This week we look at the short but challenging chapter fifteen of Revelation, in the light of Exodus 40:35; 2 Ch/Kingdoms 7:2-3; Isaiah 6:4; and Ezekiel 1:22;10:4; 44:4. We consider how judgment is an essential characteristic of the holy God, not at odds with divine love, and meditate upon the difficult phrase “the wrath of God.”

This week we study a passage of the Apocalypse that focusses upon judgment, and uses startling imagery. We are helped by ancient commentators, as well as by contextualizing Revelation 14:14-20 within the teaching of Jesus himself, as well as in Old Testament passages such as Psalm 1, Joel 3:11-18, and Isaiah 63:1-6. Judgment, though difficult, is a necessary complement to redemption.

We read of the joy, warnings, and blessings of God in Rev 14:1-13, helped in our interpretation by St. Andrew of Caesarea, St. Bede, and St. Augustine, as well as three passages from the OT— 2 Kings 6, 2 Sam 11:6-13, Genesis 2:1-3. Because of its imagery, the worship in heaven may seem exclusive; however, all who follow the Lamb are invited to join in the “new song.”

We read of the joy, warnings, and blessings of God in Rev 14:1-13, helped in our interpretation by St. Andrew of Caesarea, St. Bede, and St. Augustine, as well as three passages from the OT— 2 Kings 6, 2 Sam 11:6-13, Genesis 2:1-3. Because of its imagery, the worship in heaven may seem exclusive; however, all who follow the Lamb are invited to join in the “new song.”

We read Revelation 13:11-18 in light of current interpretation (even among Orthodox readers), the fathers, and LXX Daniel “Bel and the Dragon,” 12b: 1-42. This chapter is not significant for identifying in our day the figure numbered 666 nor the mark of the beast. Instead, it prepares us for faithfulness, the possibility of exclusion or even martyrdom, and sober worship of the God of all.

This week we consider Revelation 13:1-10 in the light of Dan 7:1-8, 11-12, 1 Peter 1:18-20, and Isaiah 14:4-15, soberly observing the vast impact of the Evil One and his human deputies, but also recalling the eternal power of the Lamb who was slain, and the given assurances everywhere that there is no God as great as our God, who does wonders.

This week we consider Revelation 13:1-10 in the light of Dan 7:1-8, 11-12, 1 Peter 1:18-20, and Isaiah 14:4-15, soberly observing the vast impact of the Evil One and his human deputies, but also recalling the eternal power of the Lamb who was slain, and the given assurances everywhere that there is no God as great as our God, who does wonders.

We read the Revelation 12:13-17 in the light of Deuteronomy 32:10-18 and Psalm LXX 54:7-8 (MT 55:6-7). Here we learn how God uses the “desert” to nourish and perfect His people. We also see our paradoxical position, both joyfully safe with Christ and the Theotokos, but also exposed to the ongoing campaign of the adversary, who seeks to destroy, dissuading us from following the way of the Lamb.

We come to the very center of the Apocalypse in Revelation 12:7-12, where we hear that Christ’s victory is not simply a future hope, but assured by His blood, and the word of the martyrs. We are helped in our understanding the suffering now has deep meaning, by heeding this vision and declaration in the light of Wisdom 2:24, Job 1, and Luke 10:18-22.

This week, we read Revelation 12:1-6, mindful of the its connection with the previous chapter, and with an eye to its inner mystery concerning the Theotokos, our identity, and the victory of Christ. We are helped by attention to Deuteronomy 1:29-33; Psalm 2:7-9, and Daniel 7, along with the various comments of ancient theologians.