REVERENT AND REBELLIOUS

After the last episode, where John witnessed the reapers reaping the earth in dramatic fashion, he hardly has a chance to catch his breath when he sees a terrifying sight! 7 angels - with 7 plagues appear! We get another throne room scene, but the glassy sea around the throne is mixed with fire! The saints are standing on the sea - holding harps of God. All heaven sings the song of Moses and of the Lamb. It's a majestic and foreboding scene! The temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven swings open - and the 7 angels emerge dressed in full priestly regalia. One of the 4 living creatures gives each angel a bowl filled with the wrath of God - and the temple is filled with smoke! It is the glory of God - and it's so thick no one can enter the temple! There is something brewing. It will be terrible, and it will be final! Jump in with us as we take a long look at this prelude to the Day of the Lord!

The scene opens on Mt. Zion - the Mountain of God - the holy headquarters! Everyone is gathered. God - the Lamb - the heavenly hosts - and the 144,000 - the people of God! They are battle-ready! They bear the mark of God; they have been purified - qualified - sanctified! Suddenly, a series of 3 angels. The 1st is flying in midheaven - proclaiming an eternal gospel. The 2nd declares, "Fallen - fallen is Babylon the great!" The 3rd shouts - anyone who worships the beast and his image - who bears the mark of the beast - will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger! There's fire - brimstone - smoke - torture! Then - one like a Son of Man - sitting on a white cloud with a sharp sickle in His hand! He swings the sickle and reaps the earth! Another angel appears with another sharp sickle! He swings it - and reaps the grapes from the vine of the earth - then throws them into the winepress! It is trodden - and a river of blood flows everywhere! What could all this possibly mean? Let's get into it!

What in the L is going on in REVELATION? Today, we take a pause from plowing through all the chapters of Revelation to ask a question. Why is there so much controversy over this book? Why all the arguing? Where do people get their ideas, concepts, and viewpoints about what the Book of Revelation is trying to tell us? Turns out - the primary points of contention are focused on the beast - the mark of the beast (666) - the tribulation - and you guessed it - the 1,000-year millennial reign introduced in Chapter 20. Will the return of Jesus happen before or after this 1,000-year utopia? Does it even exist? Who will we rule and reign over with Christ? Where does the 7-year tribulation fit in? We're going to break it all down for you. When we're done, you can decide for yourself if you are a pre-mil, post-mil, a-mil, or new creation-mil. Or maybe you're simply a pan-mil. You're just going to chill because everything will pan out in the end! Come on! Journey down the rabbit hole with us!

Now we come to the most talked about chapter in Revelation. It's Chapter 13 - the beast from the sea - with 7 heads - 10 horns - 10 diadems - sporting blasphemous names - and the beast from the earth - with 2 horns like a lamb - but speaks like a dragon! Beast #1 makes war with the saints and speaks words of blasphemy - but everybody worships him! Beast #2 performs great signs - deceives the whole world - and then makes everyone worship Beast #2 - even making a talking image of him! Anyone who does not worship the image of Beast #1 is killed! And if that wasn't bad enough - he causes all - the small and great - rich and poor - free men and slaves - to be given a mark on their right hand or their forehead. No one can buy or sell without the mark! What is the mark? You guessed it - the number is that of a man - 666! Who is this man - the Antichrist? What is this mark - a tattoo - computer chip? We are going all the way down this trail! Spoiler alert - it might not be what you thought- or what that influencer on the internet told you! Come on with us!

This chapter begins with - and a great sign appeared in the heavens! It's a woman - clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, and a crown of 12 stars on her head. She is about to give birth. It continues with - and another sign appeared in the heavens! It's a great red dragon with 7 heads - diadems on each head! He wants to devour the child! The woman gives birth to a son, and before the dragon can pounce, the son is caught up to God and His throne, and the woman is whisked away into the wilderness. It gets better! There is war in the heavens! Michael and his angels defeat the dragon and his angels, and the dragon is thrown down to the earth! He is enraged, so he persecutes the woman. Water pours out of his mouth - a great flood - but the earth helps the woman. It swallows the waters, and the dragon goes off to make war with the offspring of the woman. What in the world are we looking at here? How do we make sense of it and how can it possibly impact our lives and our world today? Well - when you look closely - examine carefully - combine it with what we learned in the previous 2 chapters - the fog begins to lift - the pieces start to come together - we see a beautiful and powerful picture of Jesus - His message - and the astounding work He did on the cross! Journey with us as we untangle this incredible story!

In this episode, we are truly REVERENT - and most definitely REBELLIOUS! We are tackling one of this book's most difficult and controversial chapters. We have just come through Ch. 10, where John is told to eat a little scroll - and continue to prophesy. Clearly, this shows the urgency of the message of Jesus - persistently proceeding out into the world - even in the midst of the escalating chaos! Now - Joh is told to measure the temple - the altar - and the people who worship in it. To mark them off for protection. Then these two witnesses appear - with authority - testifying - prophesying - breathing fire and doing miracles! The beast from the abyss makes war with them and kills them! They lie in the streets - but not for long. After 3 1/2 days the breath of life from God comes into them! They rise again and are taken up to heaven in a cloud! Who are these witnesses? when will all this craziness happen? The answer will shock you! The meaning will amaze you! This is not what any of us was taught - but it is absolutely a revelation! Jump on in!