Revelation Week 4

Revelation Week 4

• 1.
  Survey of RevelationPart IV (6:1 – 8:5) December 23, 2007
• 2.
  Revelation in Art
• 3.
  Revelation in Architecture
• 4.
  Assumptions about RevelationThe Seven Churches in Revelation 1 understood John’s message We must interpret the book within the context of Scripture Symbols in Revelation are to be interpreted by reference to Scripture The WCF limits our understanding of eschatology God has related to us by the covenants that He established with the saints in the Bible
• 5.
  Goals for studyingRevelation Gain an understanding of the overall structure of Revelation Understand the purpose of Revelation within the canon Learn to work with the the symbols of the book Become comfortable with the Book of Revelation as devotional literature Gain a basic understanding of the different eschatological schools of thought
• 6.
   
• 7.
  Review – Structureof the Book Vision 1 The Church in Asia Minor (ch. 1-3) Vision 2 Seven Seals (ch. 4-7 ) Vision 3 Seven Trumpets (ch. 8-11) Vision 4 The Battle against Satan (ch. 12-14) Vision 5 Seven Bowls (ch. 15-16) Vision 6 The Downfall of Babylon (ch. 17-19) Vision 7 The New Heavens and New Earth (20-22)
• 8.
  Review – Lesson3 In Rev. 4-5 we saw God’s Throne Room We get a glimpse into Heaven 24 elders surround Him – Represent the 12 tribes of Israel and 12 Apostles Four creatures also surround Him (ox, man, eagle, lion) – represent God’s creation All of the elders give their crowns to God In Chapter 5 we are shown a scroll and seal which bind the scroll
• 9.
  Review – Lesson3 (Cont.) We are then introduced to the Lion of the Tribe of Judah The elders give the Lamb worship indicating that He is God The golden bowls of incense represent the prayers of the saints We then see the whole host of Heaven joins in the worship of the Lamb
• 10.
  Rev. 6: TheFirst Six Seals In Rev. 4-5 we have seen the throne room of God, and gotten a taste for God’s majesty and holiness Now the scene changes to the world where we see executing judgment on the world The four horsemen represent conquest, war, famine, and death What can we say about the significance of four horses?
• 11.
  The Four Horsesof 6:1-8 White horse (6:1-2): Sent out to conquer those who oppose the Lamb Red horse (6:3-4) The color probably represents God’s fire and the blood those on whom judgment fell Black horse (6:5-6): This judgment shows the scarcity on the earth but a situation that is not permanent Pale horse (6:7-8): Maybe represents fear as one-fourth of the people on the earth are slaughtered
• 12.
  The Martyr’s Cryin 6:9-11 The righteous ones who followed the Lamb ask for judgment They are given white robes showing that they are pure and have conquered as faithful servants They are told they must wait We are reminded of the many times that David cries out for judgment against the wicked and God comforts Him reminding David that He is in control Ps. 13:1,2; 35:17; 74:10
• 13.
  The Great Judgmentof 6:12-17 The judgments are visited on all of the created order (earth, sun, moon, stars, sky, land, man) The creation responding to God’s wrath is a theme in the OT (Ex. 19:18, Is. 29:6) The judgment is complete in v.15 since every class of man is mentioned All men realize that they have sinned against God and just like Adam and Eve they flee and try to hide from God
• 14.
  God Protects Israel:7:1-8 Before the judgments of the previous passage are visited on the world God seals and protects His church 144,000 (12 X 12,000) are sealed All believers are sealed, not just Jewish ones List is interesting since Dan is excluded and Manasseh is included
• 15.
  The Great Multitude(7:9-17) This multitude came from every “nation, tribe, people, and language” fulfilling the prophesy to Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him (Gen 12:3) The 144,000 are the remnant of Israel but the bringing of the Gentiles into the Church was always in Gods plan (Gal. 3:26-29) The people are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation (v.14) which can comfort Christians of all ages The picture here anticipates the final reward given to God’s people but there is still much more of the story left to tell We have a model here for what our worship ought to look like
• 16.
  The Seventh Seal(8:1-5) We expect the opening of the seventh seal to be dramatic but instead there is silence Perhaps this emphasizes the kind of silence that often occurs when people are in God’s presence (Hab. 2:20, Zeph 1:7) It is the prayers of the saints symbolized in the incense that breaks the silence and begins again the cycle of judgments on the enemies of the Lamb God pours out judgment in response to the worship of His people before His throne
• 17.
  Summary – WhatWe Know So Far Revelation written to the churches of Asia which are representative of God’s people throughout the world Christ judges these churches praising them for faithfulness and reprimanding them for disobedience In Rev. 4,5 we are given a glimpse into the throne room of God where the Lamb is given the power to proclaim judgment and God’s people praise Him for His great works All in Heaven: 24 elders All on Earth: 4 creatures
• 18.
  Summary (Cont.) InRev. 6 the Lamb visits the earth with judgment The martyrs cry out for justice In Rev. 7 God’s people are “sealed” and protected against the judgment which is being visited on the earth The righteous again praise the Lamb for his salvation In Rev. 8 the final seal is broken and God’s people stand in silence This sets the stage for the next round of judgments on the earth