Now is the time series
Preached at Churchill Baptist Church
(23/08/2023 → 16/06/2024)
The Book of Revelation was written by the Apostle John in circa AD 96 and was the last book written as part of the NT. The seven first century churches are located in modern day Türkiye and so they were seven actual churches. But they also represent a prophetic look at the seven kinds of churches in existence in the end times. Revelation can be split up into three sections according to Rev. 1:19. It is both a history book and a prophetic futuristic book with ties to many books of the OT including Ezekiel, Daniel, Joel, Zephaniah and Zechariah to name but a few.
The book has a heptatic structure (meaning seven). The three sets of seven judgments that John has a vision of do not occur sequentially except within their own series. The scroll (seven seal judgments) covers the entire eschatological scenario from Rev. 6:1 to Rev. 22:9 with the trumpet judgments happening in the same timeframe. The seven bowls of wrath judgments however occur just before the Day of the Lord. The number seven occurs 54 times in the book and it refers to completeness or totality.
The prophecies in the book are sometimes hard to understand and often have speculative and varied interpretations none greater than those who try to calculate a known historical figure with the number 666. Speculation has ranged from Antiochus Epiphanes in the second century BC to Nero in the first century, Teitan (from Irenaeus) and Adolf Hitler. You will find my conclusions in the various footnotes of my EDV New Testament translation and also in sermon #29 below.
There are many views in how to interpret eschatology, the main ones being pre-millennial, amillennial, and post-millennial. Personally I take a pre-millennial, post-tribulational view of the end times which you will find supported in many of my comments. The prophecies in this book are yet to be fulfilled and Jesus is returning for a second time at the end of the 70th week to usher in His millennial reign—that is good news indeed!
Attached Files
| File | Action |
|---|---|
| Seven churches of Revelation table | ViewDownload |
| 1. Rev. 1 "Apocalypse blessing" | Download |
| 2. Rev. 2:1-7 "Letter to Ephesus" | Download |
| 3. Rev. 2:8-11 "Letter to Smyrna" | Download |
| 4. Rev. 2:12-17 "Letter to Pergamum" | Download |
| 5. Rev. 2:18-29 "Letter to Thyatira" | Download |
| 6. Rev. 3:1-6 "Letter to Sardis" | Download |
| 7. Rev. 3:7-13 "Letter to Philadelphia" | Download |
| 8. Rev. 3:14-22 "Letter to Laodicea" | Download |
| 9. Rev. 4 "The throne room - part 1" | Download |
| 10. Rev. 5 "The throne room - part 2" | Download |
| 11. Rev. 6:1-8 "The four horse seals" | Download |
| 12. Rev. 6:9-17 "The final three seals" | Download |
| 13. Rev. 7:1-8 "The 144,000 - part 1" | Download |
| 14. Rev. 7:9-17 "The tribulation saints" | Download |
| 15. Rev. 8:2-13 "The first four trumpets" | Download |
| 16. Rev. 9 "The fifth and sixth trumpets" | Download |
| 17. Rev. 10 "The angel and the little scroll" | Download |
| 18. Rev. 11:1-14 "The two witnesses" | Download |
| 19. Rev. 11:15-19 "The seventh trumpet" | Download |
| 20. Rev. 12 "The woman who flees" | Download |
| 21. Rev. 13:1-10 "The beasts - part 1" | Download |
| 22. Rev. 13:11-18 "The beasts - part 2" | Download |
| 23. Rev. 14:1-5 "The 144,000 - part 2" | Download |
| 24. Rev. 14:6-13 "The message of the five angels - part 1" | Download |
| 25. Rev. 14:14-20 "The message of the five angels - part 2" | Download |
| 26. Rev. 15:1-16:11 "The bowls of wrath - part 1" | Download |
| 27. Rev. 16:12-21 "The bowls of wrath - part 2" | Download |
| 28. Rev. 17:1-6,18 "The woman who rides the beast" | Download |
| 29. Rev. 17:6-18 "The astonishment of the ages" | Download |
| 30. Rev. 18 "The fall of Babylon the Great (New York)" | Download |
| 31. Rev. 19:1-10 "God's Hallelujah chorus" | Download |
| 32. Rev. 19:11-21 "Victory at Armageddon" | Download |
| 33. Rev. 20 "The 1000 years after" | Download |
| 34. Rev. 21 "New Jerusalem" | Download |
| 35. Rev. 22 "Jesus is coming quickly" | Download |
