Jesus returns as King to deal with evil and vindicate his followers. Beast and devil are eternally quarantined.

Babylon’s power is idolatrous and must be resisted

Some people would rather have freedom from God than anything else. God’s wrath is to allow it.

Christ will return to judge the living and the dead.

That cosmic battle manifests itself in military and economic power. Babylon is the beast that shows up in every history. All secular powers eventually become Babylon. Twist: 666 is not a stamp but an allegiance to the power of Babylon. The church resists!

Every injustice and evil act you see here has roots in Satan. We are all called to sacrifice and triumph over evil in the eternal power of Jesus’ death.

John recalls the Exodus plagues and the unrepentance of Egypt as a normative pattern in history, and the church as a prophetic voice with an unassailable (yet unexpected) method of victory.

History seems to get worse as the myth of human progress fails to live up to its name. But God is faithful to preserve a remnant of His people who will remain steadfast.

Ch 4 introduces God who is a big deal (v.3-11) with something to say (v.1).Ch 5: the message is in a scroll that no one can open (v.1-4) except Jesus (v.5) Twist: we see the first glimpse of what victory looks like: sacrificial love (6, 9)

Jesus speaks through John for the Church in every era living under the shadow of Babylon: Jesus is coming!