19 5:6–10 The Lamb    38

20    20 5:11–14 Worthy is the Lamb    40

6:1–8:6 SEVEN SEAL VISIONS

21    21 6:1–2 The White Horse of Conquest    42

Week 4

22    22 5:3-4 The Red Horse of Strife    44

23    23 6:5–8 The Black Horse and the Pale Horse    46

24    24 6:9–11 How Long Before Judgement?    48

25    25 6:12–14 When Stars Fall    50

26    26 7:1–3 Four Angels at Earth's Four Corners    52

27    27 7:4–8 The Number of Those Sealed    54

8:7–11:19 SEVEN TRUMPET WOES

12:1–13:18 SEVEN VISIONS OF THE DRAGON'S KINGDOM

14:1–20 SEVEN VISIONS OF WORSHIPPERS

OF THE LAMB AND WORSHIPPERS OF THE BEAST

15:1–16:21 SEVEN VISIONS OF THE BOWLS OF GOD'S WRATH

17:1–19:10 SEVEN VISIONS OF THE FALL OF BABYLON (ROME)

19:11–21:8 SEVEN VISIONS OF THE END OF SATAN'S EVIL AGE

AND THE BEGINNING OF GOD'S RIGHTEOUS AGE

21:9–22:5 THE NEW JERUSALEM

22:6–21 EPILOGUE

Week 1, Day 1

Introduction

A Double Portion

6 Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Pour her a double portion from her own cup. 7 Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, I sit enthroned as queen. I am not a widow; I will never mourn. 8 Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.

Give back to her as she has given . . . from her own cup . . . she gave herself . . . her plagues will overtake her.    From WWII submarine records come accounts of torpedoes that missed their intended targets, ran in a wide arc which eventually reversed their courses, and returned to explode at the vessels that first launched them. From John's vision come similar accounts of the spiritual torpedo of evil. Those who launch it think to send it away from themselves to harm someone else , but it arcs back not only to haunt them, but to destroy them. This is the eternally predictable pattern of sin.

Satan is the one who deceives the whole world (Rev 12:9 NASB). His deceit most often is subtle. When he intends to infect us with some insidious spirit such as pride, he is too clever to simply suggest that we become proud. Appealing to our righteous indignation, he calls on us to correct some other proud person, to help them get rid of their pride. Then whether we succeed or fail to help the proud person, we ourselves become proud that we have taken a stand against pride. The torpedo has arced back, exploded, and has done its damage. This ironic spiritual pattern repeats over and over .

Pay her back double for what she has done. Pour her a double portion.     For those who won't practice New Testament grace and forgiveness, Old Testament law will apply: sin will be repaid double as required by the law (Exo 22:4, 7, 9). This law is not an eye for an eye; it's double paybac k.

Maybe we should call this The Law of the Pharisee. Jesus said all who draw the sword will die by the sword (Mat 26:52). There and elsewhere he seems clearly to have meant that when we judge others by legalistic standards then God will judge us not by grace and mercy but by the same legalistic standards we have employed. So, do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows (Gal 6:7). To phrase it politely, it is unwise to live by the Law of the Pharisee. Its aiming mechanism is undependable, like a torpedo that misses its target and destroys the one who aims and fires it.

In her heart she boasts.    Even if the boasting is only mental, inward, hidden from others, it's still boasting and it's still an arcing torpedo for which we will be paid back double. Greek drama often made use of what they called hubris: pride, arrogance, conceit, pomposity. Boasting contains within itself the seeds of its own payback.

Mighty is the Lord God who judges her.    We must be careful here. John is not giving us the task, or even the permission, to take vengeance on arrogant people. It is the Lord God who judges. John's purpose here is to assure us that God is paying attention and he will exact justice.

Paul's words are so awesomely relevant here: Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted (Gal 6:1). Our calling is to restore; God will take care of the judging.

Pride is a blinding fire. It takes away our spiritual eyesight. We must take every precaution that as firefighters we ourselves are not consumed by the very fire that we fight.

Thought for the Day

Her plagues will overtake her.

Week 11, Day 74     Revelation 19:6–8

The Hallelujah of the Redeemed

6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God's holy people.)

I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting.     John emphasizes the sound volume to stress the fact that there are going to be a lot of us there. Three of John's favorite images for impressive volume of sound are a large crowd of people shouting, the roar of flood waters, and the earth–shaking rumble of thunder. Volume gets attention; that's why the TV advertisements are louder than the programs.

Without a doubt many persecuted Christians had been tempted to think that God could not bless them, that they stood alone and without hope. Pain and heartbreak, and especially injustice, bring a tremendous temptation to think that all the world is going to hell except us. One defense mechanism that Satan always tries to sell to us is the childish rationale that everybody is against me because I'm right and they're all wrong. That is a sinful denial of reality.

John was sympathetic with his hurting readers but he wanted to galvanize their commitment so that one day they too would stand among that great multitude shouting their praises like the sound of thunder and flood waters.

our Lord God Almighty    This is about our God's omnipotence in those decades when all that is good and right seems lost. Recall a business, a family, or an athletic team at the height of their troubles. They are about to go under. Then a strong and creative personality steps up and saves the day.

There may never have been another time in history when the church was under attack equal to that in John's generation. In modern times perhaps an equal number of Christians suffer just as badly, but the percentages of those suffering today are much lower than in John's day. Today we number in the millions; in John's day, in the thousands. No other generation has been called on to suffer such all–inclusive persecution.

In that context the term Almighty conveys powerful meaning. It's nice and accurate to use that word about God anytime and anywhere. John's readers however, had a special need to hear that term, to be emboldened by it.

Almighty    We find this word ten times in the New Testament. Once it is an Old Testament quote (1Co 6:18). All the other nine times are in Revelation (1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7, 14; 19:6, 15; 21:22). This is a great Revelation message.

The wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.    The image varies from text to text, but the Bible frequently depicts God as the groom and his people as the bride. Sometimes the groom is Jesus, the Messiah, the Maker, the Lamb, or the bridegroom. The bride appears as the church, the faithful, Israel, or God's children. A wedding is a fitting image for the relationship between God and his people. There is love, intimacy, joy, and fidelity.

Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God's holy people.)    In the worst of times, in the filthiest immorality, John holds up the brightest and most morally faithful demands. The bride, the church, consists not of those who did the best they could under difficult circumstances; it consists of those who remained holy and performed righteous acts in the worst of circumstances.

Thought for the Day

Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!